Could a professional photographer in 1920s Europe enlarge prints from a Vest Pocket Kodak negative?

Asked 12/17/2019

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For historical research: if a professional photographer in early-1920s Europe shot on a Vest Pocket Kodak using 127 film, would they have had access to a darkroom enlarger or similar equipment for making prints larger than the original negative? After developing the negatives, what printing process would typically be used, and were enlargements practical at that time?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

6y ago

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The answer to your question is yes, a pro photog in 1920's Europe would definitely have had access to a darkroom enlarger. In fact, some enlargers available in the early 1920s were amazingly sophisticated, auto-focus models. I am attaching a description of one that just happens to be American, circa 1920.

However, if your 1920's photog was located in Europe then he or she would have likely used a domestic model from darkroom equipment suppliers like C.P. Goerz in Berlin. Leitz enlargers specifically for small-format negatives went on the market in 1925, but there were plenty of prior options.

1920 Elwood Pattern Works Auto-Focus Enlarger

Originally by user88536. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user88536

6y ago

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Yes. A professional photographer in Europe in the early 1920s would have had access to enlargers, and enlarging photographs was already well established by then. Earlier enlargers had even used sunlight (“solar” enlargers), and electric-light enlargers had existed since the 19th century, so by the 1920s professional darkroom enlargement was entirely plausible.

Typical workflow: the film would be developed to produce a negative, then the negative would be placed in an enlarger and projected onto photographic paper at the desired size. The paper would then be exposed, developed, fixed, washed, and dried.

For a 127-film Vest Pocket Kodak negative, enlargements would have been possible, though image quality would depend on the negative size, lens quality, focus, and exposure. By the mid-1920s there were even enlargers aimed at small-format negatives, but professionals already had workable options before that. So for your novel, a pro photographer making enlarged prints from VPK negatives in 1920s Europe is historically credible.

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