Glass Plate Negatives Silver Mirroring Bibliography (original) (raw)

All Summaries as posted in AATA:

Argandoña Adasme, Duvy; Hortuvia Atenas, Vianka; Medina Sancho, Ximena; and Pereira Viale, Ricardo. Placas de vidrio del Archivo Fotográfico Chilectra: un caso práctico de conservación. (Glass plates of the Chilectra Photographic Archive: a practical case of conservation.) Conserva 2002, no. 6 (2002), pp. 87-97[Spanish w. Spanish + English summaries]. 27 photos, 11 notes, bibliog.

When designing the Chilectra Photographic Archive: Memory and Energy project, which emphasizes the dissemination and joy of the images, the significant quantity of glass plates in poor condition drew the authors' attention. Moved several times from one facility to another due to two floods, the photographic items had accumulated various damages, in addition to dust and dirt. This preservation project, carried out from 2001 to 2003 by private entities involved with the archive owned by Enersis, considered intervention for every item. However, the project primarily focused on the negative collection, which includes items of different sizes with fragile supports, the central subject of this article.

Di Pietro, G., A local microscopic model for the formation of silver mirroring on black and white photographs. In book. Metal 04: proceedings of the International Conference on Metals Conservation = actes de la conférence internationale sur la conservation des métaux, Canberra, Australia, 4-8 October 2004.Ashton, John and Hallam, David, Editors. National Museum of Australia(2004), pp. 126-136, [English w. English summary]. 7 figs., 2 tables, 24 refs., bibliog.[ISBN 1-876944-33-1].

Black-and-white photographs are made of a gelatin emulsion containing silver grains laid on a support material that can be glass, plastic, or paper. Due to the small size of the silver grains, the corrosion of the silver grains is the starting point for a variety of deterioration forms appearing visually different, like yellowing, silver mirroring, and red spots. The focus of this study is on the formation of silver mirroring, a bluish metallic sheen commonly seen on silver gelatin glass negatives. As a result of the analysis of the composition of the silver mirroring particles and of the structure of the silver mirroring layer, the authors suggest a modification of the current model for the formation of silver mirroring. This model sets out the characteristics that differentiate the formation of silver mirroring from the formation of other corrosion-based deterioration of photographic plates.

di Pietro, Giovanna and Ligterink, Frank. Silver-mirroring edge patterns: diffusion-reaction models for the formation of silver mirroring on silver gelatin glass plates. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 41, no. 2 (2002 Summer), pp. 111-126[English w. English, French, + Spanish summaries]. 15 figs., 3 appendices, refs.

The silver mirroring that can be seen on many historical silver gelatin photographic glass plates is typically observed to be distributed in certain specific and distinct patterns. A study of these patterns gives information on the causes of silver mirroring and on the detailed nature of the degradation mechanism. This article presents two mathematical models based on the diffusion and reaction of gases that explain the formation of silver-mirroring edge patterns in the case of plates kept in stacks and in the case of plates freely exposed to environmental gases. The predictions are compared with the patterns found on historical plates and with the patterns artificially produced on new plates.

Cook, Matthew. Economics of scale: digitizing the Chicago Daily News. RLG DigiNews 4, no. 1 (2000 February), pp. [14-17][English]. 3 p.

http://www.rlg.org/legacy/preserv/diginews/diginews4-1.html#feature2

The Chicago Historical Society (CHS) is using a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to digitize and catalog 55,000 1900-1929 glass plate negatives from the Chicago Daily News photo morgue. CHS chose to digitize the Daily News glass plate collection for both access and preservation reasons. In scanning the plates and creating individual MARC records, they are developing a browsable and searchable image database allowing local and remote access to an inaccessible collection. By scanning the plates to a high quality standard, they can create study and publication-quality prints from the scans, minimizing the use of the original glass plate negatives, thus ensuring their longevity. The project provides an opportunity for CHS staff to inspect, rehouse, and refile each plate, enabling them to identify plates requiring conservation treatment and create a safe long-term storage environment in a temperature-controlled negative vault. The scanning procedure is described.

Daniels, Vincent. Advances in the use of hydrogen plasma for reduction of silver tarnish: treatment of daguerreotypes. In book. ICOM Committee for Conservation 6th triennial meeting: Ottawa, 21-25 September 1981: preprints. International Council of Museums(1981), pp. 5, [English].

A glow discharge in a low pressure hydrogen will contain chemically active hydrogen capable of reducing silver tarnish (silver sulfide) back to silver. This method has been used to conserve daguerreotypes which have become tarnished. The daguerreotype is made one of the electrodes of a low frequency alternating current circuit. Reductions take place using a potential difference of about 400 volts using neon/hydrogen mixtures.

Gillet, Martine; Garnier, Chantal; and Flieder, Françoise. Glass plate negatives. Preservation and restoration. Restaurator: international journal for the preservation of library and archival material 7, no. 2 (1986), pp. 49-80[English].

After a brief technological explanation of various processes for the production of negative pictures on glass plates, the authors have carried out an analytical bibliography on the conservation and restoration of these negatives, either based on collodion or gelatin. The various types of deterioration and their causes are well-known. The storage conditions have likewise been established. The number of restorations is, however, limited. This bibliographical synthesis constitutes a source of information allowing experiments on restoration techniques for glass plate negatives, with the main purpose, to solve the problems of peeling emulsions and cracked or broken glass plates.

Gray, Helen and Gent, Megan. The re-housing of Queen Victoria's private negatives. In book. Care of photographic moving image & sound collections.Clark, Susie (Editor). Institute of Paper Conservation(1999), pp. 129-135, [English w. English summary]. 8 figs., 14 refs., bibliog.[ISBN 0-9533229-1-2].

In the late 19th century, Queen Victoria commissioned the firm of Hughes & Mullins of Ryde to print photographs from her collection of glass plate negatives using the relatively stable positive carbon process. The negatives comprise photographs taken between the 1840s and 1880s and original negatives by photographers such as Roger Fenton and William Bambridge, who used the wet collodion process. The copying of photographs provided an opportunity to record the often delicate and unstable images which marked the beginnings of photography, thereby helping to preserve the earliest items in the Royal Photograph Collection. This article describes the use of collodion emulsion and the rehousing of Queen Victoria's glass plate negative collection. The invention of the collodion process by Frederick Scott Archer was one of the major advances in 19th-century photography. It was not patented, encouraging fellow photographers to experiment with the process. The glass plate negative collection compiled by Queen Victoria demonstrates this freedom and illustrates how the process was adapted and extended. It also shows the sheer tenacity with which photographers overcame the drawbacks of the technology. For many years the negatives lay forgotten in a hot dusty basement in their original bespoke wooden boxes with each glass plate held secure by separators. In the rehousing project, modern materials and standards were applied, but the history of their storage was not ignored. The survival and condition of Queen Victoria's glass plate negatives in conditions which were not ideal extends the debate regarding standards, conditions, and the correct materials for long-term housing of any image on glass.

Gravell, T.L. A safe, inexpensive way to make prints from glass plate negatives. Restaurator: international journal for the preservation of library and archival material 2, no. 3-4 (1978), pp. 185-190[English w. French + German summaries].

The historical data preserved on glass plate negatives have not been widely used due to the danger of breakage by careless handling. Prints can be made by exposing the glass plate negative onto a photo-sensitive paper called DYLUX 503 with long wave ultra violet light. The process can be carried out in ordinary room light and, being a dry process, takes only minutes from start to finish.

Johnsen, Jesper Stub. The treatment of discoloured glass plate and cellulose nitrate negatives. In book. New directions in paper conservation: 10th anniversary conference of the Institute of Paper Conservation, 14-18 April 1986, Oxford.Institute of Paper Conservation(1986), pp. D27-D29, [English]. Includes 12 bibliographical references.[ISBN 0-9507268-1-8].

Starting from a negative collection of about 400 glass plate negatives and 2600 cellulose nitrate negatives from the Greenland adventurer Knud Rasmussen's 5th Thule expedition (1921-24), belonging to the National Museum, Copenhagen, procedures and results in treatment of damage such as bleaching and different forms of discoloration are described.

Knipe, Penley. The evaluation of four aqueous and non-aqueous surface-cleaning techniques on silver gelatin photographs. Topics in photographic preservation 7 (1997), pp. 19-27[English]. refs.

Silver gelatin photographs are particularly susceptible to oxidative-reductive deterioration, or silver mirroring. Silver mirroring is the migration of silver to the surface of the gelatin, resulting in a reflective surface. Silver gelatin prints are the most susceptible to silver mirroring because the gelatin is quite sensitive to moisture and thus can swell and infuse foreign matter more readily than other photographic processes. Both dry and wet surface cleaning are common treatments, but little research has been done into their short- and long-term effects. The solutions chosen for this experiment were filtered tap water (pH 7.2), a 1:1 mixture of water and ethyl alcohol, and a dispersion of the proprietary surfactant Kodak Photo-Flo 200 Solution in water (1 drop Photo-Flo to 100 ml. water). Four historic photographs were chosen as the samples. Following treatment, the photographs and swabs were examined using energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry to look for the presence of silver. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was then employed to permit a much closer examination of the surface morphology of the photographs. From the results, only very subtle differences between the solutions could be determined. All four treatments were relatively safe to use on moderately mirrored photographs, although SEM analysis indicated that ethanol may, in some cases, dehydrate the photograph's surface. A Ninhydrin test revealed that these treatments may cause swelling and perhaps even removal of the gelatin, and this needs to be investigated further.

Lautenbach, Adrian. Duplication of photographic imagery. In book. The imperfect image: photographs, their past, present and future. Conference proceedings: papers presented at the Centre for Photographic Conservation's first international conference at the Low Wood Conference Centre, Windermere, 6th-10th April 1992.(1992), pp. 134-136, [English w. English summary]. 4 b&w photos.

The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is the official custodian of over 900,000 photographic records. These records document the wars in which Australia has participated. Much of the material photographed during World War I is made up of glass plate negatives. These range in size from 8-1/2 x 6-1/2, 6-1/2 x 4-1/4, and 4-3/4 x 3-3/4 inches. These sizes were popularly known as whole, half, and quarter plate. During World War II, most original negatives in the collection were photographed on cellulose nitrate, an inherently unstable base material. Other base material such as cellulose acetate, safety base film, was also in use. Deterioration of the base support will eventually destroy the photographic image. So far the only practical method found to preserve the image is to duplicate it onto a new sheet of film, keeping in mind the limitations of the photographic process. Several photographic methods can be employed to duplicate an original negative. They are known as either one- or two-step methods. Both are used in the AWM duplicating program.

Luzeckyj, Tamara and Brueckle, Irene. Immediate and long-term effects of the treatment of silver mirroring on the surface of photographs. Topics in photographic preservation 8 (1999), pp. 31-43[English w. English summary]. 19 figs., 9 refs.

A selection of treatments for silver mirroring were examined with regard to their immediate physical effects on the gelatin surfaces of naturally aged and freshly processed silver gelatin photographs. The treatments included the use of polyvinyl chloride erasers, the application of ethanol/water or iodine/ethanol solutions, and coating with methyl cellulose or wax. The surfaces of both the naturally aged and freshly processed photographs were examined visually and with a scanning electron microscope. The degree of silver mirroring recurrence was studied using UV-vis spectrophotometry on the freshly processed, treated samples after artifical aging. The results indicate that treatments involving some degree of physical manipulation of the surface may have detrimental effects on the surface topography of the more highly textured or matte-surfaced photographs. The iodine/ethanol treatment provided a stabilizing effect on the silver image particles of the samples.

Munson, Doug. Duplication of glass negatives. Picturescope 30, no. 1 (1982 Spring), pp. 19-23[English]. Graphs.

Considers various reasons for duplicating negatives, particularly the behavior of collodion and gelatine emulsions used in early processes. A number of factors determine the best method of making a copy negative, especially with respect to shadow and highlight densities. Text and graphs illustrate what happens to original densities as they are reproduced through various processes using Kodak film. The duplicating method used at the Chicago Albumen Works, of which the author is co-founder, is described.

Nishimura, Douglas. Report on the Chemical Treatment of Photographic Materials Workshop: a chemist's perspective. Topics in photographic preservation 9 (2001), pp. 1-43[English]. glossary, appendices, 24 refs

The Chemical Treatment of Photographic Materials Workshop was held in Kent, Connecticut, at Jose Orraca's studio, 23-25 September 1999. Treatment methods were divided into four groups: chemical intensification, silver mirroring, reduction/intensification, and yellowing/stain reduction. Ten treatments were studied in total. This article summarizes the topics covered in the workshop.

Nousala, Susu. Improving storage and access of the State Library of Victoria's large glass plate negative collection. In book. The imperfect image: photographs, their past, present and future. Conference proceedings: papers presented at the Centre for Photographic Conservation's first international conference at the Low Wood Conference Centre, Windermere, 6th-10th April 1992.(1992), pp. 105-109, [English w. English summary]. 2 refs., bibliog.

Since 11 February 1856 the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, has been collecting a wide variety of books, manuscripts, maps, and pictures. During this time the new technology of photography was rapidly developing and this was the beginning of a very extensive and valuable collection of photographic material. Currently much of the glass plate collection has little or no appropriate access. Providing safe access to the public would require the development of several large operations. First, the general condition of the collection needed to be assessed; second, conservation work would be required; and finally, the provision of a system for safe accessibility had to be developed. The photographic survey was designed, developed, and commenced in August 1990 to assess the conservation priorities and treatments. The survey showed that large-scale copying, cleaning, and storage programs were needed immediately. Two cleaning projects were later developed: the first for individual items such as the glass lantern slides, and the second a mass cleaning program of glass plate negatives. This basic treatment had to be carried out before the final operation of copying could take place. The copying system captured images by video onto a large format compact disc. The videodisc project was later named ""Victoria in Pictures.''

Shoemaker, Heida Q.S. Formation of a watermark impression on a collection of cellulose nitrate negatives. Topics in photographic preservation 8 (1999), pp. 56-59[English]. 2 figs.

A collection in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art of approximately 1,000 cellulose nitrate negatives taken in the 1920s-1930s, which was in various stages of deterioration, was duplicated, then prepared for moving to cold storage. Each negative was placed in a buffered paper envelope, and 3-inch-deep stacks of negatives were placed in buffered boxes that remained in the climate-controlled conservation studio for two months until they could be frozen. When the negatives were removed from their envelopes for labeling prior to freezing, conservation staff noticed that about 10 of the negatives had the words from the watermark of the paper envelope impressed in the silver mirroring. Conservation staff suggest that one possible explanation for this phenomenon is that a microclimate was created by placing the negatives in the paper envelopes and filling each box with a stack of the negatives so that gases emitted from the negatives were trapped, speeding up deterioration.

Wagner, Sarah S. An update on the stability of b+w resin coated papers. Topics in photographic preservation 8 (1999), pp. 60-66[English]. 23 refs.

Resin coated (RC) photographic papers have been preferred over fiber papers by photographers since they were introduced in the 1960s due to several factors, including the ability for rapid machine processing, the reduced need for lengthy washing, and reduced costs for both materials and processing. Soon after the introduction of RC papers, two stability problems became apparent: 1) the polyethylene coating on the paper cracks as the polymer is oxidized, leading eventually to cracking of the emulsion and disfiguring of the surface of the photograph; 2) red spots and silver mirroring form in image areas due to cyclical oxidation and reduction reactions, which eventually cause the production of metallic colloidal silver on the emulsion surface. Tests have indicated that RC print deterioration is caused by light and made worse by framing. The deterioration can be prevented only through toning procedures that convert the silver image to a more stable compound. Matboards that incorporate chemical scavengers in the paper, sealed framing that ensures a stable relative humidity of 30-40%, and ultraviolet light-filtering glazing are recommended for images that are displayed.

Xu, Jianhe and Ge, Xiangbei. Restoration of faded or yellowed black-and-white silver images. Journal of film preservation no. 58/59 (1999 Oct), pp. 44-47[English w. French + Spanish summaries]. 4 tables.

The restoration of black-and-white motion picture film can be very complicated. Damage may include physical problems such as abrasions and tears, chemical contamination, change of geometric size, warping, wrinkling, sticking, and separation of the emulsion layer. Chemical changes in the film may result in decomposition of the film base, chain scission, reduction of mechanical properties, yellowing, silver mirroring, or disappearance of the image. The authors believe that these films may be restored as long as the gelatin adhesive has not been degraded. The restoration of black-and-white silver images that have suffered a degradation of intensity or yellowing can be achieved by the use of a special silver oxidant and an appropriate developing liquid. The mechanism of restoration, types of bleach reagents, and the character of gelatin in a water solution used to convert the silver image and silver salts into silver halide, as well as the restoration process itself, are described.