The Warnerke roll (paper) film holder in a camera
Toronto. The idea of roll film revitalized the use of sensitized paper (negatives). In fact various roll film mechanisms were developed to use the medium in cameras. An example is the Warnerke Roll Film Holder.
Editor Robert Lansdale wrote about this use of paper in his issue 27-1 article “Advance of the Paper negative …and the roll film holder”.
He begins his article, “The use of paper as a base for negative images has played an important part throughout the history of photography. At photography’s inception, Fox Talbot’s Photographic Drawing of 1834 captured the shadow image of plants and ferns within the body of the paper, while his Calotype of 1840 became the system to produce multiple positive prints from the prime paper negative.
“Criticism against fuzziness and lack of detail caused by the inherent grain of the paper led to the idea of waxing the paper before an open fire to induce translucence to the fibers. Le Gray’s Waxed Paper process of 1851 prepped the paper with wax before sensitizing.
“Glass as a base became desirable with its clarity and stability: albumen became the carrier to the sensitive silver salts. With Scott Archer’s discovery of collodion as the carrier in 1851, all systems were quickly eclipsed by the Ambrotype and Wet Plate Process. The wet plate reigned supreme for some 20+ years due to its fine grain and greater speed. Other improvements were introduced in 1864 with the invention of collodion-emulsion by Sayce and Bolton, thus doing away with the necessity of the silver bath, while Dr. Maddox in 1871 substituted gelatin for collodion in emulsions, leading to the Dry Plate era.
“But devotees to the paper negative were still present. William J. Cox in the 1886 BJP Almanac expounded its virtues in ‘Paper Films Versus Glass Plates.’
“He listed benefits as:
storage of negatives – 250 films equalled one inch of thickness of glass;
weight – two gross of paper negatives weighed less than one dozen glass;
freedom from breakage – accidents could happen even while in printing frames;
freedom from halation – it cannot occur, thus leaves and boughs against a bright sky are microscopically sharp;
increased speed – nearly twice as fast;
cost – half the price of glass and even less on larger sizes;
celerity of development – many paper negatives may be processed in a dish at the same time;
even coating – paper is pliable thus a more even coating can be obtained than on ordinary glass, and as paper can be applied to a curved surface, lenses of greater curvature of field may be employed; etc.”
Members read all of editor Lansdale’s well illustrated article in the issue 27-1 pdf file on the free members-only DVD/thumb drive. Not yet a member? Joining is a snap. Just follow “Membership” above and at right. Send any questions to member@phsc.ca.
And also, you may find these strange holders or other interesting items at our 2026 events. Our Spring Fair is one such event and is set for May 24th at Trident Hall. As we get closer to the date, a poster and details will be pinned to the top of this site.
