WORKING GROUP PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS Newsletter June 2006

From the Coordinators Clara von Waldthausen, is the Coordinator of the ICOM-CC Photographic Materials Working Group and works in private practice in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Waldthausen organises workshops nationally and internationally and teaches the photoClara von Waldthausen Angeletta Leggio [email protected] [email protected] graph conservation module at the school for conservation [email protected] at the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage. Her specialties are autochromes and coatings on 19th century photographs. Waldthausen has gained experience in disaster We are both very excited about these positions salvage of photographs and she is currently researching the and want to thank you all for your support. We photographs in the catalogue of the Great Exhibition of 1851. have been working behind the scenes to update the membership list and will work hard in the Angeletta Leggio is the Assistant Coordinator of ICOM-CC next three years to promote the field of Photographic Materials working group. She is currently the photographic conservation to ICOM-CC Conservator of Paper and Photographs at Museum Victoria members. The aim of the photographic materials in Melbourne Australia. She has also held the position of the working group is to gather and disseminate Conservator of Photographs at the National Gallery of information from around the world on Victoria and at the State Library of Victoria, and was the photographic conservation research. Please principal researcher on the Cellulose Acetate Project at the contribute news from your region National Library of Australia. Angeletta has organised midThis being our first attempt at compiling career training in Australia in photographic conservation information for the newsletter we have learned since 2001 and lectures at the University of Melbourne on how difficult it is to gather information from our photographic conservation to students in the conservation members and we would like to say a special and the curatorial program. THANK YOU to all of you who contributed. _

ICOM-CC Interim Meeting in Rochester New York! --Call for Papers. We are very pleased to announce that the ICOM-CC working Group Photographic Materials has been invited to hold a joint meeting together with the Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute of Conservation. The joint meeting will be held on February 22-24, 2007 and the Organization Committees are working hard to gather presentations and to organize visits to the Image Permanence Institute and the George Eastman House. We will have 2 _ days for talks and invite you to send your proposals for presentations to us so soon so that we can start planning the contents of the meeting. The theme of the AIC PMG group is “Care of Negatives” and we would like to propose the them for ICOM CC WG Photographic materials to be “Composite Materials”.

Inside this issue:       

ICOM-CC Agenda News from the Directory Board Publications Training Programs and workshops Research in Photograph Conservation Updates from our members Conference Summaries

UPCOMING 15th Triennial Meeting in New Delhi

THANK YOU We would like to thank Sandra Baruki and Mark Strange very much for their kind invitations to host the interim meeting 2007 in Brazil and New Zealand and we hope that we may look forward to a future meeting at these wonderful locations. THANK YOU.

The 15th Triennial Meeting will be held from 22 - 26 September 2008 in New Delhi (India). The theme will be announced shortly and more information will be made available as soon as possible.

News from the Directory Board Financial overview The financial situation of the ICOM-CC DB is improving. There is a balance of approximately USD 9,000 dollars in the dollar account and approximately 27,000 euros in the Euro Account. The ICOM-CC membership is also growing Membership issues  Membership of the WG: Photographic Materials has grown from 88 to 120. A survey is being undertaken to obtain information regarding members of the various

WG groups that are having difficulties with:   

Becoming a paid member of ICOM, Becoming a voting member of ICOM-CC, Becoming a friend of ICOM-CC

So please notify your coordinators if you are experiencing these difficulties and they will try to help as much as possible. When the results of this inventory are clear the DB will be in a better position to try to solve the problems. In the meantime, the treasurer is investigating the possibility of paying fees through electronic payment._

NEW PUBLICATIONS:

Coatings on Photographs: Materials, Techniques and Conservation Edited by Connie McCabe Forty-two leading conservators, scholars and scientists present this important reference book about coatings on photographs from the nineteenth century to the present. This vast compilation of information regarding historic and modern coating materials—from natural resins to synthetic polymers—and its comprehensive chapter on the chemistry and analysis of coatings will be valuable to conservators of all specialties. Published by the Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute of Conservation with the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. For more information or to order a copy please visit http://:aic.stanford.edu/sg/pmg/coatings.html or call the AIC office at +1 202 452 9545._

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Gold in Photography, and The Chrysotype Manual Two new publications by Dr. Mike Ware Email: [email protected] These are the first published monographs devoted to the role of gold in photographic imaging. They centre on the forgotten chrysotype process invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842, at the dawn of the photographic age. Chrysotype offers permanent, remarkably-coloured images on plain paper in finely-divided (nanoparticle) gold metal, but has never before taken its rightful place in the repertoire of photographic printing, owing to its expense and difficulties with the nineteenth-century chemistry. 160 years later, the author’s research has yielded a chemically-updated, modern method of chrysotype, which is economic, and provides an image quality comparable to platinotype. This new work will be published in two volumes, whose subtitles explain the reason for this division: I. Gold in Photography: The History and Art of Chrysotype II. The Chrysotype Manual: The Science and Practice of Photographic Printing in Gold Volume I sets the context with an historical appraisal of the gold-printing medium, touching on its cultural origins in art and alchemy, the decorative use of gold in the crafts, and its photographic history, drawing especially from the original experimental records left by Herschel himself. The relevance of chrysotype lies in its application to fine-art printing and archives, for the preservation of our heritage of valued images in this age of digital photography. There will be a colour section illustrating chrysotypes by a number of contemporary photographic artists. This volume

should appeal particularly to photographers, graphic artists, historians of science and of photography, and gallery and museum professionals concerned with the care and exhibition of photograph collections. Volume II is intended for the workroom, as a practical manual providing comprehensive, userfriendly instruction in the hand-crafting of chrysotype images on fine paper. It also fulfills educational objectives by exposing the scientific background to the photochemistry of printing in gold, and provides a useful technical reference for all concerned with the theory and practice of the alternative Oiron-based_ photographic processes. It should be welcomed by artists wishing to explore this beautiful and exciting new photographic medium and print their own images in gold. A substantive paper on the historical aspects of chrysotype will be published in the January '06 issue of ‘History of Photography’. The website http://www.mikeware.co.uk has recently undergone a 'makeover' and should be easier to use. Two technical photo conservation papers are available there, for downloading: "Quantifying the Vulnerability of Photogenic Drawings":http://www.mikeware.co.uk/downloads/Photogenic _Drawings.doc "A Blueprint for Conserving Cyanotypes": http://www.mikeware.co.uk/downloads/Conserving _Cyanotypes.doc_

20th Century Office Copying: Identification, deterioration and preservation. A Manual for Conservators, Archivists, Librarians and Forensic Document Examiners Ian Batterham, Assistant Director, Preservation, National Archives of Australia E-mail: [email protected] The book is designed as a reference source, giving information on all office copying methods employed in the 20th century. For each process it gives a history, an explanation of its working procedure and chemistry, a discussion of its equipment and materials and information on preservation problems for the produced copies. Included are many images supporting the text as well as close up images of copies to aid in

identification. An introductory section gives a historical context for the topic. It is expected the book will be available as a download from the National Archives of Australia website before mid-2006._

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EDUCATION New Program Stuttgart: The State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, Germany, which has a long tradition in the academic training of conservators, now reacted to this deficit. Supported by special funding from the German Federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, it can now extend its range of programs by a unique training opportunity. From October 2006 on, students can learn the possibilities of long term preservation of analogue and digital photographs, video recordings and digital archival cultural heritage in a two-year, graduate (M. A.) program. Through coordination of the Academy's own resources, international visiting experts and cooperation with leading international institutions, the Academy will create a knowledge pool. Here the future "Conservators for New Media and Digital Information (M. A.)" will not only acquire technological insight, but they will also use realworld projects at partner institutions in Germany and elsewhere, in order to prepare for their highbrow field of activity. Already during their studies, students will practice interdisciplinary,

internationality and communication to specialists – something we consider a prerequisite for successful problem solving strategies and a crucial skill required for the tight job market in the preservation field. The information collected here partly may be provisional and will be specified continuously. If you have questions regarding the curriculum, the Academy or student life in Stuttgart, please don't hesitate to contact the program coordinator or the admissions office directly. We look forward to meeting you in Stuttgart! Prof. Dr. Gerhard Banik (Head of the Program) Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Pollmeier (Program Coordinator) Höhenstrasse 16 70736 Fellbach Telefon: 0711-66463816 Fax: 0711-586453 E-Mail: [email protected]

Art Conservation Department, University of Delaware Activities May 2005- February 2006 Compiled by Debra Hess Norris, Chair

Faculty, students, and recent graduates from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program have been involved in a variety of projects and initiatives that impact photograph preservation education and practice. Emergency Response and Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina had a devastating impact on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast museums. In an effort to provide urgently needed collections recovery and preservation expertise and practical emergency preparedness and response education, an emergency team composed of faculty and students from the Art Conservation Department responded within 1 month of the disaster. Our work, in close partnership with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, has focused on Biloxi, Mississippi, with special attention to two devastated institutions of immense importance to our understanding of 19th-century American history and material culture _ the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum and Beauvoir, the Jefferson Davis Home and

Presidential Library. Our primary goals included providing cultural institutions with sustained recovery and response assistance and future conservation professionals with real-life emergency response training and education. This major undertaking, funded with significant inkind support as well a $400,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and additional private and public support, includes on-site professional consultation and collections stabilization, 12 summer internships, 6 preservation workshops (including one on photographic materials) scheduled from May to October 2006 aimed at cultural institutions and the public, expert speakers, funding for supplies and equipment, and support to ship damaged works for examination and treatment to all graduate conservation training programs in the United States. Debra Hess Norris (Chair and Director) has lectured and conducted workshops on the recovery of post-

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Katrina photographic materials in Mississippi and New Orleans. Barbara Lemmen (adjunct faculty member and photograph conservator at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia) has been involved a series of emergency response projects involving a broad range of photographic materials, including the on-site disaster recovery assistance for treatment of the damaged photographs, slides, and negatives and the preparation of treatment plans and supervision of the thawing and treatment of frozen photographic prints, negatives, and motion picture films from the Philadelphia City Archives. The need for information sharing and research in this arena is pressing. Readings in Conservation. Jae Mentzer Gutierrez (Winterthur/UD graduate in photograph conservation 2004) has been hired on contract to assist with undergraduate education where she is currently offering an internship in photograph conservation to 6 students. Jae is assisting Debra Hess Norris with the upcoming Getty Conservation Institute publication whose background and progress is outlined below. In 2002 the Getty Conservation Institute proposed to publish a series of publications dedicated to the disciplines within the field of art conservation. This decision was based on the success of the 1996 publication, Readings in Conservation: Historical and Philosophical Issues in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. The goal of the disciplinespecific publications is to create a volume of information representative of the history and collective knowledge of that discipline. In April of 2004 research for the Readings in Conservation: Photograph Conservation volume began. Almost sixty photograph conservators and scientists world-wide were interviewed to establish a bibliography of principle articles, essays, and books pertaining to photograph conservation. By December of 2005 a bibliography of close to three hundred citations was compiled. At the end of January 2006 the publication’s advisory committee, comprised of photograph conservators and scientists from the United States, France, and Germany, met to review all of the citations. The goal of the meeting was to determine which citations were the most critical for this publication to include based on impact on the field, philosophical content, current accessibility, international representation, and original research. At the conclusion of the meeting the working bibliography was refined to eighty-nine citations. The volume will contain approximately sixty of

these (or other) citations along with introductions and brief abstracts and should be ready for print in 2007-08. Heritage Health Index. The Heritage Health Index (HHI), the first comprehensive survey ever to assess the condition and preservation needs of U.S. collections released in December 2005, concludes that immediate action is needed to prevent the loss of millions of irreplaceable artifacts. HHI is a project of Heritage Preservation, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency. Debra Hess Norris is chair of Heritage Preservation and has been involved in the project development and dissemination. Key findings include: • 65% of collecting institutions have experienced damage to collections due to improper storage. • 80% of U.S. collecting institutions do not have an emergency plan that includes collections, with staff trained to carry it out. • There are 727 million photographic materials housed in US collecting institutions; 21% are in need of preservation. Specific data relating the condition and preservation needs of photographic materials in libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives in small, medium and large institutions is available and helpful in advocating for increased funding, improved environmental conditions, cooperative cold storage facilities, and staff education and training. This national survey may serve as a model for other countries. See: http://www.heritagepreservation.org/HHI/index.ht ml Photograph Preservation Institute in the Middle East (June 2007). Debra Hess Norris and Nora Kennedy have secured a grant from the Getty Foundation to develop, organize, and administer a two-week Photograph Preservation Institute to introduce and advance the practice of photograph preservation throughout the Middle East. We are excited about this crucial project. Despite a wealth of photographic heritage dating from the early nineteenth century to the present, there are no formally trained photograph conservators in the Middle East. We anticipate that custodians of major photographic collections from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, and Iran, will participate in this educational program. Working in partnership with the Arab Image Foundation (AIF), a non-profit foundation established in Lebanon in 1997 to promote and preserve photography in the Middle East, this program will include lectures, demonstrations, hands-on projects, collection visits, and case studies for 12-14 participants representing major public and private collections.

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Norris and Kennedy will serve as the primary instructors. Invited faculty will include Dr. Bertrand Lavédrine of the Centre de Recherches sur la Conservation des Documents Graphiques, and Dr. Franziska Frey of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Zeina Arida, AIF director, will provide an introduction to the AIF, its collection and mission. Photographic historians Issam Nassar and Elias Sanbar will address the history and development of photography in the Middle East. Akram Zaatari will address contemporary collecting and exhibition trends. Research Initiatives. In May 2005, Richard Stenman completed his second-year technical study project that focused on the examination and analysis of orotone photographs. Materials used in the creation of four vintage orotones by different producers and dating from the early 20th century were characterized in this study. No previous study has been performed to characterize all the materials present on an orotone. Technical analysis was performed using ultraviolet fluorescence, x-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The presence of gelatin and/or collodion is suggested as the photographic image emulsions used to create the orotones. Bronze powders containing copper and zinc were used in a binder to back each of the images studied. The binder appears to contain cellulose nitrate. During this third-year internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Richard is investigating the possible treatment of an orotone. Testing is being performed to evaluate sensitivities to solvents prior to repairing the glass support and re-adhering loose image and backing materials. Typical glass repair methods involving epoxies and acetone as a solvent may be inappropriate due to emulsion and coating sensitivity. Laura Wahl, (a recent graduate of our program and photograph conservator at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia) is in the process of treating a 12” x 14” Philadelphian ivorytype requiring cleaning of the support glass and a Marvelseal environmental protective package. (The ivorytype process originated and was popularized in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania.) Instrumental analysis of the wax or wax-resin mixture adhering the hand-colored photograph to the glass will be conducted using FT-IR – this information, in addition to examination under UVlight and fiber microscopy, will add to our knowledge of this exquisite process. _

Update on the Mellon Collaborative Workshops in Photograph Conservation

Nora W. Kennedy and Debbie Hess Norris In April of 2005, the University of Delaware was awarded a grant by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to continue a fourth and fifth cycle in the series of workshops in photograph conservation organized and coordinated by Debbie Hess Norris and Nora W. Kennedy. The Collaborative Workshops were commenced with a pilot workshop in 1997. Since that time a total of 13 workshops (or three cycles) have been offered centering on topics vital to the continuing professional development of conservators internationally. Topics have included nineteenth-century silver processes, pictorialist processes, preservation of photographs, compensation for loss, issues in contemporary photography, methods and materials for finishing photographs, and nineteenth century negative processes. The fourth and fifth cycles will include 6 workshops to be held between 2005 and 2009. The workshop Photographs and Preventive Conservation: Theory, Practice, and Implementation, held in February-March of 2006, opened Cycle Four. This workshop was hosted by the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and was coordinated by Andrew Robb. Forty-three participants from the United States, Mexico, Europe and Asia attended three days of lectures, tours and workshops. The next workshop will explore the many conservation issues surrounding digital imaging. Contemporary Photography: Digital Prints is being coordinated and hosted by Theresa Andrews at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and is scheduled for November 2006. It will be designed and taught by Franziska Frey and Martin J_rgens, with numerous curators, conservators, scientists and artists contributing their research and views on the topic. Future offerings in the coming years include: Nineteenth Century silver-Based Print Processes at The Metropolitan Museum, coordinated by Doug Munson, Toddy Munson and Nora Kennedy; Damaged and Deteriorated Print Materials: Compensation for Loss at the J. Paul Getty Museum, coordinated by Marc Harnly; Contemporary Photography: Traditional Color at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, coordinated by Lee Ann Daffner; and Daguerreotypes, the host institution yet to be announced.

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Announcements for all workshops appear in the American Institute for Conservation Newsletter, the on-line Conservation DistList, and can be requested from Elaine Johnson at the University of Delaware at [email protected] or (302) 831-0837. _

Benaki seminar on preservation and management of photographic collections Summary by Jet Blokhuis

From the 3th until the 7th of October 2005, a seminar on the preservation and management of photographic collections was organized by the department of conservation of the Benaki Museum in Athens. This was the first time a seminar on this topic was organized in Greece. A number of prominent international speakers were invited in order to give the event extra cachet. In the composition of the seminar program, the organization has attempted to cover a wide range of subjects concerning photography and photo conservation. A rough division into seven main subjects can be made: 1) Photographic and photomechanical processes and uses: composition and recognition (of processes and forms of deterioration) 2) Digital prints: composition, recognition and forms of deterioration 3) Re-creation of historical photographic processes (in the form of workshops) 4) Preservation of photographs (amongst which the housing of photographs, management of collections and cold storage) 5) Conservation of photographs 6) Digitizing of photographic collections 7) Greek (historical) photography This report will give a short summary of the lectures and workshops each speaker has given during the seminar. The postprint of the seminar (which will contain the integral text of the lectures and workshops) will be available somewhere around February 2006. The costs of this postprint will approximately be 40 euros. People who are interested can send an e-mail to Maria Matta ([email protected]), senior photoconservator and organizer of this seminar. Grant B. Romer In his lecture "Principle causes of deterioration and preservation materials" and workshop “Practical demonstration of the main deterioration cases" Romer addressed the different types of deterioration of photographic materials and its principle causes. A division into three main categories can be made:

  

Mechanical deterioration Environmental causes (light, temperature, relative humidity) Chemical causes

Furthermore, the beauty of Daguerreotypes and its conservation issues were elucidated in the lecture “Daguerreotypes, history and conservation”. To illustrate his point, Romer showed some clarifying slides of Daguerreotypes that will be lost for the future due to well meant conservational treatments. The workshop “Photographic albums, conservation problems” also stressed the issue of unwise treatment decisions. One often forgets that albums contain certain features for reasons that go beyond them just looking nicer. Rigid pages, for example, are meant to give thin photographic processes (like albumen prints) support. Gilt-edges are meant to exclude moisture, whereas locks were applied to prevent insects crawling in between the album pages. Changes can lead to unpleasant consequences. Concluding his workshop, Romer advised his audience to "save the survivors and let the "deceased" rest". James M. Reilly Reilly reviewed the different types of 19th century and early 20th century photographic processes one can come across in collections in his lecture "History, technology and identification of 19th century photographic materials" and workshop “Identification of photographic processes”. There are in any case three research questions to be asked when it comes to identifying photographic processes:  What color (or tone) does the photograph have?  What kind of surface gloss does the photograph have? (matte, semi-matte, glossy)  What does the object look like when it is magnified by loupe or microscope? (does it have a photographic or photomechanical layer structure?) Directions for making thorough preservation plans were given in the lecture "Preservation planning for photographic collections". To begin with, security (lock on the door, fire safety and so on) is a basic requirement as is the establishment of a collection structure that enables you to retrieve objects. Subsequently a scan of the collection has to be made in order to establish knowledge about the materials that are present, the amount of objects you are dealing with, the overall condition and its value. Apart from that, one must also gain knowledge about the various types of deterioration that can occur in the different kinds of photographic

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processes that are present in the collection. When all these aspects are clear it is possible to make decisions about topics such as climate control, housing materials and insurance policies. Mike Ware Highlights during the seminar week were the presentations given by Mike Ware. In his interesting lectures on "Iron based processes: history, chemistry, identification and conservation", he illuminated the history, uses and composition of the different types of iron based photographic processes (like the cyanotype). Amongst other things, the quest of the inventor of the cyanotype, John Herschel, was described. During his workshops "Palladiumprints" and "Cyanotypes" Ware illustrated in a practical manner the way this processes could be carried out "at home". The research he has conducted for the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television in Bradford was covered in the lecture "Mechanisms of image deterioration in early silver photographs". This museum wanted to know if it was possible to exhibit the early photographs of William Henry Fox Talbot, including his so called photogenic drawings. The conclusion of his research unfortunately shows that even brief exposure to light causes irreversible damage to this objects and that they should therefore always be stored in the dark. The website of Mike Ware includes summaries of his researches and gives practical instructions for the photographic processes mentioned above, as well as other techniques. Doug Munson Unfortunately Doug Munson, who replaced the Dutch photo conservator Hans de Herder, could not be present at the seminar. Instead, he composed a video- and PowerPoint presentation for his lecture "History, conservation and duplication of negatives". This presentation discussed the activities of Chicago Albumen Works that (amongst other things) treats deteriorated acetate negatives. In this process the gelatin layer is separated from its acetate support through chemical treatment and goes through a series of baths after that in order to "relax" the material. After that, an interpositive and dupicate negative are being made. The dried gelatin layer is strong enough to be stored in PAT-tested paper without a substitute support. The website of Chicago Albumen Works explains into detail how this process works and gives an overview of its other activities. Luis Nadeau In the presentations "Photographic pigment processes" and "Photomechanical processes" as well as the workshop “Carbon printing” Nadeau spent much time talking about his (ongoing)

research projects, his encyclopaedia on photographic processes (which is updated and will be reprinted soon) and his yahoo-discussion group on photographic materials. Unfortunately, this left little time for the presentation of the subjects that were mentioned in the program. The presentation of the Greek photographer Sofia Glambedaki during the workshop "Photogravure" was very interesting. Having learned the technique of polymer photogravure herself while attending the photo academy in Helsinki, she is one of very few people to practise this photomechanical process in Greece. Morgens S. Koch Various conservation and preservation projects on photographic collections that are carried out at present in Denmark were reviewed in the lecture "The conservation of historical photographic collections in Denmark". During his lecture "The role of digital technology as a preservation strategy for photographic collections" Koch illustrated the problems, but also the possibilities institutions are faced with when the decision of digitizing (part of) the collection is made. In this regard, he suggested the audience to be cautious: traditional archives are passive whilst digital archives require constant attention (making backups, relocating files and so on). In other words, digitizing is (and stays) very labour-intensive. Henry Wilhelm The topic of subzero storage for various budgets and scales of photographic collections was covered intensely in the lectures given by Henry Wilhelm. A presentation of the Corbis subzero vault, where Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates houses his immense collection of press photographs together with accompanying archivalia was given in the lecture "Large-scale sub-zero cold storage facilities for the permanent preservation of photographs". The temperature of this vault is constantly being kept at -20 degrees centigrade and monitored 24 hours a day by a well trained staff. Because very few institutions have the financial assets to follow this extraordinary example, Wilhelm discussed the possibilities of available (and affordable) options in his lecture "Use of sealed-cabinet and CMI packages for low-cost subzero storage for small museums” The website of Wilhelm Imaging Research offers lots of information about this (and other) subject(s). Martin C. Jürgens In his interesting lectures "Recognition and conservation of digital prints I and II" Jürgens gave a survey of the various types of digital prints one can come across in different places and collections. Digital prints can be found almost everywhere, and he showed a ticket from the Hamburg subway to illustrate this. The ticket even shows what kind of

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digital printing technique (direct thermal) was used to produce it and how the ticket should be kept in order to protect it from damage. Jürgens has so far collected an impressive sample collection, but since the development of new digital techniques is an ongoing process, his collection will grow even vaster in time. There is a lot of information to be found at his website, but people are also encouraged to contribute. Kostis Antoniadis In his lecture "The digitization and documentation project at the photographic museum of Thessaloniki" Antoniadis showed the way the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography executes the digitizing of photographic materials. The monographic exhibition on Greek photographer Dimitris Letsios was taken as an example. As part of the twelfth month of photography in Athensi, this exhibition was on show at the Benaki Museum in October 2005 (also during the seminar week). For over sixty years, Letsios photographed the Greek landscape and its people. He was reluctant to reprint his negatives because of his age and therefore the museum decided to digitize a selection of his existing prints. Alkis Xanthakis The developments in Greek photography were reviewed in the lecture "The development of Greek photography 1839-1950". Sadly, the amount of information that had to be covered in an hour made it difficult for the audience to keep track. Several samples of his own work as well as a description of his working method were presented in the workshop "Gumdichromate". Fani Constantinou The history of the Benaki Photoarchive was presented in the lecture “Photographic archive, Benaki museum". Being able to document and keep photographic registrations of important Greek historical buildings and artefacts was its main target in the time of its foundation in 1973. In due time the collection field has broadened, resulting at present in a fine collection of approximately 200.000 negatives and 3000 photographic prints covering many subjects and techniques from the 19th and 20th century. It houses some beautiful archives from photographers such as Nelly's, Voula Papaiouannou and Dimitris Harissiadis. More information about the Benaki Photoarchive can be found at the website of the museum. Maro Vandorou Artist and computerwizard Maro Vandorou illustrated her working method to produce digital negatives for the printing of cyanotypes and other historical processes in her workshop Pixels in

solutions, an artist's use of digital and historic photographic processes". In order to succeed, it is important to meet a couple of preconditions, like a well calibrated computer monitor and the choice of an appropriate calculation program for determining corresponding greyscales in Photoshop. She named some calculation programs that are also available online; Dan Burkholder (www.danburkholder.com), Mark Nelson (www.precisiondigitalnegatives.com) and Brad Hinkel (www.bradhinkel.com). The first two offer scales for various photographic techniques, Brad Hinkel only focuses on digital negatives that can be used for the printing of silvergelatin prints. Stavros Barbounakis The technique of making albumen and salted paper prints was demonstrated during the workshop “Recreation of historic photographic processes: salted and albumen prints". Barbounakis gave recipes for salted paper and albumen as well as the photosensitive emulsion. UV-lamps are used to expose the contact prints. Not only do they give a more even spread of light, they are also easier to control in time opposed to sunlight. Mike Ware also uses these lamps but furthermore likes to experiment with sunlight exposure because of its effects. Francine Gauthier A destructive method for recognizing nitrate was explained by Francine Gauthier in the presentation “Iodine microtest” and can be found at the site of the institute. Posters Four employees connected to the conservation department of the technological teaching institute in Athens were given the opportunity to present their (ongoing) research projects and results. One of the posters illustrated the method Daguerreotypes were manufactured in order to perform destructive tests on them. Another presentation focussed on a conservation project performed at the Benaki Museum where deteriorated acetate negatives were treated. Several methods were tested to separate the gelatin layer from its original acetate support. The separated gelatin layers were then put onto polyester supports. To conclude this poster session a presentation was given about film preservation. Furthermore A small exhibition "Drawer XXII"was on show at the lunchroom of the seminar. Its title refers to the drawer in which damaged and deteriorated (thus "unreadable") photographic material of the Benaki Photoarchive is stored. Several of these objects were photographed and edited digitally to give them a whole new aesthetic value. Explanatory

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captions were not included, which sometimes was unfortunate when a certain photographic technique could not be recognized. The lunchroom was also the place where the people attending the seminar were able to meet and talk to each other. In time more and more interesting discussions about photographic topics developed this way. In short, it was a wonderful week where a wide range of information on photographic subjects could be heard inside as well as outside the auditorium.

Jet Blokhuis (registrar Nederlands fotomuseum Rotterdam). Special thanks to Hadassa Koning (photo conservator in training, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam) _

CURRENT RESEARCH IN PHOTOGRAPH CONSERVATION Issues in the Conservation of Face-Mounted Photographs W. Wei, Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (ICN) While photo conservators continue to work on the many problems facing traditional photographic materials, and confront the rapidly developing field of digital photography, artists who use photography as their medium continue to look for new ways to enhance their work. One of the most recent and popular developments in the field is the facemounting of photographs. In face-mounting, a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA, for example Plexiglas™ or Perspex™) plate is essentially glued to the emulsion (face) of the photograph using a silicone based sealant. In many cases, a backing board is also mounted for mechanical stability. The effect of the PMMA is to give depth and saturation to the photograph, analogous to the effect that varnish has on a painting. Face-mounting found initial use with large format photographs, for example, by Andreas Gursky or Thomas Ruff, but has since been used for all sizes of photographs. Face-mounting has been conducted for the last 30 years using the Diasec method [1-2], patented in the late 1970's in Switzerland, or various copycat versions. Besides enhancing the appearance of the photographs, face-mounting supposedly protects the photographs against (UV-) light degradation, and provides mechanical stiffness ia the facemounting material(s). However, recent observations in museums, and studies by M. Jürgens, et al [1-2] indicate that, not surprisingly, damage and aging in these objects will continue to be a problem for museums and conservators in the future. The process of the hardening of the silicone sealant produces acetic acid, recognisable by the characteristic vinegar odour produced after sealing bathroom fixtures with similar materials. There is concern that the acetic acid trapped between the photograph and the face-mounting will actually accelerate aging of the photograph. Furthermore, the release of the acetic acid to the surrounding atmosphere brings up the question of whether or not

face-mounted photographs can be stored with other objects. Another problem facing owners of face-mounted photographs is cleaning and restoration. Because the PMMA sheet is permanently mounted to the photograph, it is part of the object, as opposed to a glass or PMMA plate placed in front of an object to protect it. PMMA easily collects dust electrostatically, and thus must be regularly cleaned. However, care must be taken in the selection of cleaning materials to avoid (long-term)

chemical reactions which will fog the PMMA sheet, or cause scratching. The latter is unfortunately visible in many (large) face-mounted photographs around the world as sweeping spiral scratches typical of the motion of someone wiping windows. Given the relatively young state-of-the-art, there is little information upon which conservators can make sound decisions concerning the protection of such photographs. An international project network was thus organised two years ago to address some of the most important issues. The current partners are given in Table 1. These issues with some of the first results include:

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1. Taking an inventory of currently known problems, that is, developing a damage atlas for face-mounted photographs. Problems which have already been noted include collection of dust and grime, both in exhibition and in storage; scratching, colour defects (probably originating in production), and in one case, yellowing of the white border around a photograph. 2. Practical tests to determine the effect of cleaning methods on the appearance of facemounted photographs. Systematic tests are being conducted on a large number of dry and wet cleaning methods, based on a list of possibilities already under investigation or being considered by the partners in the project. 3. Practical tests to find methods for filling in and/or polishing out surface scratches. The current view of the network is that there is unlikely to be a method to render scratches invisible. Filling scratches will always make use of a material with a slightly different refractive index so that the filled scratch will be visible at some angle. Polishing necessarily involves the use of some polishing material which "scratches" away material around the original scratch. This will cause a roughening of the surface around the scratch, this roughness always being more than the roughness of the original PMMA surface itself. Initial testing has shown that the area where a scratch was removed by polishing is always visible. 4. Initial aging tests to determine under what conditions aging occurs, and how fast (kinetics). Accelerated aging tests are being conducted on sample objects consisting of a face-mounted colour chart developed by M. Jürgens. The

change in reflectance spectra (colour) and RGB values is being monitored with time. 5. Initial tests to investigate the transport of acetic acid. A simple test is being conducted to determine how much acetic acid is released with time. Such results will give an indication of how long it takes for the acetic acid to escape from between the PMMA sheet and the photograph (and its backing). Although it appears that much work is being done, it should be noted the network is, at the moment, informal and self-financing. The partners perform experiments as they can fit them in their own work schedules and budgets. Any photograph conservator, museum, or cultural heritage institute is invited to actively participate. For more information, please contact the network coordinator, Dr. W. (Bill) Wei ([email protected]). Efforts are being made to obtain external funding, but this is difficult given the broad range of countries involved. One channel currently being pursued is funding for networking in the European COST programme. _ Literatuur: 1. S. Penichon and M. Jürgens; "Two Finishing Techniques for Contemporary Photographs"; Proc. Topics in Photographic Preservation; AIC-PMG, Houston; Vol. 9; pp. 85-96 (2001). 2. S.P. Penichon, M. Jürgens and A. Murray; "Light and Dark Stability of Laminated and Face-Mounted Photographs: A Preliminary Investigation"; Works of Art on Paper, Books, Documents and Photographs, IIC Congress, Baltimore, MD, 2-6 September 2002; pp. 154159 (2002).

Research at CRCDG: Evaluation of the lightfastness and study of a LED illumination device of ancient colour photographs.

Bertrand Lavédrine, Françoise Viénot, Martine Gillet, Chantal Garnier, Christel Pesme, Élodie Mahler. The exposure to light of sensitive artworks requires knowledge of lightfastness and decisions to be made as to suitable conditions of illumination. This study answers a request from the Nicéphore Niépce museum at Chalon sur Saône (France) which wishes to expose ancient photographs such as the three-colour prints from Louis Ducos of Hauron. Before examining the illumination device, it was necessary to determine the intrinsic sensitivity of documents. Gelatine films coloured in blue, yellow and red were prepared according to the formulae of Ducos of Hauron. Then they were submitted to accelerated

light ageing in an atmosphere with or without oxygen. The behaviour of the monochromic layers was monitored using colorimetric measurements (CIE L*a*b*). The coloured gelatine layers were also subjected to the light fading test developed in the Carnegie Mellon Research Institute (USA) in order to evaluate the sensitivity of the objects over a small surface (1 mm_). It was necessary to develop a special procedure before applying this technique without risk to originals of Louis Ducos of Hauron. In addition, the optimization of the illumination system of the images is essential to the preservation of the documents and to restore the colours most

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accurately. Clusters of light emitting diodes providing light which is free of infra-red and ultraviolet radiation were evaluated in terms of their colour rendering for photographs of Louis Ducos of Hauron.

The results of this research will be published in the pre-prints of the SFIIC conference: “Colour and time – Colour within conservation and restoration”, 12èmes journées d’études de la SFIIC (French section of the International Institute of Conservation of historic and artistic works), Paris, Institut du patrimoine, June 21-23, 2006. _

Research at the Metropolitan Museum of Art In 2002 the Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired a set of photographic portraits of the American designer Candace Wheeler (b Delhi, Delaware Co., New York, 1827; d 5 Aug 1923) and her extended family by the New York photography studio William M. Hollinger and Company. Labels on the versos of the portraits indicate that they are, in fact, copies of daguerreotypes and tintypes that one of Wheeler’s relatives brought to the Hollinger Studio for restoration sometime between 1913 and 1933. Instead of directly restoring the cased images, Hollinger meticulously photographed them, printed them on platinum paper, and enhanced them with hand-applied colors. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy has been used to identify image material and some of the hand applied colors.

Research is currently being conducted on the biography, techniques, and work of Hollinger and Company as well as the role of reproduction in the history of photographic preservation. _ Camille Moore Conservation Center Institute of Fine Arts 14 East 78th Street New York, New York 10128 [email protected]

Photographic Conservation Research Projects Being Undertaken in Australia Treatment of Mould Damaged Colour Negatives Cheryl Jackson, Conservator National Archives of Australia Tel: +61 2 6212 6219 E-mail: [email protected]

The Conservation Laboratory of the National Archives of Australia has been investigating the use of low toxicity solvents to remove mould on 35mm colour negatives. This project commenced after a collection of colour photographic negatives, required for digitisation, were received and found to have mould damage. The negatives, which were housed in glassine 35mm neg sleeves in a PVC ring binder, had at some stage become wet resulting in the glassine sleeves becoming adhered differentially to the emulsion side of the negatives. As the album had remained wet for some time, there were extensive and varied mould colonies throughout the album. The mould attacked the emulsion layer in small circular areas, resulting in damage ranging from dry surface hyphae to complete destruction of the emulsion. As such, a treatment protocol was required to remove the adhered

glassine, neutralise the mould growths, clean the negatives as much as possible, and reduce ferrotyping to allow the best digital image possible to be achieved. As a literature search failed to find an approach that would be suitable for this material, a new approach was established (drawn from various sources), using low toxicity solvents and balancing the need to kill the mould with the risks to the dye layers.

Investigation into light stability of Paget screen Plates Helen Butler, Conservator of Paper and Photographic Materials Australian War Memorial Tel: +61 2 6243 4413 E-mail: [email protected]

In mid 2003 The Australian War Memorial (AWM) undertook an investigation into the light stability of Paget plate colour screens with the principal aim of establishing whether it would be feasible to display examples of these photographs on light boxes during the AWM's touring exhibition 'Captured in

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Colour'. The exhibition features rare colour images (Paget Plates and Autochromes) from WW1. Measurements were taken with a colour densitometer prior to exposure and then at weekly intervals of two sample Paget screens. One was a half plate 'taking' screen and one a lantern slide 'viewing' screen which was exposed on a standard fluorescent light box emitting approx. 5000 Lux for a total of 190 hours over a 5 week period. The screens were masked so that another small section of screen was exposed each week giving a strip showing gradations of fading over time for visual assessment. A slight colour change was observed at the end of the first week (35 hours) but by the end of the second week (74 hours) it was deemed to be sufficiently faded to indicate significant damage would occur after relatively short periods of display on a light box. The first perceptible colour shift observed on separate test samples was noted after 28 hours exposure on the light box. As a result of this small study only one Paget plate (from the collection) and one autochrome (not from the collection) were included in the exhibition as examples of the original processes represented in the exhibition. These are displayed without direct illumination. The Paget plate is changed over every 2-4 months of exhibition and each is monitored, by recording colour densitometer measurements before and after display. From the data I have there does not appear to be a clear correlation between the measured colour densities and the visible colour shifts that have occurred. The differences in measured densities are very small and sometimes, increases in density were recorded as the length of exposure increased. Such anomalies might be expected and could be put down to measuring technique, densitometer calibration errors, etc and perhaps the structure of the colour matrix itself. However, this is the early stage of this research study and I recognised that further research is required. As such I would be interested to hear from others undertaking such research and would like to share what information I have. I am also interested in any information about short formal or informal training courses and/or institutions undertaking such research.

Examination of Photographs by John Bertram Eaton Jane Hinwood, Senior Photographic Conservator State Library of Victoria AUSTRALIA E-mail: [email protected]

After discovering 24 black and white bromide prints by the photographer John Bertram Eaton (1881 – 1966) in the La Trobe Picture Collection of the State Library of Victoria, I became interested in the work of this photographer. Eaton produced a significant body of

photography in his lifetime, and although known to have experimented with the bromoil process, it appears he preferred producing bromide prints. This fact is supported by an examination of Victorian Salon of Photography catalogues in which Eaton’s work is represented, which confirm that Eaton submitted predominantly bromide or chlorobromide prints, not bromoil photographs. It is intended that this paper will in some part renew interest in the work of Eaton. Pockets of information about Eaton, both published and unpublished, are globally distributed and I am interested in hearing from anyone who has his work in their collection. This will be a new start in compiling biographical and technical information on his photographs.

Recovering Faded Silver Images on Deteriorating Cellulose Nitrate Based Motion Picture Film.

Mick Newnham, Senior Researcher Research and Conservation Group; Preservation and Technical Services National Film and Sound Archive, Australian Film Commission E-mail: [email protected] As cellulose nitrate motion picture film deteriorates the free nitro groups combine to form nitrous and nitric acids. As well as catalysing further deterioration as strong acids these will react with the silver image and eventually form silver salts. It is hypothesised that these formed salts are mainly silver nitrate. In cellulose nitrate decomposition the film passes through 5 identifiable stages. D1 bleaching or fading of the silver image D2 continued fading of the silver image, emulsion stickiness D3 formation of nitrate “honey” - an acid digestion of the cellulose D4 complete blocking of the film pack. D5 formation of “dust” For levels 1 & 2 and possibly 3 there exists the possibility of intensifying the faded image and temporarily stabilising the emulsion. Previous work has shown that image intensification can be achieved by exposure to light once the free acid concentration is below a critical point. Emulsion stabilisation may be achieved by drying the emulsion with warm forced air, co-incidentally this process is useful in removing the free acid.

Colour Photographic Dye Fade Risk Management

Mick Newnham, Senior Researcher Research and Conservation Group; Preservation and Technical Services National Film and Sound Archive, Australian Film Commission

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E-mail: [email protected] Photographic collections contain vast numbers of colour photographic images. It is known that many colour photographic processes use types of dyes that are unstable in the long term. To accurately assess dye fade an original version of the image is required as a comparative standard. In most instances this is not available. Some of the original colour information from the negative may be gleaned from colour grading or timing records for motion picture film but this is not simple to access, or may not be available. To instigate a method of monitoring dye fade the National Film and Sound Archive is creating benchmarks of the current condition of the collection and will then use these benchmarks to monitor the performance of its preservation strategies. The benchmarks are created from selected frames within sample films chosen from specific emulsion types within the collection. The number of films to be sampled is generated using a statistical method to ensure an adequate degree of confidence in that the results represent an accurate picture of the condition of the collection. Each film is sampled in three locations, head, middle and tail and clearly identified frames are digitized. The resultant file is analysed in each colour channel and each channel is described using a value between 0 and 255. A dmax and dmin vaule is also caculated. The data collected is stored as a small text file in the collection database and compared to future readings on a five to ten year time frame. Any changes in the value of the channels can be easily seen, the magnitude of the change is used to assess the preservation strategy. It needs to be stated clearly that this is not a preventative strategy and does not replace the desirability of cold, low relative humidity (%RH) storage for colour photographic collections. However cold storage, generally considered between 0oC and –18oC, is a very expensive option and is not available on a large scale to the National Film and Sound Archive at the present.

Colour Photographic Dye Fade Investigation Mick Newnham, Senior Researcher Research and Conservation Group; Preservation and Technical Services National Film and Sound Archive, Australian Film Commission E-mail: [email protected]

In collaboration with Canberra University, National Archives of Australia, National Museum of Australia, National Library of Australia, and Australian War Memorial, and with funding from the Australian Research Grants Council the National Film and Sound

Archive is investigating colour photographic dye fade, the causes, the effects and rates of fade within Australian collections. The projects has so far gathered and collated the published information on dye fade and investigated methods of analysing dyes within film emulsions to identify the original dye types and decomposition products. A second stage is working on identification of emulsion types by physical information such as manufacturer’s markings and masking layer densities on negative materials.

De-stressing Gelatin Emulsions after Removal from Decomposed Sheet Film.

Mick Newnham, Senior Researcher Research and Conservation Group; Preservation and Technical Services National Film and Sound Archive, Australian Film Commission E-mail: [email protected] There are several methods described for removing severely channeled emulsion from deteriorating sheet films. However often the removed emulsion maintains stress effects that prevent adequate reproduction. It is hypothesised that these stress marks are the result of the formation of crystallites resulting in a semi permanent change in the physical characteristics of the gelatin. The stresses can be removed with aqueous solutions however this results in dimensional changes in the emulsion. “Relaxing” in low concentration of water and ethyl alcohol reduce the effects in some materials but not all. Additionally the stress effects frequently reappear once the emulsion has dried. This project is examining using alcohol and salt solutions to induce lyotropic effects without undue dimensional change in the emulsion to reduce the crystallites and create a more gelatin amorphous structure.

OH&S Guidelines for Handling Deteriorating Cellulose Acetate Negatives National Archives of Australia (NAA) Cheryl Jackson, T +61 2 6212 6219 [email protected] Luke Brown, T +61 2 6212 6260 [email protected] Tracey Golds, T +61 2 9645 0163 [email protected]

In line with the NAA’s National Preservation Plan, many of our current photographic preservation projects, including digitisation projects, specifically target cellulose acetate materials. With the increased handling this entails, there is a need to address the associated Occupational, Health and Safety (OH&S) issues so a set of guidelines is being developed. The

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aim is to include methods for preliminary off gassing, suggested staff exposure times and appropriate gloves and masks to use as well as appropriate cleaning practices for work surfaces and scanners. Sources of information being used to develop the guidelines include literature, staff

surveys and experiences and testing by an occupational hygienist._

Photographic Conservation Research Being Undertaken in the United Kingdom National Galleries of Scotland Contact: James Berry, Acting Head of Conservation Email: [email protected]

For the past four years conservators from the National Galleries of Scotland in collaboration with the Analytical Research Department of the National Museum of Scotland have been analysing early calotypes and salted paper prints from their own collections. Initially early photographs taken by John Adamson and D.O.Hill and Robert Adamson were analysed non-destructively using air-path energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence and controlled pressure scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive microanalysis. In 1839 William Henry Fox Talbot announced the calotype process, which he patented in 1841. His process was introduced to Scotland through his correspondence with Sir David Brewster and John Adamson took the first successful Scottish portrait photograph in St Andrews probably in 1842. John Adamson and his brother Robert, who worked with David Octavius Hill from 1842 to 1847, used the technique to produce a large corpus of negatives and positives. John Adamson also received some information from Fox Talbot and the Adamson’s probably based their methods, at least initially, on Talbot’s. Surviving documentation evidence shows Talbot used several processes but no documentation on the processes employed by Hill and Adamson is known to have survived. These Scottish images vary significantly in colour and tone, suggesting experimentation with different chemicals and processes. Positive and negative images produced by William Henry Fox Talbot, John Adamson and D.O Hill and Robert Adamson were analysed. Collections involved included the National Museums of Scotland, Fox Talbot Museum Lacock, St Andrews University and National Galleries of Scotland. Information has been gathered and shared with staff from George Eastman House and The Getty Conservation Institute. The research is ongoing and a paper titled “Understanding Early Photographic Processes: controlled pressure scanning electron microscopy of papers” will be presented at the IPC Conference in Edinburgh next year.

Roger Taylor

Professor of Photographic History, De Montfort University, Leicester Email: [email protected] For the past several years, I have been researching the history of the calotype process and its use by British photographers, both at home and abroad. The project will result in a major exhibition and catalogue for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the National Gallery of Art, Washington. The exhibition opens in the fall of 2007. An early stage of research was the creation of an item level database of photographic exhibition catalogues for the period 1839-1865, which allowed me to identify the work and identity of many new calotypists. With over 20,000 entries drawn from 46 catalogues, the database is a primary resource for a wide range of photographic research. It is available on www.peib.org.uk I have also been closely involved with the recent exhibition on Roger Fenton All the Mighty World and contributed to the catalogue. As a part of this celebration we published a new transcription of Fenton’s letters from the Crimea, and these are available on www.rogerfenton.org.uk.

The National Archives UK

Contact: Nancy Bell, Head of Conservation Research Email: [email protected] The National Archives, UK, has recently put in place a 3 year research programme focussed in three areas:  degradation of parchment  materials science and modern archive materials, in particular materials executed on plastic supports  technical examination of intrinsically important material. A materials testing programme has been put in place which will be put on the National Archive website. The first materials to be tested will be papers, boards and adhesives used in library and

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archive collections. Other projects include a technical examination of Felice Beato photographs using IR and XRF. This will be carried out by a M. Phil, student on the Royal College of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum. A survey of the photographic collections is also being undertaken, building on the photographic database initiated by Sylvie Berselli and colleagues.

National Archives of Scotland

Contact: Linda Ramsay, Head of Conservation Email: [email protected] (NAS) has a large and varied photographic collection. The recent announcement of the appointment of a dedicated photographic curator will progress the establishment of cataloguing standards and legacy cataloguing in collaboration with conservation staff and will allow priorities to be set. This work will draw on the Photosurvey, an Access database database developed by conservation staff in 1996 to survey and record information on photographic collections in the care of the NAS. Although this database is now superceded by the electronic catalogue it remains a valuable finding aid with over 20,000 entries. An additional database was also developed by conservators to record information specifically about photographic glass, primarily the Upper Clyde shipbuilding collection including the location of surrogates and photographic prints of the glass negatives. This collection contains an extensive and important photographic record including approximately 30,000 glass plate negatives. Identified as a conservation priority, a project has run over the last three years supervised by permanent conservation staff and utilising project conservators to clean and re-house the glass from the collection in conservation quality enclosures within a metal cabinet system prior to a major cataloguing initiative. The project was completed this year. It is planned to continue this commitment targeting other vulnerable glass collections as budget allows. Dionysia Christoforou, a Scottish Conservation Bureau intern undertook a survey on the Carron Company of Falkirk iron-founders. Established in 1759 this company occupied a unique place in the industrial history of Scotland. The records contain not only the history of the Company but illustrate a wide range of products produced by it over more than two centuries. These include armaments from Napoleonic times up to the Second World War, bathroom ware, industrial and domestic heating and catering appliances and hydraulic and other engineering apparatus and in the 19th century these were transferred from pattern books to photographic gelatine dry plate. This survey produced an informative report which looked at

condition, identifying priorities and produced treatment proposals and costings. The collection continues to increase with new accessions of private papers most notably from the family of Sprott of Riddell. This recent deposit of approximately 100,00 negatives gives a fascinating insight into 19th and early 20th century life of a landed Scottish family. However the collection also contain both nitrate and acetate negatives which has prompted further research and discussion with colleagues into cold storage and identified the need to increase the number of stand alone freezers to secure and preserve this and similar other collections. Planning for an extension to Thomas Thomson House the newest building constructed in 1994 has begun in earnest. This building houses the majority of the NAS collections, the conservation workshops and is also where the current photographic store is situated. It is hoped that additional freezer facilities and dedicated cold storage will be available to accommodate the photographic collection needs and to promote preservation and access. Further work on the life cycling of collections will be necessary to ensure we can set strategies and predict need and direct currently available resources most efficiently. Initial discussions have been held between conservation staff of NAS, Department of Conservation & Analytical Research of National Museums of Scotland and conservation staff of the National Galleries of Scotland about possible comparative examination and non destructive testing of 19th century papers used by many of the key figures in Scottish photography e.g. comparison between Hill and Adamson photographs held by all three institutions. Access to archival collections held by NAS of 19th century amateur photographers may also be another avenue of interest to the main project partners. This research aims to enhance the understanding of early photographic processes by controlled pressure scanning electron microscopy of papers ( CP-SEM) and is to be presented by the National Museums of Scotland and National Galleries at ICON/IPC conference in Edinburgh 26-29th July 2006.

John Purcell Paper

Email: [email protected] John Purcell Paper is now producing a new photographic conservation paper called Argentia 100% cotton unbuffered. The specifications are as follows:  Manufactured from 100% cotton  Unbuffered  PH7

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       

Passes Collins and Young Silver Tarnish Test Passes Photographic Activity Test Sized neutral ketene dimer Calendered to achieve Bendtsen Smoothness 300 Chlorine Free Reducible sulphur less than 2 parts per million Ash content 0.01% No optical brighteners Long grain

 

120gsm. Sheet size 914 x 1219 mm.

John Purcell Paper also supply the Heritage 100% cotton TG Off white photographic museum board. _

CONFERENCES Third International Conference on Preservation and Conservation Issues Related to Digital Printing and Digital Photography April 24-26, 2006, Institute of Physics, London This two-day conference for conservators of prints, photographs and textiles wasorganised by Printing, Papermaking and Packaging Group of the Institute of Physics and The London College of Communication. Following the successful conferences in October 2000 and April 2003, the Institute of Physics in collaboration with the University of the Arts London organized this conference to examine progress and research on materials and processes used for producing digital prints and photographs for archival storage. The 2006 conference areas of interest were expanded from fine art prints and photographs to include digitally printed textiles. The aims of this conference were to inform those responsible for the preservation and conservation of digitally produced material about the developments in digital photography and digital printing technologies, the progress in research on inks and substrates and their significance for the archiving of artefacts. As with the previous conferences the aim was to promote links between industry and the c o n s e r v a t i o n w o r l d .

The conference was held at the Institute of Physics Conference Centre in Portland Place, London. The event was aimed at an international audience of conservators, preservation personnel, conservation scientists, archivists, curators, photographers, the digital printing industry as well as ink, paper and textile R&D departments. Post-prints are being produced, and will include a transcript of the d i s c u s s i o n s e s s i o n s . Research areas explored during the conference include: developments in digital printing and photography technologies and future trends, developments in materials or digital printing including textiles, plastics and papers, developments in colorants and their stability, progress in establishing standards and archiving protocols. Proceedings from the October 2000 and April 2003 conferences are still available from: The Conference Office, The Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London, W1B 1NT, UK. _

The conservation of photographic materials damaged by disasters May 29 - 30, 2006

The Committee on Preservation of Archives in Temperate Climates, from the International Council of Archives, organized the first event on photograph preservation in the Czech Republic on the 29th and 30th of May 2006. The meeting was organized in order to provide support and information to the various institutions in Prague whose photograph collections suffered from water damage during the flood of 2002.

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The symposium was organized in the Prague Technical Museum in association with the National Archives of the Czech Republic. Presentations included information on:  Drying procedures that are being used for the drying of photographic materials in the Technical Museum  Effects of water on photographs  Drying procedures and logistics for air-drying photographs in medium size collections  Results of testing surrounding the freeze-drying of photographs in the Netherlands Tours were organized to the air-drying lab of the Technical Museum of Prague and the freeze-drying facility of Belfore. One of the most important aspects of the meeting was that both Western European conservators and specialists and conservators and specialists working on drying the collections in Prague were able to communicate and learn from each other. _

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