The albumen process uses a layer of egg white for the sensitised salt solution to adhere to.
Paper is formed into a ‘boat’ by folding up a margin on each edge and allowed to float on the albumen mixture until a good layer is formed. Carefully allowed to dry overnight before the expensive silver salt solution is dropped on and spread over the surface. You can see the fold lines and the points where the drops first landed on the example below. The solution needs to be spread quickly to avoid this.
Albumen first attempt
As the print was washed some of the albumen coating lifted off in the middle – this may have been due to pooling in an uneven manner or an inclusion in the albumen. Each step of the process has it’s difficulties.