At a time when the glass plate had to be sensitised, the photograph taken and the negative developed whilst still moist, some form of portable darkroom was essential for the travelling photographer. These were often home-made affairs consisting of poles stuck in the ground with a covering of cloth. More elaborate examples included horse-drawn vans, hand-carts, wheelbarrows and many types of commercially available tent.

A popular form was a tray resting on a tripod with supports to hold the cloth covering clear of the operator. From 1859 Rouch sold a tent that, when closed, resembled a suitcase. It opened to form a tray on which to work, the top hinged up to form the back of the tent and contained a safelight window and sometimes shelves for the chemicals. The design may have been based on a tent produced by Ernest Edwards at around this time. Patrick Meagher sold a similar tent advertised as "The Improved Edwards' Tent" which cost £6.10.0, the same as the Rouch. Both Rouch and Meagher sold brass bound mahogany versions suitable for the tropics. A wheelbarrow model is described in the 1873 catalogue by Cox as folding flat so that it can be transported on a train, at only £3.3.0 it must have been of light construction.

The dark tent remained in limited use after the wet-plate period, later models can be distinguished as they are not fitted for a nitrate bath. These provided a temporary workspace that was easy to set up for photographers without a permanent darkroom or who were away from their home or studio for a long period.

The nitrate bath with this example is fitted with legs so that it can be used outside of the tent.