Albumen Prints
common use: 1860-1895
Image Characteristics
Albumen prints were always toned in gold. They have a purple image color when new and/or undeteriorated, but most albumen prints have faded and discolored. With time, highlights lose image detail, and the albumen binder tends to yellow, changing the overall color of the print.
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Card Mounts
Albumen prints will curl severely if not mounted; therefore, they were often adhered to various paper cards of different sizes and thicknesses. The smallest presentation card, known as the carte-de-visite, measures approximately 2.5" x 4". In the 1870s, a larger card (measuring 4.25" x 6.5"), known as the cabinet card, became popular. Albumen prints are also seen mounted to stereo-view cards.
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| Carte-de-visite (click to enlarge) |
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Cabinet Card (click to enlarge) |
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Paper Fibers
Using a loupe or low power microscope one can clearly see paper fibers under the transparent albumen coating. This indicates that the paper has not been coated with an additional layer, such as baryta, which would obscure paper fibers and produce a smoother surface.
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Paper fibers visible with 30x magnification |
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Albumen Cracking
As albumen ages, and expands and contracts in various atmospheres, it tends to crack. These cracks are usually visible with medium to high magnification and often follow the fibers of the paper support, as shown below.
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