Most chemical or alternative photographic processes were both discovered and used in the 19th century. It was a fantastic time when chemists and inventors in Europe experimented, creating the first images.

Here we take a look at the Kallitype, an alternative process that is reminiscent of the Van Dyke photographic technique.

Cover photo by Anna Zakharova

Zev Schmitz - A Kallitype test print toned in platinum

What is Kallitype Photography?

Kallitype photography is an alternative photographic process invented by Dr. William Nicol. It was created at the end of the 19th century. Although the name is similar, the Kallitype should not be confused with the Calotype. The former process was invented by Sir John Herschel over 50 years earlier. Both names come from the same source in Greek.

The Kallitype photography process uses an iron-silver solution. This is rather than the silver halide route that other processes used at the time. By no means was the Kallitype the only technique to use a combination of iron and silver. Many other techniques such as the Van Dyke brown and Argyrotype were similar. The difference is that Kallitypes used ferric oxalate rather than ferric ammonium citrate.

Alexandre Perotto

Similarities to Cyanotypes, Calotypes, and other Processes

The ferric oxalate creates strong shadows and contrasts compared to cyanotypes. Kalltype solutions could also utilize different colors. Brown, black, or maroon are possible, whereas cyanotypes were famously blue.

As the Kallitype used iron salts, the prints were usually warm with a wide tonal range. They were an improvement on the Calotype, one of the first photographic processes.

Many Kallitypes are mislabelled as Platinotypes as they create almost identical chemical images when toning is used. They are referred to as “the poor man’s platinum print”. This is due to platinum or palladium renders them indistinguishable from their counterparts.

What makes this process like others is how the images are created – by contact printing. Ambrotypes, for example, can only be made by exposing a negative on light-sensitive paper - resulting in an image of equal size. Nowadays, it is possible to enlarge the negative to obtain bigger prints.

Hugues de BUYER-MIMEURE

The Kallitype Process

The kallitype process involves coating paper with a sensitizing solution of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium bichromate. The paper is then exposed to UV light through a negative, and the resulting print is developed, fixed, and washed to produce the final image.

This process was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, it fell out of favor with the introduction of more convenient photographic processes. One example is silver gelatin printing. In recent years, kallitype photography has experienced a resurgence of interest among photographers.

Tyler Lastovich

Benefits and Drawbacks of Kallitype Photography

One of the benefits of the kallitype process is the ability to create a unique, one-of-a-kind image. The process is labor-intensive so each print is unique and not easily replicated. The warm brown tone of the prints gives them a nostalgic, vintage look. It makes it difficult to achieve with other photographic methods.

There are also some drawbacks to the kallitype process. For one, it is very time-consuming due to the intensive process. Additionally, the materials required for the process can be expensive and difficult to find.