• ·� lssUES IN TII- E CoNSEBVATION OF P1-10TOGBAP1-1s R e a d i n g s i n C o n s erv a t i o n Issues in the Conservation of Photographs Edited by DEBRA HESS NORRIS JENNIFER jAE GUTIERREZ T H E G ETTY C O N SE H V ATI O N I N STITUTE L O S A N G E LE S The Cellv Conservation Institute Timothy P. Whalen, Director Jeanne Marie Teulonico, Associate Director, Progrc11ns The Celly Conservation Institute works internationally to advance conservation practice in the visual ;11·ts-broadly interpreted lo include objects, collections, architecture, and sites. The Institute serves the conservation community through scientific research, edu­ cation and training, model field projects, and the dissemination of the results of both its own work and the work of others in the flelcl. In all its endeavors, the CCI focuses on the creation and delivery of' knowledge that will benefit the professionals and organizations responsible l'or the conservation of the world's cultural heritage. © 2010 J. Paul Getty Trust Published by the Getty Conservation Institute Getty Publications 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 500 Los Angeles, California 90049-1682 .gcll ypu hi ications.org \\'WW Gregory M. Brillon. P11blis/1er Tobi Lcvcnbcrg Kaplan, Edit.or Beatrice Hohcnegger, !Vla11uscript Editor IDEM Translations, Inc. and Sharon CreveL, Tra11slato1·s Anita Keys, Product.ion Coordi1wt.or Jim Drobka, Designer Ncwgen North America, Compositor Printed in China al Everbest Printing Company through Four Colour Print Croup Libra1·y of' Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Readings in conservation : issues in the conservation of photographs I edited by Debra Hess Norris, JenniF er Jae Gutierrez. I" cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-60606-000-1 (pbk.) 1. Photographs-Conservation and rcstorntion. I. Norris. Debra Hess. II. Gutierrez, Jennif'er Jae. T!Lj65.1q 2010 771'.46-de22 Sheldon K. Nichols (American, active 1\Jorthern Calil'ornia 1851-1854). FIWNT covrn Portrait of two girls recl.ining on chnise louuge (detail), 1851-5+ Dagucrrcolypc, hand­ colorcd, 8.3 X 11 cm (31/, X 45/1<, in.). Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museu111 84.xr.1565.26 !MCI< COVEil 11esults oF tests at the East111an Kodak Company in the late 1970s, examin­ ing Lhc usefulness oF Loners as protcclivc trcalmcnts l'or conventional prints. See Larry 1-1. Feldman "Discoloration of' Black-and-vVhitc Photographic Prints" (Fig. 22, p. 201). Reprinted with permission of' the IS&T: The Societv For Imaging Science and Technology sole copyright O\\'ners of Journal oF Applied Photographic Engineering. Every e!Ton has been made to contact the copyright holders of the materials in this book Lo obtain permission to publish. J\ny omissions will be corrected in Future editions i[ the publisher is conLaeted in writing. Contents Foreword xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments ;\,"!/ Note to the Reader xvii Part I History of Photograph Conservation E A D 1 Thomas Frederick Hardwich, Esq. I On the Action of Damp H NG Air upon Positive Prints (1856) 2 2 Eugene Ostroff I Preservation of Photographs (1967) 8 3 Georgia O'Keeffe I Conditions For the Alfred Stieglitz Photographs and Photogravures (1972) 21 4 Jose Orraca I Philosophy of Conservation (1974) 26 5 Walter Clark I Conservation Center and Laboratory: What Are the Objectives? (1974) 34 6 Robert A. Weinstein and Larry Booth I Collection, Use and Care of Historical Photographs (1978) 37 7 James M. Reilly I Stability Problems of 19th and 20th Century Photographic Materials (1980) 8 Ian L. Moor and Angela Moor I The Imperfect Image (1982) 9 Klaus B. Hendriks and Brian Lesser I Disaster Preparedness and Hecovery: Photographic Materials (1983) 53 10 Anne Cartier-Bresson I A New Discipline: Preservation and Conservation of Photographs ( 1987) 11 Constance McCabe and Lisha Deming Glinsman I Understanding Alfred Stieglitz' Platinum and Palladium Prints: Examination by X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (1995) 68 12 Nora Kennedy I The Coming of Age of Photograph Conservation (1996) 88 11 Paul Messier I Notes on Dating Photographic Paper (2006) Grant B. Romer I What ls a Photograph? (2010) 107 Part II Silver Image Structure and Stability 111 HEADING 15 Philip H. Delamotte, Hugh W. Diamond, T. Frederick Hardwich, T. A. Malone, John Percy, Henry Pollock, and Geo. Shadbolt I First Report of the Committee Appointed to Take into Consideration the Question of the Fading of Positive Photographic Pictures upon Paper ( 1855) 112 16 Thomas H. James I The Stability of Silver Filaments (1965) u6 17 Calvin S. McCamy and Chester I. Pope I Redox Blemishes- Their Cause and Prevention (1970) 139 18 Edith Weyde I A Simple Test to Identify Gases Which Destroy Silver Images (1972) 148 19 Douglas W. Nishimura, James M. Reilly, and Peter Adelstein I Improvements to the Photographic Activity Test in ANSI Standard IT9.2 (1991) 155 20 Timothy F. Parsons, Glen G. Gray, and Irwin H. Crawford I To RC or Not to RC (1979) 171 21 Larry H. Feldman I Discoloration of Black-and-White Photographic Prints (1981) 188 22 Masaaki Torigoe, Kunioki Ohmura, Shunzo Yagami, and Haruhiko lwano I Long-Term Preservation of Black-and-White Photographs ( 1984) 206 23 George T. Eaton I History of Processing and Image Stability (1987) 212 24 Klaus B. Hendriks I On the Mechanism of Image Silver Degradation (1991) 227 Part III Silver, Mercury, and Gold: Philosophical and Practical Approaches in the Preservation of Daguerreotypes 237 HEAD I NG 2) Eugene Vaillat I Process for Restoring Stained and Oxidized Old Prints to their Original Condition (1850) vi 26 Charles van Ravenswaay I An Improved Method for the RestorCJtion of Daguerreotypes (1956) Ruth K. Field I Cleaning of Daguerreotypes ( 1958) Irving Pobboravsky I Daguerreotype Preservation: The Problems of Tarnish Removal (1978) 245 Alice Swan I The Preservation of Daguerreotypes (1981) 30 Mogens S. Koch and Anker Sjogren I Treatment of Daguerreotypes Using Hydrogen Plasma (1984) 31 Grant B. Romer I Guidelines for the Administration and Care of Daguerreotype Collections ( 1989) 32 M. Susan Barger and William B. White I Corrosion Removal: Electrocleaning (1991) 33 Thomas M. Edmondson and M. Susan Barger I The Examination, Surface Analysis, and Retreatment of Eight Daguerreotypes \Vhich \Vere Thiourea Cleaned in 1977 (1993) 284 Part IV Albumen Print Materials: Manufacture, Structure, and Treatment 293 34 Mathew Carey Lea I An Examination Into the Circumstances READING Under Which Silver Is Found in the Whites of Albumen Prints (1866) 294 35 Gary E. Albright I The Conservation of Albumen Prints (1980) 297 36 James M. Reilly, Nora Kennedy, Donald Black, and Theodore Van Dam I Image Structure and Deterioration in Albumen Prints (1984) 306 37 Paul Messier and Timothy Vitale I Effects of Aqueous Treatment on Albumen Photographs ( 1994) 320 Valerie Baas, Christopher Foster, and Karen Trentelman I The Effects of Four Different Wet Treatments on Albumen Photographs (1999) vii Part V Photographic Negatives: Problems and Issues 337 39 Martine Gillet, Chantal Garnier, and Frani;:oise Flieder I H EA DING Glass Plate Negatives: Preservation and Hestoration ( 1986) 338 40 Mark J-1. McCormick-Goodhart I f\n Analysis of Image Deterioration in \Net-plate Negatives From the Mathew Brady Studios (1992) 351 41 John M. Calhoun I Storage of Nitrate Amateur Still-Camera Film Negatives (1953) 42 Vilia L. Heed I How to \!\fork Flestoration Magic on Wrinkled Negatives (1980) 375 43 Douglas Munson I The Pellicular Burlesque (1997) 44 Peter Z. Adelstein I From Metal to Polyester: History of Picture­ Taking Supports (1987) 45 David Horvath I The Acetate Negative Survey: Final Heport (1988) 397 46 Monique C. Fischer and Andrew Robb I Guidelines for Care & Identification of Film-Base Photographic Materials (1993) 401 47 Jean-Louis Bigourdan I Stability of Acetate Film Base: Accelerated-Aging Data Hevisited (2006) Part VI The Preservation of Color Photography 421 48 David C. Hubbell, Hobert G. McKinney, and Lloyd E. West I H EA DING IVlethods for Testing Image Stability of Color Photographic Products (1967) 422 49 Peter Z. Adelstein, C. Loren Graham, and Lloyd E. West I Preservation of Motion-Picture Color Films Having Permanent Value (1970) 435 50 Henry Wilhelm I Color Print Instability: A Problem for Collectors and Photographers (1978) 457 Robert]. Tuite I Image Stability in Color Photography ( 1979) 471 52 Charleton C. Bard, George W. Larson, Howell Hammond, and Clarence Packard I Predicting Long-Term Dark Storage Dye Stability Characteristics of Color Photographic Products from Short-Term Tests (1980) 490 pjjj