A Guide To The Preventive Conservation Of Photograph Collections

A resource for the photographic conservator, conservation scientist, curator, as well as professional collector, this volume synthesizes both the masses of research that has been completed to date and the international standards that have been established on the subject.

This is an authoritative and insightful survey of the evolving field of photograph conservation. This volume is the first publication to chronicle the emergence and systematic development of photograph conservation as a profession.

In recent years, interest in old photographs has grown significantly among a broad public, from collectors, conservators, and archivists to amateurs seeking to preserve precious family albums. Although the medium of photography is barely 150 years old, its relatively brief history has witnessed the birth of a wide range of photographic processes, each of which poses unique conservation challenges. Photographs of the Past: Processes and Preservation provides a comprehensive introduction to the practice of photograph preservation, bringing together more information on photographic processes than any other single source. Introductory chapters cover issues of terminology; the rest of the book is divided into three parts: positives, negatives, and conservation. Each chapter focuses on a single process--daguerreotypes, albumen negatives, black-and-white prints, and so on--providing an overview of its history and materials and tracing the evolution of its technology. This book will serve as an irreplaceable reference work for conservators, curators, collectors, dealers, conservation students, and photographers, as well as those in the general public seeking information on preserving this ubiquitous form of cultural heritage.

"Authored by the Digital Photographic Documentation Task Force of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works"--P. 11.

With the advent of digital imaging, the era of traditional color photography is coming to an end. Yet more than 150 years after the invention of color photography, museums, archives, and personal collections are full of images to be cherished, studied, and preserved. These photographs, often made with processes and materials no longer used or easily identified, constitute an important part of the cultural and artistic heritage of the twentieth century. Today it is more important than ever to capture the technical understanding of the processes that created these irreplaceable images. In providing an accessible overview of the history and technology of the major traditional color photographic processes, this abundantly illustrated volume promises to become the standard reference in its field. Following an introductory chapter on color photography in the nineteenth century, seven uniformly structured chapters discuss the most commercially or historically significant processes of the twentieth century--additive color screen, pigment, dye imbibition, dye coupling, dye destruction, dye diffusion, and dye mordanting and silver toning--offering readers a user-friendly guide to materials, methods of identification, and common kinds of deterioration. A final chapter presents specific guidelines for collection management, storage, and preservation. There is also a glossary of technical terms, along with appendixes presenting detailed chronologies for Kodachrome and Ektachrome transparencies, Cibachrome/Ilfochrome printing materials, and Instant films. This book will interest instructors and students in classroom settings; conservators, registrars, curators, archivists, and collection caretakers; and anyone else concerned with the long-term preservation of color photographs.

Louis Lumière is perhaps best known in the U.S. for his seminal role in the invention of cinema, but his most important contribution to the history of photography was the autochrome. Engagingly written and marvelously illustrated with over 300 images, The Lumière Autochrome: History, Technology, and Preservation tells the fascinating story of the first industrially produced form of color photography. Initial chapters present the Lumière family enterprise, set out the challenges posed by early color photography, and recount the invention, rise, and eventual decline of the autochrome, which for the first four decades of the twentieth century was the most widely used form of commercial color photography. The book then treats the technology of the autochrome, including the technical challenges of plate fabrication, described in step-by-step detail, and a thorough account of autochrome manufacture. A long final chapter provides in-depth recommendations concerning the preservation of these vulnerable objects, including proper storage and display guidelines. There are also engaging portfolios throughout the book showcasing autochrome photographs from around the world as part of an initiative founded by the French banker Albert Kahn, as well as engrossing testimonials by children of men who worked in the Lumière factories in the early twentieth century. The appendix includes transcriptions and facsimile reproductions from the Lumière notebooks as well as original patent documents.

Describes the major digital printing processes used by photographers and artists over the past forty years, explaining and illustrating materials and their deterioration, methods of identification, and options for acquiring and preserving digital prints. --from publisher description.