?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
(CYANOTYPES) A selection of 22 richly-printed and finely-composed cyanotypes depicting a variety of delivery and freight vehicles.
Most of the vehicles are situated on streets or outside, showcasing their use and applied lettering on the side, with a few isolated on plain backgrounds. Three of the prints with a pair of images on one sheet; three are duplicate images. Cyanotypes, the images measuring 7 1/4x9 1/2 inches (18.4x24.1 cm.), and slightly smaller, and the reverse, some sheets slightly larger, each with a numeric notation in the negative, and a Couple Jean Freight-Wheel Co. hand stamp from Grand Rapids, Michigan, on verso. Circa 1910
Though the cyanotype process was invented in 1842 by Sir John Herschel, the height of is usage occurred around the turn of the 20th century. A printing-out process, the negative (or object) would be placed in contact with a sensitized sheet and exposed to daylight, creating a rich Prussian Blue in the exposed areas. This straightforward process was adopted by industrial photographers, which may relate to the cyanotype's usage as a reproduction process for technical drawings or illustrations by architects and engineers. This group of cyanotypes depicts various delivery and freight vehicles. Likely taken for automotive companies to exemplify their vehicles, the richly toned prints emphasize the characteristics of the automobiles as well as their signage.
