In a previous article, I shared that as of November 1, 2025, I work exclusively with the St Andrews-era calotype: iodized paper, excited with aceto-nitrate of silver (without gallic acid in the exciting bath), and developed in gallic acid. This is the chemistry John Adamson employed in 1843 to stabilize and make the process repeatable. John Adamson was a medical doctor and clearly was an intelligent and critical thinker.
John Adamson (December 12, 1809–August 11, 1870) was the elder brother and teacher of Robert Adamson (April 26, 1821–January 14, 1848).
John was a physician and photographic chemist in St Andrews who made Scotland’s first successful calotype portrait (May 1842) and taught the process to Robert.
Robert opened the Rock House studio in Edinburgh on May 10, 1843, and soon after partnered with the painter David Octavius Hill; together, they produced thousands of calotypes that helped shape early art photography.
I make fully handmade 1840s Adamson-era calotype paper negatives and ammonio-nitrate of silver (ANS) salt prints at a single vintage window, using only natural light and 19th-century chemistry to speak about grief and endurance.
The single-bath “double-iodide” iodizing method, as described by William Holland Furlong and read aloud by John Adamson on April 3, 1843, made calotypes more reliable and repeatable. That stability opened the door for the Adamsons (and Hill & Adamson) to work at scale, and it changed everything for the calotypists in 1843.
182 years later, in 2025, it changed the game for me as well. This single improvement by Furlong allows me to sensitize, develop, and fix my calotypes on demand in the field while traveling without the need for a complete darkroom. I have a small wooden darkbox that I put in the back of my truck and use when I need to sensitize and develop calotypes in the field.
Why Furlong’s modification matters:
- It replaced Talbot’s fiddly two-solution iodizing with one predictable bath.
- It solved two chronic iodizing problems in one stroke, giving makers confidence to batch-prepare paper.
- That reliability helped enable the huge Hill & Adamson output in the mid-1840s in Scotland, and now it is allowing me to do the same in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in 2025.
Why this relationship matters
- John was the technical bridge: he proved the calotype in Scotland and passed practical know-how to Robert.
- Robert translated that craft into one of photography’s first great bodies of work with Hill at Rock House in 1843–1847.
- John’s mentoring seeded a local school (e.g., Thomas Rodger), extending the St Andrews tradition in the 1840s–1850s.
A short timeline
- May 1842 — John achieves the first successful portrait calotype in Scotland after sustained experiments in St Andrews.
- May 10, 1843 — Robert opens his studio at Rock House, Edinburgh. July 1843 — the Hill & Adamson partnership begins.
- 1843–1847 — Hill & Adamson produce a remarkable body of calotypes (portraits, landscapes, social scenes) that influences photography worldwide.
- 1840s–1850s — John trains Thomas Rodger, who becomes an early professional photographer and continues the St Andrews line.
What John actually did
John combined medical rigor with chemistry and teaching. He controlled the complex and arduous calotype process, then taught it to Robert first, and to others in St Andrews. His role was hands-on and local, involving laboratory work, demonstrations, and practical coaching that transformed a fragile new process into a repeatable practice.
Where to see their work and read more
- The National Galleries of Scotland holds the world’s largest Hill & Adamson collection, as well as a concise timeline of the partnership.
- The Getty Museum’s entry on John Adamson notes his teaching of Robert and preserves early prints.
- National Galleries artist pages outline each brother’s role and early St Andrews experiments.
Why I align my practice here
My work follows the 1843 Adamson tradition because it links craft to place and history. John’s St Andrews approach—careful chemistry, repeatable steps, and teaching that enabled Robert’s art—matches how I build negatives and prints today. That lineage is clear, credible, and collectible, and it keeps my process anchored to the era that first proved the calotype in Scotland. However, it is bigger than that, in my opinion, because John transformed the original method by Fox Talbot and made minor adjustments that dramatically impacted the calotype, making it a stable and repeatable process.
Next steps
- I’ll continue publishing exact process notes alongside new ammonio-nitrate of silver salt prints, with references to the Scottish originals above.
- If you’re a curator or collector and would like specific comparisons (St. Andrews examples vs. my Ozarks subjects), please contact me and I’ll assemble a short, cited packet.
I am a Calotype photographer (Calotypist) working in the 1843 Adamson tradition. I handcraft acidified and iodized calotype negatives and ammonio nitrate of silver salt prints in the Ozarks, staying true to the 1840s workflow: aceto-nitrate to sensitize (no gallic acid), gallic acid development, and hypo-fixing, followed by a 12-hour manual washing process to archival standards. My work is guided by a Creative Framework of Resilience, Transformation, and Connection, expressed through a Pictorialist handmade aesthetic that prioritizes shape, tone, and atmosphere over sharpness. Each print ships with exact process details for museums and collectors who value historical accuracy and long-term care.
I follow John Adamson’s 1843 St Andrews-era calotype and ammonio-nitrate-of-silver (ANS) salt printing method. Each sheet of paper is first acidified, then treated with potassium iodide and silver nitrate to form silver iodide, dried, and later sensitized with a silver aceto-nitrate solution just before exposure. I load this paper in the camera and expose it, then develop the calotype in a dilute gallic acid developer and again in a gallo-nitrate solution to build the final density, before fixing and washing the negative. From this calotype paper negative, I make contact prints on salted paper sensitized with Adamson’s ammonio-nitrate of silver solution—100% analog, no digital steps, only light and chemistry. Every piece in Pictorial Whispers is made by hand, start to finish, just like it was in the 1840s.
Art Collector Resources
- Collector and Student Testimonials [read]
- Collector’s Guide [read]
- Why Analog Photography is Essential to Fine Art Creation [read]
- Why I Create [read]
- Aura – What is it, and why does it matter? [read]
- Why Analog Photography Is a Smart Investment [read]
- Analog photography in the Digital Age: Examining transformation, alienation and authenticity in modern photographic practice. https://doi.org/10.55927/ijads.v2i3.11019
