Glass plate negatives

Sara Innocenti <sara.innocenti [at] tiscalinet__it> writes

>I'm an Italian student, I study at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera
>in Milan. My teacher needs any information about broken glass
>negatives. We have glass plate negatives and we know nothing about:
>
>    How repair these glass plate negatives (with epoxy glass?)
>    How to conserve these (placing the broken glass plate negative
>    in archival paper enclosures?)

If I can suggest: do not repair it by gluing the broken glass plate
(at least without try it on a non important pieces). I have a few
photographs about the deterioration effects of several glues with
the silver grains. Naturally duplication/digitalisation is necessary
in all case of glass plates.

The two well known conservation methods:

    *   A same size glass plate at the backside (non emulsion side)
        of the plate and sealing around the edges with a paper strip

    *   A cardboard "mat" around the edges of the plate and behind
        the back side

You can read about the cardboard method:

    Klaus B. Hendriks et al.
    Fundamentals of Photograph Conservation. Toronto. 1991.

I wrote about the glass plate version in the Rundbrief Fotografie
(in English, but there are other articles about glass plates theme
from others in German language, later in that periodical.
<URL:http://www.foto.unibas.ch/~rundbrief>)

    F.B.
    Improved Old-Timer Process for Preservation of Glass (Plate)
    Based Photographic Materials. Rundbrief Fotografie N.F. 5
    Dresden. March. 1995. pp. 7.-9.

Balint Flesch
archaist/conservation photographer
Budapest.



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                  Conservation DistList Instance 16:45
                 Distributed: Friday, January 24, 2003
                       Message Id: cdl-16-45-001
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