Question about old negative preperation

[darylbubba]

I didn't know where to put this post or really how I should title it. Now I'll see if I can describe it.

I noticed on a few 1940s era negatives that there appears to be a process done to the negative where a coating or a chemical of some kind is applied to it.

I have found a few portraits that have this process done to them. For instance, a negative shows a person from the waist up. But on this negative, there appears to have been some kind of chemical applied to the head and shoulders area of the negative. I assume that this was the area that was to be the focus of the print and that the "additive" had something to do with improving the image. You can see that the emulsion was effected but there does not seem to be any effect which changes the look of the image.

Can anyone guess what this is and what its purpose was?

[Carol Heath]

Many retouching tasks were performed on the negative itself. Perhaps there are retouched negs????

[Tony W]

Retouch negatives are not that uncommon. What you describe sounds like dye has been applied to lighten the skin tones - I have seen this before and the dye was reddish in nature which would hold the light back (similar to safelight) during printing

[4personnen]

maybe Rubylith?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubylith
there was also a liquid version, I don't remember the name...

[darylbubba]

Thanks for your help.