Photographic Amusements 1922 — Walter E. Woodbury and Frank R. Fraprie (PDF)

A hundred year old handbook for achieving novel effects in photography all achieved by a balance of mechanical manipulations and weird chemical formulations. Lots worth stealing from.

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Some of my favourite sections:

Magic Photographs

Photography for Household Decoration

Photographing a Catastrophe

Photographing the Invisible

How to Make a Photograph Inside a Bottle

The Disappearing Photograph

Freak Pictures with a Black Background

Sympathetic Photographs

Photographs Without Light

Moonlight Effects

Comical Portraits

Pictures With Eyes that Open and Close

Photographs on Apples and Eggs

Graphic Effects by Photography — Otto Croy (PDF)

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A great manual on how to produce graphic effects using cameras and darkrooms. I'm all for photography becoming increasingly contaminated by processes and materials used in graphic design and printmaking. Just as it does when combined to serve a function like a movie poster or advertisement. But without being completely beholden to that purpose.. Signal vs. noise.

Croy writes in the opening statement:

"The photograph has long occupied an assured place in commercial art. The techniques of photo-graphics, especially, open up completely new vistas, because they achieve optical effects never known before. This book shows how you can conjure with photographs. It discovers new fields, offers surprising professional tips and, last, but not least, suggests ideas for working creatively and fruitfully with the knowledge gained. Photographs are an aid to drawing-photographic techniques enliven the imagination and are a welcome addition to commercial art."