Adolux APH09

Manufactured according to ORWO's Rodinal R09 original recipe.

Rodinal is the oldest photochemical patent in the world. Momme Andresen first mixed this developer 1891 in Berlin and thus founded the photographical department of AGFA.

In the WWII aftermath, Germany was divided in 1945 into East and West parts and Rodinal walked off with a group of scientists and engineers to Leverkusen in West Germany.
In Eastern Germany what remained of Agfa was converted into ORWO and Rodinal “East” became ORWO R09, which remained the most popular liquid developer in both East and West parts of Germany.

Agfa in West Germany improved their Rodinal a few times to give it better keeping properties and a slightly finer grain producing additive while ORWO R09 stayed more or less the same as it was in 1945.

ADOX offered Adolux APH 09 next to Rodinal as a low cost version for many years since it relied on a stock of chemicals which were manufactured more than 20 years ago. In 2017 Adolux APH 09 was discontinued by ADOX after the original chemicals stock was depleted and repurchasing would've lead to Adolux APH 09 price increase. End of an era for all the fans of the original pre-WWII Rodinal recipe.