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This is a brief introduction to photo preservation from an archivist's perspective.
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Overview
I. The ImageII. The ObjectIII. In the ArchivesIV. Exercise
I. The Image
What’s in an image?I. The Image
Reading an Image
Five Ws
• Who• What • Where• When• Why
I. The Image
Reading an Image
Who?
• Photographer• Subject
I. The Image
Reading an Image
What?
• Present• Absent
I. The Image
Reading an Image
Where?
• Location
I. The Image
Reading an Image
When?
• Fashion• Technology• Absence
I. The Image
Reading an Image
Why?
• Context• Intention
The "Carrying-in Boy," In an Indiana Glass Works, 1:00 A. M., Aug., 1908. Location: Indiana.National Child Labor Committee Collection
I. The Image
Reading an Image
Visual Elements
• Composition• Depth of field • Point of view • Rhythm • Color balance • Tonal range
I. The Image
II. The Object
Photo Basics
II. The Object
What is photography?II. The Object
Photo HistoryII. The Object
Trends in Photo History
• Easier to create• Easier to duplicate• More accessible • Cheaper
II. The Object
What is a photograph?
• A complex physical object that has an image fixed via a chemical process
II. The Object
Photograph Structure
Base: paper, glass, metal, plastic
Light-sensitive particles: silver, color dyes
Emulsion: gelatin, albumen, collodion
Baryta layer
II. The Object
Physical Evidence
• Polarity• Size • Base and mount• Color• Reflection• Microscopic appearance
II. The Object
Common Formats and Processes
II. The Object
Tintypes (ca. 1856-1930s)
• Collodion on blackened iron base
• Direct positive image
• Extremely popular during Civil War
II. The Object
Tintypes (ca. 1856-1930s)
• Cheap and ubiquitous • Often worn or
scratched
Identification:• Snip marks• Magnet test (on back)• Reversed image• Mainly portraiture
II. The Object
Albumen Prints (1850-1895)
• POP from wet collodion negatives
• Always mounted
• Tend toward sepia/yellowish
II. The Object
Albumen Prints (1850-1895)
• 80% of extant 19th-century prints– Cartes-de-visite– Cabinet cards
Identification:• Paper fibers• Cracking• Yellowing• Mount
Paper fibers visible30x magnification
II. The Object
Silver Gelatin DOPs (1885-present)
• Dominant 20th-century process
• Dozens of formats
Identification:• Neutral unless toned• Baryta layer (no paper
fibers visible)
II. The Object
Silver Gelatin DOPs (1885-present)II. The Object
Color Prints (1930s-today)
• Organic dyes• Many processes
Identification:• Characteristic
deterioration
• Unstable
II. The Object
Instant Photos (1948-today*)
• Photo printed from packet with negative, developer, base
Identification:• Adhesion markings or
developing pod• Coating flaws
• Unique• Unstable
II. The Object
Film Negatives
• Cellulose nitrate (1887-1950)
• Cellulose diacetate (1937-1956)
• Cellulose triacetate (1947-present)
• Polyester (1960-present)
Roll film
II. The Object
Film Negatives
Identification:• Notch codes• Other tests
• Cellulose bases unstable
Sheet film
II. The Object
Other ProcessesII. The Object
Digital Photos (1990-today)
• Sensor converts light to bits, computer renders image
• Digital preservation
II. The Object
III. In the Archives
Why?
• Why identify photographs? – Preservation– Access– Context
• Photographs offer evidences and resonances not offered by other media
III. In the Archives
Handling
• Wear gloves• Provide support• Use only pencils• Gently remove from housing• Be aware of physical condition• Create and follow handling policy• Consider surrogates
III. In the Archives
• Paper (envelopes, four-flaps) – Cheaper, blocks light, breathable– Viewing requires handling
• Plastic (polyester, polystyrene, etc. No PVC!)– Viewing without handling– Expensive, not for unstable items
• Must pass Photographic Activity Test (PAT)
HousingIII. In the Archives
Housing
• Boxes and folders– PAT test– Proper support for format (long edge down or
flat)
• Ideally, separate photographs from other materials, and then by format (especially negatives!)
Balance condition/format, use, resources
III. In the Archives
Environment
• Temperature / relative humidity• Light (sunlight, UV light)• Pollutants (gaseous and particulate)• Biological (mold, fungus, pests)
III. In the Archives
Environment
• B/W silver gelatin: 65°F, 30-50% RH• B/W acetate negatives: 7°F, 30-50% RH• Chromogenic dye on paper: 36°F, 30-40% RH
Most good for the most items
III. In the Archives
Selected Resources
• General– Photographs: Archival Care and Management,
Ritzenthaler & Vogt-O'Connor (2006)
– Care and Identification of 19th-Century Photographic Prints, Reilly (1986)
– SAA photo preservation workshop
III. In the Archives
Selected Resources
• Cartes de Visite– Cartes de Visite in Nineteenth Century
Photography, Darrah (1981)
• Fashion– Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans
and Fashion, 1840-1900, Severa (1995)
III. In the Archives
Selected Resources
• Gelatin silver– A Guide to Fiber-Base Gelatin Silver Print
Condition and Deterioration, Weaver (2008)
• Negatives– The Acetate Negative Survey, Horvath (1987)
III. In the Archives
IV. Exercise
• Divide into three groups• Pick a reporter• Identify photograph using image and physical
evidence (5 min)• Share your conclusions
Group 1
Group 1
Sixth-plate sized tintype, 1880s• Magnet test, snip marks• Image reversed – watch customarily on left• Jacket, tie, and hat match 1880s style
Group 2
Group 2
Carte-de-visite, early 1870s• Medium card stock, square corners (1869-1871)• Borders, common 1861-1869• Imprint with length-wise large type (common
1870-1875)• Shoes probably 1865-1875 • Photographers active in 1870s
Group 3
Group 3
Gelatin silver “real photo” postcard, ca. 1910s
• Neutral tonal range, silvering• Cyko postage stamp area (1904-1920s)• Divided back, no border: 1907-1915
III. In the Archives
Thank you!
