Today we are celebrating a special anniversary: the 25,000th project produced by Distributed Proofreaders has been posted to Project Gutenberg.
The Art and Practice of Silver Printing by Henry Peach Robinson and Captain William de Wiveleslie Abney is a fitting book to celebrate with, silver being generally connected with 25th anniversaries. Printed in 1881, the book gives a fascinating glimpse into early photographic printing techniques.
In our age of ubiquitous digital photography and image manipulation, it is fascinating to look back to the beginnings, when there was a lot of chemistry and craftsmanship involved in making even a single print. The book explains in great detail the whole process of getting from a photographic negative to a finished print, from preparing the chemical solutions involved and the paper, how to deal with different subjects, like portraits and landscapes, to how to mount the finished prints for presentation.
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped to produce this and the 24,999 books that got us to this milestone. All in all, that’s almost six million pages!
Hot off the Press 
Thor Halorssen Mendoza read about
A Silver Anniversary-25,000 Titles posted to Project Gutenberg! | Hot off the Press
[…] 25000 DP’s 25,000th book was, appropriately for the “silver milestone,” The Art and Practice of Silver Printing, by pioneering photographers H.P. Robinson and Captain Abney (1881), which was posted April 10, 2013. The authors noted, “The one defect of silver printing is the possibility of its results fading; but surely it is better to be beautiful, if fading, than permanent and ugly. It is better to be charmed with a beautiful thing for a few years, than be bored by an ugly one for ever.” You can read more about this book on Hot off the Press here. […]