no darkroom needed?
Toronto. In 1939, some people disliked photographic darkrooms because they were ummm – dark. So somebody came up with contact print paper with a built-in orange filter and a special ‘flexible frame’. As a filler, Popular Mechanics published a small article touting the use of this special photographic paper which could be exposed and developed in a room illuminated by an unfiltered 100 watt light.
Great idea once again, but with very poor timing. Two or three unfortunate factors: It was just before WW2 broke out. It was a few years after the minicam craze made enlargers de rigueur and contact paper barely an after thought. And a built-in safelight filter must have made the paper a bit more expensive, plus the cost of the special frame, not to mention a fixed print size – and no cropping post camera!
As is often the case we must thank my good friend and photo historian, George Dunbar, for discovering this hopeful little article buried in a February, 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics. Thanks, George.
