Photo identification

Sue Bigelow queried a photographic process that "has a brilliant
reddish- orange cast, as through the gelatin layer has been dyed this
unnatural colour." Michael McCormick suggested the photograph may have
been treated with Berg Copper Toner. I may have missed some other
details in Bigelow's original note, but if the photograph is a print,
shows significant mirroring, and the image appears to be fading it's
highly likely that the print is an untoned printing out proof print
(e.g., Kodak's Studio Proof). If the image is a studio portrait, I'd say
the likelihood of being that process is very high. Left untreated, the
studio proofs will continue to deteriorate as the silver will develop
out physically over time, resulting in a uniform coppery tone image
density. I don't know about trying to fix and tone the image at this
point; I'd make a good copy negative and leave it at that.

--  Richard Pearce-Moses, Curator of Photographs
    Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-1006
    (602) 965-9276

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 5:23
                Distributed: Saturday, October 12, 1991
                        Message Id: cdl-5-23-001
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