In awe of a plate

Well to be exact, a box of plates.
In returning to using ‘film’ cameras I picked up a bunch of stuff at auction. Partly to pick out things I wanted and partly to repair and resell to pay for those things I wanted. Within one of the auction lots was a box of photographic plates from circa 1906.

These plates are still wrapped up and as far as I know they have never been exposed to light. 116 years in the dark - incredible!

If you aren’t familiar with photographic plates, they are pieces of glass with a chemical solution poured over them. These particular plates are dry plates so the solution is allowed to dry and then the plates are stored away. All of this process takes place in the darkroom.

So the big question is: will they still work? Will they still capture the light when placed inside a suitable camera? I’ll let you know.