It's still there of course but I'm waiting for the old registrar
(Godaddy) to release the domain name to the new registrar
(Webmasters.com) where I'm going to be hosting the domain going
forward. Unfortunately there is a 4 day holding period from the date
the registrar receives the authorzation to release the domain. Also,
once this was done I couldn't update the servers information so the
domain still resolves to Dreahost.com which was the previous webhost.
It should be released on Tuesday or Wednesday and I'll get everything
back in order by Friday. In the meantime I've temporarliy uploaded
everything to one of my secondary domains at www.xs750.net

JD

Mine is copyright 1983. The index cites
"Variable-contrast papers 26, 30, 31, 48, 121-123.

He also discusses this in three paragraphs on page 123.

   Flashing is mentioned in a lot of older books.
   FWIW, Agfa used a different numbering system for its
papers, each number being one grade softer than anyone else,
until pretty late, maybe around 1980 when it adopted the ISO
standard system. So "normal" contrast, which was No.2 in
Kodak or Ilford was No.3 in Agfa.
   The first variable contrast papers were made by Ilford
and Defender about 1940 or 41. I remember visiting a
darkroom where Defender Varigam was in use but don't
remember ever having used it myself. It had a reputation for
producing lower quality prints than graded paper but that
may have been from lack of skill in its use.
   I do have a couple of old Defender and Dupont Defender
paper sample books but, unlike their Kodak and Ansco/Agfa
counterparts, the samples have all become badly sulfided and
oxidized so there is no way to tell what they originally
looked like.
   I did use Defender Velour Black for a time, a good paper
but being in highschool and having no money I switched to
Gevaert Artex which I could get cheap.

Hello, An interesting source are the books that date from before WWII
and the early 50's. I have a collection of them.  Pick them up at garage
sales and flea markets. As somebody pointed out, photo techniques, per
se, have not changed, give or take, there new films , papers but the
basic techniques are valid.  The majority of these books are addressed
to amateur photography enthusiats, phoot club members, kids in
highschool, so everything had to be well explained, step by step, what
happens with each step and its relative importance, darkroom tips, loads
of formulas for everything and anything.  You find a lot of them in "The
DarkRoom CookBook".  They have diagrams for wiring, building a darkroom,
plumbing, everything that a kid needs to know on how to build a darkroom
with the help of his dad.  I find a lot of interesting ideas, techniques
that  are no longer used and forgotten  The chemistry is not overly
academic.  They give what you need to know.

When I was a kid, we used to read "Popular Mechanics" and and there
would be articles on how to build you own enlarger, using tomato cans,
magnifying glass, light bulb and what not.  Great fun.

Cheers,
Bogdan