Retouching rooms in old photographic studios had a very important task: improving the appearance of the finished photograph. There were various types of retouching, each using specialized tools such as inks, dyes, and brushes. The basic distinction is between positive and negative retouching. The former involved correcting finished prints, while the latter corrected negatives. Proper retouching involves removing various imperfections—spots, underexposures, and balancing the exposure intensity of the negative, such as the background. Improving the model’s appearance, such as highlighting eyes, is also sometimes referred to as retouching. Due to the paucity of records, it is difficult to precisely determine how and with what retouching was performed on the earliest photographs. However, it is known that every photographic studio had such a room. One of the main pieces of equipment was the so-called “retouching room.” A retouching table, a type of tripartite frame connected by hinges, with adjustable inclination of the individual sections. The middle section was filled with frosted glass, the lower section with a mirror, and the upper section with a wooden plate painted black. Retouched negatives were placed on the glass, and the mirror reflected light from the window, illuminating the work area, while the upper section reduced reflections and shadows. When electric light became available, the frosted plate was illuminated with a reflector. Good lighting was sufficient for retouching prints. Retouching negatives was usually done with ink, pencil, and appropriate liquid dyes, and in extreme cases by scraping off the emulsion. Positives were similarly retouched, but mainly with pencil or scraping. Very often, the retouched surface was additionally protected with appropriate varnishes. Positives were probably also colored in the retouching room, using special paints. Colored prints, especially as postcards, were popular practically throughout the entire period of black-and-white photography. In the case of cards, they were replaced by color prints of increasingly better quality, and finally by color photography.
