Salted paper print

A salted paper print is an early photographic print on paper. A positive image is made by exposing sensitised paper in direct contact with a negative. Salt and silver nitrate form light-sensitive silver chloride in the paper. The process was used during the 1840s, 1850s and 1860s, among other periods.

Characteristics and possible confusion

The surface is usually matt, with paper fibres visible under magnification. Image tones may be brown, reddish brown or purplish brown. Processing and condition influence colour. A brown, matt photograph alone is therefore insufficient evidence of a salted paper print.

Lightly coated or faded albumen prints can be difficult to distinguish from salted paper prints. Albumen printing uses an egg-white coating, whereas the salted paper image generally appears within the paper structure. “Calotype” names a paper negative process. A salted paper print may have been made from a calotype negative, but the negative and positive are different objects. Glass negatives could also be used for salt printing.

Documenting a photograph

Practical suggestion: Photograph the complete sheet, any mount, reverse and inscriptions without detaching adhered parts. Record dimensions and what is actually known about the photographer and subject. Leave an uncertain process unidentified rather than assigning a precise date from colour.

Read about preserving old photographs before further handling. Explore prints and graphic art for available works on paper, or ask OBA about inspecting a photographic collection with other household contents.