Mending a fold

    The pictures further down shows a fold in a silver gelatin photograph. Usually folded areas are weak and unstable. In this case for adding strength the Japanese paper was adhered on the back side over the paper support. The hard part of the job was the gelatin layer. There was 1mm thin area overlapped and stacked on the surface. The small part of the image was hidden along the fold. With careful humidifying the gelatin was soften and the small parts of the image were flipped. The gelatin layer was attached in its proper places using wheat starch paste.

 Before treatment

 After humidification

 After treatment

  Before treatment

 After humidification

 

My birthday ;-)

 

 

Job #10

    In NEDCC every incoming object enters is registered with a corresponding (job) number, some descriptions etc. During my internship I’m trying to make similar activities improving my knowledge of preparing documentation. I started to follow the same procedure by numbering my jobs. In this post I’m presenting one of my last tasks “Job#10”. The treated object was an aerial silver-gelatin photograph of Naval Station in Guantanamo bay. The condition of the photograph wasn’t so badly. There were some tears and folds over the edges. In the bottom was a label with information about the image. For this particular case we decided to remove and stabilize the damaged label, to mend the tears in the photograph's paper support, stabilize folds and flatten the image.

I started with preparing of photo-documentation and adding photos in database.

 

 

The label was removed adding some moisture by means of “Laponite”. After that the label was washed and lined on Japanese paper RK 27.

 

Previous to hot press treatment, the tears on photograph were mended with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste. After that the object was humidified by water spray. The cracks and folds were treated on the back with 1% gelatin solution just before putting in the press. Next timelap shows each step. A flashlight was used as oblique lighting source for easy viewing the folds. In the press were put silicone paper sheets protecting adherence.

After treatments the photograph and the label were placed in three layer “L” sleeve for better protection in storage and handheld.

Wet cleaning

Wet cleaning or "washing" is well known procedure in paper conservation. It's a possible treatment for some photographs on paper support depending on condition and deterioration level of the object. In this particular case the main goal was to clean yellowish stains on the back and to reduce acidity in the paper. For washing process the following materials were used: Sheets of Hollytex, filtered water, proper washing container, etc.  In the video you will see a series of activities, but don't forget that this is dangerous procedure. You shouldn't do this if you are not sure what could be happens and if you haven’t proper equipment tools and training. Added photos are showing some of the stages during treatment.

 

The photograph after washing, before mending the tear.

 The weather outside corresponded to the “wet” treatments :-)

Glass plate housing video

  With this video I would like to illustrate an example of glass plate housing. There are lots of various ways to make housings. This is just one suggestion and it isn't pretend to be the most suitable for all occasions. This sink mat is most suitable for broken glass plate negatives and those with flaking emulsion. The materials used were corrugated acid free board, linen press-sensitive tape, Mylar (Melinex) sheet, Micro Chamber paper, and mat cutting materials.

  Enjoy!

Introduction

  A long awaited internship has started. During the first two weeks I’ve been collecting a lot of information and experience about history of photography and the different processes. In this blog I will submit some of the techniques and treatments I will learn about photograph conservation. Here I will publish photos, videos and texts concerning my education all through the internship.

  I was introduced to whole staff of NEDCC, my new workplace. All all necessary tools and equipment were provided. Monique Fischer, Senior Photograph Conservator, started  with an in depth presentation of almost all photograph processes. When introduction ended, we put all materials back in the storage case and my first special mission appeared. I was set a task to separate all different photos in accordance to photographic process. It was a tough job, but with some guidelines I succeed.