Cyanotype

[[John Mercer (scientist)|John Mercer]] in the 1850s used the process for printing photographs onto cotton textiles, and discovered means of toning the cyanotype violet, green, brown, red, or black.

[[John Mercer (scientist)|John Mercer]] in the 1850s used the process for printing photographs onto cotton textiles, and discovered means of toning the cyanotype violet, green, brown, red, or black.

As with all of his photographic inventions, Herschel did not patent his cyanotype process. Chemist George Thomas Fisher Jr. quickly disseminated information on the new medium internationally in his popular 50-page manual ''Photogenic manipulation in 1843, containing plain instructions in the theory and practice of the arts of photography: calotype, cyanotype, ferrotype, chrysotype, anthotype, daguerreotype, and thermography,''{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=George Thomas |title=Photogenie manipulation: containing plain instructions in the theory and practice of the arts of photography, calotype, cyanotype, ferrotype, chrysotype,... |date=1843 |publisher=G. Knight and Sons |location=London |language=en|oclc=491515258}} which the following year was translated into German and Dutch. The medium was immediately taken up and perfected by notable photographic practitioners of the time, including [[Henry Fox Talbot|William Henry Fox Talbot]]{{Cite book |last=Maimon |first=Vered |title=Singular images, failed copies: William Henry Fox Talbot and the early photograph |year=2015 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-1-4529-5352-6 |oclc=1065707839}} and [[Henry Peter Bosse|Henry Bosse]]. The latter, in making fine presentation albums of bridges and structural steel, foresaw an appropriate effect in colour; the intense blues of his refined cyanotypes from large glass plates were printed on fine French paper 37 cm x 43.6 cm (14½ x 17¼ inches), and watermarked ''Johannot et Cie. Annonay, aloe's satin'' and leather bound.Charles Wehrenberg, ''Mississippi Blue, Henry P. Bosse and his Views on the Mississippi River'', Twin Palms 2002, {{ISBN|0-944092-98-5}}{{Cite book |last=Moon |first=Abby |title=The Expressive Potential of Bosse's Landscapes, In Cyanotypes: Photography's Blue Period |publisher=Worcester Art Museum |year=2016}}{{Cite book |last1=Wehrenberg |first1=Charles |title=Mississippi blue: Henry P. Bosse and his views on the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Louis, 1883–1891 |last2=Bosse |first2=Henry |date=2001 |publisher=Solo Zone |isbn=978-1-886163-14-0 |location=San Francisco, Calif. |language=en|oclc=83749664}}

As with all of his photographic inventions, Herschel did not patent his cyanotype process. Chemist George Thomas Fisher Jr. quickly disseminated information on the new medium internationally in his popular 50-page manual ''Photogenic manipulation in 1843, containing plain instructions in the theory and practice of the arts of photography: calotype, cyanotype, ferrotype, chrysotype, anthotype, daguerreotype, and thermography,''{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=George Thomas |title=Photogenie manipulation: containing plain instructions in the theory and practice of the arts of photography, calotype, cyanotype, ferrotype, chrysotype,... |date=1843 |publisher=G. Knight and Sons |location=London |language=en|oclc=491515258}} which the following year was translated into German and Dutch. The medium was immediately taken up and perfected by notable photographic practitioners of the time, including [[Henry Fox Talbot|William Henry Fox Talbot]]{{Cite book |last=Maimon |first=Vered |title=Singular images, failed copies: William Henry Fox Talbot and the early photograph |year=2015 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-1-4529-5352-6 |oclc=1065707839}} and [[Henry Peter Bosse|Henry Bosse]]. The latter, in making fine presentation albums of bridges and structural steel, foresaw an appropriate effect in colour; the intense blues of his refined cyanotypes from large glass plates were printed on fine French paper 37 cm x 43.6 cm, and watermarked ''Johannot et Cie. Annonay, aloe's satin'' and leather bound.Charles Wehrenberg, ''Mississippi Blue, Henry P. Bosse and his Views on the Mississippi River'', Twin Palms 2002, {{ISBN|0-944092-98-5}}{{Cite book |last=Moon |first=Abby |title=The Expressive Potential of Bosse's Landscapes, In Cyanotypes: Photography's Blue Period |publisher=Worcester Art Museum |year=2016}}{{Cite book |last1=Wehrenberg |first1=Charles |title=Mississippi blue: Henry P. Bosse and his views on the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Louis, 1883–1891 |last2=Bosse |first2=Henry |date=2001 |publisher=Solo Zone |isbn=978-1-886163-14-0 |location=San Francisco, Calif. |language=en|oclc=83749664}}

Commercial use came only in 1872, the year after Herschel's death. Marion and Company of Paris were first to market the cyanotype, under the proprietary name of "Ferro-prussiate", for reprography of plans and technical drawings and to advantage due to its low cost and simplicity of processing, which required only water. In this application and with the manufacture of blueprint papers, it remained the dominant reprographic process until the 1940s. During the 217-day [[Siege of Mafeking]] of the town of Mafeking ([[Mafikeng]]) in South Africa during the [[Second Boer War]] from October 1899, the process was used to print stamps and banknotes.

Commercial use came only in 1872, the year after Herschel's death. Marion and Company of Paris were first to market the cyanotype, under the proprietary name of "Ferro-prussiate", for reprography of plans and technical drawings and to advantage due to its low cost and simplicity of processing, which required only water. In this application and with the manufacture of blueprint papers, it remained the dominant reprographic process until the 1940s. During the 217-day [[Siege of Mafeking]] of the town of Mafeking ([[Mafikeng]]) in South Africa during the [[Second Boer War]] from October 1899, the process was used to print stamps and banknotes.

Equally important is the expressive potential of the application of emulsion using brush, squeegee, roller or cloth, or by stamping, for [[calligraphy|calligraphic]] effect.

Equally important is the expressive potential of the application of emulsion using brush, squeegee, roller or cloth, or by stamping, for [[calligraphy|calligraphic]] effect.

The cyanotype process is quite flexible, and it can be scaled up to incredible sizes. For example, in 2017, Stefanos Tsakiris created a 276.64 square meter (330 sq. yd.) cyanotype in [[Thessaloniki|Thessaloniki, Greece]]. The print, which holds the world record for the largest cyanotype print, was made to help teach people about cyanotype photography and increase environmental awareness.{{Cite web |title=Video: This music video is made entirely from over 5,000 cyanotype prints |url=https://www.dpreview.com/news/2522727855/video-this-music-video-is-made-entirely-5000-cyanotype-prints |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=DPReview}}

The cyanotype process is quite flexible, and it can be scaled up to incredible sizes. For example, in 2017, Stefanos Tsakiris created a 276.64 square meter cyanotype in [[Thessaloniki|Thessaloniki, Greece]]. The print, which holds the world record for the largest cyanotype print, was made to help teach people about cyanotype photography and increase environmental awareness.{{Cite web |title=Video: This music video is made entirely from over 5,000 cyanotype prints |url=https://www.dpreview.com/news/2522727855/video-this-music-video-is-made-entirely-5000-cyanotype-prints |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=DPReview}}

== Artists ==

== Artists ==