Photographer’s expedition day trip packing list, 1870s style

As I begin to plan what photographic equipment I’m bringing with us on our trip to Hawaii next week, I happened upon this packing list while reading a book on the history of American photography from 1839-1889 and I felt I needed to share.

An excerpt from Photography and the American Scene by Taft:

Stereoscopic camera with one or more pairs of lenses
5×8 camera box plus lens
11×14 camera box plus lenses
dark tent
2 tripods
10 lbs. Collodion
36oz. Silver nitrate
2 quarts alcohol
10 lbs Iron sulfate (developer)
package of filters
1.5 lbs. Potassium cyanide (fixer)
3 yds. Canton flannel
1 Box Rottenstone (cleaner for glass plates)
3 Negative boxes
6 oz. Nitric acid
1 qt. Varnish
Developing and Fixing Trays
Dozen and a half bottles of various sizes
Scales and weights
Glass for negatives, 400 pieces

And with that, my husband should never complain about how much I bring with me for a week and a half let alone ONE DAY ever again!