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From George Eastman House : Notes On Photographs

Gum is a natural product that exudes from the Acasia senegal tree found in West Africa. The raw gum is harvested as small irregular tears that are insoluble in alcohol, ether, and oils, but very soluble in water. Gum arabic solutions were popular adhesives and the basis for the gum bichromate printing process. ^[1]

1. ↑ Osterman, Mark. 2007. Gum Arabic. In The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography: Digital Imaging, Theory and Applications, History, and Science, ed. Michael R. Peres, 84, Focal Press.