The Wrzesien Couple
(Framed Photo)
Donated By: Walter Wrzesien
Learn More About Oil Printing
Oil prints used an emulsion consisting of potassium dichromate and gelatine was applied to paper and exposed to light. The gelatine would then absorb and repel greasy pigments, which could be fixed by means of a rubber roller or brush. Bromoil printing, by contrast, consists of color pigments being laid on a silver, potassium dichromate and gelatine emulsion on paper. Then, a silver bromide image on paper is sensitized by means of potassium bichromate with an addition of copper sulfate and potassium bromide, then a fixer is added. The image is soaked in water, and a gelatine relief is produced, which is then colored multiple times by brushing or rolling on greasy ink. Finally, the tone is determined by the pigments in the ink and a variation is achieved when the wet, tinted gelatine relief was pressed against a paper and the ink was transferred.
Background
This is a framed photograph of Karolina and Jan Wrzesien before their arduous journey from the small Polish town of Izbiska to Chicopee before World War I, in the hope of achieving the American dream. The painting-like graininess of the photo, combined with the plastic-like sheen of the couple’s faces, suggests that the photograph was most likely shot on a Kodak Brownie camera in the early 1910s and developed using oil prints.
Learn More The Wrzesien Family
Jan Wrzesien worked in the booming mill industry for which Chicopee was known in the early twentieth century. He and Karolina had three daughters and three sons. One of their sons was Walter Wrzesien who owned the Fruit Fair supermarket in Chicopee. He was also one of the founders of the Polish Center. He was responsible for significant financial contributions to the Center, including a $25,000 sponsorship of this room to honor his family. A display in this room includes photographs of Walter with his father Jan, and a plaque with a poem on it as a tribute to his brother who was killed in World War II. In tribute to his friends, pictured in another photograph and who also served in the war, Walter funded the World War II memorial in Szot Park. That park is named for a Polish American resident who was killed in World War I.
Author: Larry Weeks, Computer Information Technology and Security major, Elms College.