brighton swimming club 1863 (via guy)

A group photograph of nineteen members of the Brighton Swimming Club, believed to have been taken by the photographer Benjamin Botham in 1863. During the 1860s, most professional photographers used albumenized paper for photographic printing. Albumenized paper employed albumen from egg whites to bind photographic chemicals to the printing paper. Unfortunately, fresh egg whites contain glucose and the resulting “protein-sugar” reaction in the albumen causes the photographic print to turn yellow over time. Research has shown that albumen prints from the 1860s and 1870s show more yellowing than those printed later in the century.

more @ photohistory sussex uk