PHOTOGRAPHS
Lummis, Charles F.
U.S. (1859 - 1928)
Cubero, N.M. and Mt. San Mateo
1890
Cyanotype
4 1/2 x 7 in. (11.4 x 17.8 cm) image size; 5 x 7 15/16 in. (12.7 x 20.2 cm) sheet size
Monsen Study Collection of Photography, gift of Joseph and Elaine Monsen
FA 79.117

Luminous cyanotypes, also known as “blue-prints,” were the favored medium of southwestern photojournalist Charles Fletcher Lummis. The simplest process of the time, the technique was tolerant of the impurities found in New Mexican well water and could easily be prepared in the dim light of an adobe room. This cheap and quick photographic method allowed Lummis to produce and send images on to his publisher or curio dealer without delay.

Invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the cyanotype was the first successful non-silver photographic printing process. The light-sensitive salts, potassium ferricyanide and ferric salt, when coated on paper and exposed to light, create the insoluble pigment Prussian blue. The resulting image is then be fixed simply by washing the paper in water. In addition to the ease of the cyanotype, other photographic innovations allowed Lummis to quickly document and produce images of the Southwest. One such innovation, the dry-plate process, gave him the freedom to travel without the need of a portable darkroom. Earlier wet-plate negatives had needed to be prepared just before exposure and then fixed immediately after. The new dry-plate negatives could be purchased ready-made and stored for months. -- Label copy for 150 Works of Art, October 1, 2005 to February 26, 2006.