portable darkroom
Date: circa 1861
Inventory Number: 1998-1-1634
Classification: Photographic Apparatus
Subject:
Maker: Richard W. Thomas (fl. 1852 - 1879)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
tent fully open in box: 78 x 112 x 84.5 cm (30 11/16 x 44 1/8 x 33 1/4 in.)
box closed: 40 x 84.5 x 48 cm (15 3/4 x 33 1/4 x 18 7/8 in.)
Accessories: bottle and beaker (1998-1-1634a); hydrometer and manual (1998-1-1634b)
Bibliography:
Xylo-Iodide of Silver....Cyanogen Soap
A Dictionary of Photography
DescriptionThis portable darkroom consists of a rectangular, wooden crate that opens up into a box tent enclosing a workspace for preparing and developing wet plates.
The crate has cross bracing of wood and leather straps. The side, front, and back panels are wood covered in a heavy varnished canvas, which is at present a dark ochre in color. A brass handle is on each end of the crate. The bottom rests of four feet fashioned by iron bands bent into squared off U-shapes. The two on the left side proper have a wooden trough slipped through their openings. The trough lines up with a slot in the bottom of the crate, and it is accessible from the interior of the box tent.
The left, right, and back sides of the crate are fixed. The front side drops down on a hinge along its base. The top is split into two doors hinged to the crate's sides. Each swings up 90 degrees and extends the height of the sides of the box.
The top door on the right proper side has a little hinged door within it. The door has a leather pull. The door opens to reveal a sliding window (adjustable from the interior of the crate) with a taut rust-colored membrane mounted next to a wood panel. Although the membrane appears opaque from the exterior, it is slightly translucent and allows red light into the crate interior. Sliding the window either left or right within the crate exposes more or less of the membrane to the open door, and so permits more or less red light into the crate. A pull knob is provided on the sliding window, which moves between two wood rails attached to the crate interior. A latch hook fixes it in the closed position. The maker's label on yellow paper is stuck below the sliding window on the proper right interior of the crate.
The top door on the left proper side has a horizontal slot that runs parallel to the side of the box for 37 cm. Shiny black paper is glued to around the slot.
The exterior, back side of the crate has a small door whose opening reveals another rust-colored membrane (this time fixed), which allows red light into the box interior. The inside of the small outer door has the maker's label on orange paper.
When the top doors and drop front are opened, a large canvas tent is found bundled into the crate. The top and back side edges of the tent are attached to the top doors and sides of the crate. The front of the tent unfurls and extends out from the top of the crate by 23 cm. It drops down 147 cm, going well below the drop-front door, and widens to 85 cm extending out in front of the crate. Thus, the tent has a trapezoidal profile when viewed from a side. It also widens slightly in the front, being 73 cm in width at the top and 77 cm at the bottom. The tent is supported in its open position by two wooden arms, one on each side of the crate. Each arm slides between two rails attached diagonally to the interior of each top door.
The tent is stained, dirty, and torn. The exterior fabric is heavy twill canvas of a dark brown color. The seams are reinforced with red, twill cotton tape. The interior fabric lining is a lighter woven cotton. It is presently a caramel color, but may have been an ivory color when new. The interfacing between the layers is a heavy twill canvas that is black in color.
The tent has several fittings. The interior of the tent, on the lower left and right front sides has two green twill tapes with matching hook-and-eye closures. In the top center of the interior, there hangs a long loop of red twill tape. The back of the tent has a rectangular window with the red membrane sewn into it. The membrane is currently split and ragged. To the right of the window is a flap pocket with a button and loop closure.
Inside the tent and within the crate, there are two wooden boxes with hinged lids locked by latch hooks. The box on the proper right sits towards the front of the crate. Behind it is the trough in the floor. Along the side wall between them, an iron strap sticks out 10 cm from the wall. It has a hole near its end. Higher up on the side wall, above the maker's label, are two screws that jut out purposefully. The box on the proper left of the crate sits towards the back wall. High above the box near the top of the inside wall (formed from the crate's top door) there is a large metal hook. It is adjacent to the horizontal slot that runs parallel to the side of the box for 37 cm. A leather strap is screwed to the lower inside wall in front of the box. It extends 23 cm terminating in a buckle. A matching leather belt strap (1.9 cm wide x 58 cm long) with a torn end sits loose in the bottom of the crate. Also loose is another wider leather belt strap (3 cm wide by 14.5 cm long) with a buckle and torn end. These iron and leather straps were for securing loose equipment in the crate. The floor of the crate has a knurled brass thumbscrew in the front left and a circular, tapered hole in the back right. The hole is 4 cm wide at the top and narrower at the bottom.
The box on the proper right is 27 x 9.5 x 11 cm. It holds a stoppered bottle made of gutta percha. The bottle has a circular sticker printed with the word, "CYAN," and a rectangular sticker printed "POISON." With the bottle is a small beaker made of gutta percha. It is embossed on the bottom: "THE GUTTA PERCHA COMP: / WHARF ROAD / CITY ROAD / LONDON." (The bottle and beaker are catalogued as 1998-1-1634a.)
The box on the proper left is 22.5 x 19.8 x 18.5 cm. It is subdivided into five compartment. Three are lined with thick felt made of horse hair. Bits of newspaper and cloth tape cover the floor. The compartments are presently empty of bottles and instruments with the exception of a cardboard tube holding a hydrometer and its manual, and a cylindrical tin cap for something else. (These are catalogued as 1998-1-1634b.)
The crate has cross bracing of wood and leather straps. The side, front, and back panels are wood covered in a heavy varnished canvas, which is at present a dark ochre in color. A brass handle is on each end of the crate. The bottom rests of four feet fashioned by iron bands bent into squared off U-shapes. The two on the left side proper have a wooden trough slipped through their openings. The trough lines up with a slot in the bottom of the crate, and it is accessible from the interior of the box tent.
The left, right, and back sides of the crate are fixed. The front side drops down on a hinge along its base. The top is split into two doors hinged to the crate's sides. Each swings up 90 degrees and extends the height of the sides of the box.
The top door on the right proper side has a little hinged door within it. The door has a leather pull. The door opens to reveal a sliding window (adjustable from the interior of the crate) with a taut rust-colored membrane mounted next to a wood panel. Although the membrane appears opaque from the exterior, it is slightly translucent and allows red light into the crate interior. Sliding the window either left or right within the crate exposes more or less of the membrane to the open door, and so permits more or less red light into the crate. A pull knob is provided on the sliding window, which moves between two wood rails attached to the crate interior. A latch hook fixes it in the closed position. The maker's label on yellow paper is stuck below the sliding window on the proper right interior of the crate.
The top door on the left proper side has a horizontal slot that runs parallel to the side of the box for 37 cm. Shiny black paper is glued to around the slot.
The exterior, back side of the crate has a small door whose opening reveals another rust-colored membrane (this time fixed), which allows red light into the box interior. The inside of the small outer door has the maker's label on orange paper.
When the top doors and drop front are opened, a large canvas tent is found bundled into the crate. The top and back side edges of the tent are attached to the top doors and sides of the crate. The front of the tent unfurls and extends out from the top of the crate by 23 cm. It drops down 147 cm, going well below the drop-front door, and widens to 85 cm extending out in front of the crate. Thus, the tent has a trapezoidal profile when viewed from a side. It also widens slightly in the front, being 73 cm in width at the top and 77 cm at the bottom. The tent is supported in its open position by two wooden arms, one on each side of the crate. Each arm slides between two rails attached diagonally to the interior of each top door.
The tent is stained, dirty, and torn. The exterior fabric is heavy twill canvas of a dark brown color. The seams are reinforced with red, twill cotton tape. The interior fabric lining is a lighter woven cotton. It is presently a caramel color, but may have been an ivory color when new. The interfacing between the layers is a heavy twill canvas that is black in color.
The tent has several fittings. The interior of the tent, on the lower left and right front sides has two green twill tapes with matching hook-and-eye closures. In the top center of the interior, there hangs a long loop of red twill tape. The back of the tent has a rectangular window with the red membrane sewn into it. The membrane is currently split and ragged. To the right of the window is a flap pocket with a button and loop closure.
Inside the tent and within the crate, there are two wooden boxes with hinged lids locked by latch hooks. The box on the proper right sits towards the front of the crate. Behind it is the trough in the floor. Along the side wall between them, an iron strap sticks out 10 cm from the wall. It has a hole near its end. Higher up on the side wall, above the maker's label, are two screws that jut out purposefully. The box on the proper left of the crate sits towards the back wall. High above the box near the top of the inside wall (formed from the crate's top door) there is a large metal hook. It is adjacent to the horizontal slot that runs parallel to the side of the box for 37 cm. A leather strap is screwed to the lower inside wall in front of the box. It extends 23 cm terminating in a buckle. A matching leather belt strap (1.9 cm wide x 58 cm long) with a torn end sits loose in the bottom of the crate. Also loose is another wider leather belt strap (3 cm wide by 14.5 cm long) with a buckle and torn end. These iron and leather straps were for securing loose equipment in the crate. The floor of the crate has a knurled brass thumbscrew in the front left and a circular, tapered hole in the back right. The hole is 4 cm wide at the top and narrower at the bottom.
The box on the proper right is 27 x 9.5 x 11 cm. It holds a stoppered bottle made of gutta percha. The bottle has a circular sticker printed with the word, "CYAN," and a rectangular sticker printed "POISON." With the bottle is a small beaker made of gutta percha. It is embossed on the bottom: "THE GUTTA PERCHA COMP: / WHARF ROAD / CITY ROAD / LONDON." (The bottle and beaker are catalogued as 1998-1-1634a.)
The box on the proper left is 22.5 x 19.8 x 18.5 cm. It is subdivided into five compartment. Three are lined with thick felt made of horse hair. Bits of newspaper and cloth tape cover the floor. The compartments are presently empty of bottles and instruments with the exception of a cardboard tube holding a hydrometer and its manual, and a cylindrical tin cap for something else. (These are catalogued as 1998-1-1634b.)
Signedon an orange sticker on the inside of the hinged door on the outer back side of the crate:
THOMAS'S / PATENT BOX TENT, / MANUFACTURER OF PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS. / [British coat of arms] / 10, PALL MALL, LONDON.
on yellow sticker on the upper right side of the crate's interior:
THOMAS'S / PATENT BOX TENT, / MANUFACTURER OF PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS. / [British coat of arms] / 10, PALL MALL, LONDON.
THOMAS'S / PATENT BOX TENT, / MANUFACTURER OF PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS. / [British coat of arms] / 10, PALL MALL, LONDON.
on yellow sticker on the upper right side of the crate's interior:
THOMAS'S / PATENT BOX TENT, / MANUFACTURER OF PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS. / [British coat of arms] / 10, PALL MALL, LONDON.
FunctionWet plate photography required glass plates to be treated with collodion and then sensitized and mounted in a plate holder in a dark room prior to use. Since the plates were used wet, this preparation had to be done immediately before use in the camera. Portable darkrooms like this one were designed to be carried on the back of a wagon and used in the field when outdoor photography was needed. The preparation and development of wet plates was done inside the tent.
Curatorial RemarksFound infested with mold spores.
Primary SourcesAdvertisement of Richard W. Thomas, in Notes and Queries, no. 210, 5 November 1853, p. 457.
Advertisement of Richard W. Thomas, in Thomas Sutton, A Dictionary of Photography (London: Sampson Low, Son, and Co., 1858), 438.
Advertisement of Richard W. Thomas, in Thomas Sutton, A Dictionary of Photography (London: Sampson Low, Son, and Co., 1858), 438.
