“Zodiac” was printed from an antique photographic plate positive 9 × 12 cm, originally dating around 1909, France. We have developed our own technique, so that we can reproduce the original negative plate with the smallest details on a piezography pro print.
The Society Zodiac company were co-founded by Maurice Mallet (1861–1926) and Henry de La Vaulx (1870-1930) in 1896. In 1909, the name Zodiac appeared in the name “Société française de ballons dirigeables et d’aviation Zodiac” (French hot-air balloon company). The Zodiac was the first small “dismountable airship”.
This plate is part of blackprint’s private archive of historical glass photographs — negatives, positives, and stereoviews spanning the 1860s to the 1910s, covering subjects from early aeronautical history to microscopic views and documentary photography. Each work is printed without digital retouching: scratches, emulsion loss, and surface marks are preserved as part of the image.
Historical research on this plate is ongoing. Documentation on the photographer, the subject, and the circumstances of its production will be added as the archival work progresses.
