Conservation of Photographs and Photograph Collections

Conservation of Photographs and Photograph Collections for Countries of Central, Southern and Eastern Europe


	Instructors Tram Vo and Janka Krizanova discuss a damaged photograph with course participants. Photo: Sean Charette, GCI

Beginning in 2008, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), in partnership with two institutions in Slovakia—the Academy of Fine Art and Design (AFAD) in Bratislava, and the Slovak National Library (SNL) in Martin, organized a multi-year project with the aim to develop the field of photograph conservation in the region. To read more about this activity, please visit the project homepage.

	Teaching Note—Fundamentals of the Conservation of Photographs. (3pp., 217KB)

	Bibliography. (17pp., 238KB)

Materials for Module 1, 2008
Materials for Module 2, 2009
Materials for Module 3, 2010

MODULE 1

	Course Calendar—Module 1: Fundamentals of the Conservation of Photographs. (3pp, 152KB)

	Presentation - Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. (8pp., 102KB)

	Session Outline: Introduction to Course and Course Website. (1p., 127KB)

	Session Outline: Introduction to Participants and Collections. (2pp., 180KB)

	Session Outline: Introduction to Science in Art. (2pp., 147KB)

	Session Outline: Microscopic Investigation of Photographs. (2pp., 156KB)

	Session Outline: Introduction to FTIR. (2pp., 147KB)

	Session Outline: Introduction to XRF (2pp., 180KB)

	Session Outline: Introduction to Cased Photographs with Lab. (1p., 123KB)

	Session Outline: Preservation Priorities. (2pp., 156KB)

	Session Outline: Process ID: Silver Processes with Lab. (1p., 139KB)

	Session Outline: Process ID: Non-Silver Processes with Lab. (1p., 139KB)

	Session Outline: Photograph Conservation: Past, Present and Future. (2pp., 180KB)

	Session Outline: Process ID: Color Processes with Lab. (1p., 139KB)

	Session Outline: Process ID: Photomechanical Processes. (1p., 123KB)

	Session Outline: Process ID: Digital Processes. (2pp., 168KB)

	Session Outline: Unknown Case Studies Labs. (1p., 131KB)

	Session Outline: Handling Issues and Questions. (1p., 131KB)

	Session Outline: Deteriorations of Photographs. (2pp., 156KB)

	Session Outline: Introduction to Collection Surveys and Condition Reports. (6pp., 188KB)

	Session Outline: Stabilization: Housing and Matting Photographs. (2pp., 139KB)

	Session Outline: Documentation of Photographic Materials. (2pp., 147KB)

	Session Outline: Treatment Issues. (1p., 123KB)

	Module 1 Distance Mentoring Program. (2p., 127KB)

MODULE 2

	Course Calendar—Module 2: Fundamentals of the Conservation of Photographs. (2pp, 144KB)

	Session Outline: History of Photograph Conservation, The Case of the City of Paris Conservation Policy. (2pp., 123KB)

	Session Outline: Photograph Terminology. (2pp., 127KB)

	Session Outline: Participant Presentations: Dissemination Activities. (2pp., 119KB)

	Session Outline: Introduction to Negatives and Negatives. (2pp., 125KB)

	Session Outline: Film Development. (2pp., 149KB)

	Session Outline: Planning Photographic Preservation for Large Collections. (2pp., 123KB)

	Session Outline: Conservation Studies and Treatment Issues for Print Collections. (2pp., 145KB)

	Session Outline: Deterioration of Negatives. (2pp., 138KB)

	Session Outline: Condition Reports: Practical Work with a Study Collection. (2pp., 131KB)

	Session Outline: Digital Negatives: Practical Session. (2pp., 125KB)

	Session Outline: Cyanotype Process Recreation. (1p., 126KB)

	Session Outline: Survey Work and Process Identification. (2pp., 148KB)

	Session Outline: Introduction to Treatments. (2pp., 141KB)

	Session Outline: Salt Print Process Recreation. (1p., 114KB)

	Session Outline: Platinum/Palladium Process Recreation. (1p., 114KB)

	Session Outline: Gum Print Process Recreation. (2pp., 122KB)

	Module 2 Distance Mentoring Program. (2pp., 131KB)

MODULE 3

	Course Calendar - Module 3: Fundamentals of the Conservation of Photographs. (2pp, 147KB)

	Session Outline: History of Photograph Conservation. (3pp., 267KB)

	Technical Note - What is a Photograph? (3pp., 127KB)

	Technical Note - What was Photography? (7pp., 156KB)

	Technical Note - Why Conserve Photographs? (4pp., 131KB)

	Session Outline: History of the Daguerreotype. (3pp., 158KB)

	Session Outline: Macroclimate: Climate for Archiving - Parameters and Standards. (2pp., 153KB)

	Session Outline: Microclimate: material for enclosure, protective measure and cold storage. (2pp., 109KB)

	Session Outline: Exhibition issues: materials and lighting. (3pp., 133KB)

	Session Outline: Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Recovery / Hands-on Practicum. (2pp., 135KB)

	Session Outline: Guidelines, reproduction, digitization issues. (1p., 94KB)

	Session Outline: Funding and Grants. (2pp., 167KB)

	Session Outline: Photo ID: Cased Photographs. (1p., 127KB)

	Session Outline: Treatments: Surface Cleaning, Adhesives Removal, Fills & In painting, Hands-on Practicum. (1p., 94KB)

	Session Outline: Photo ID: Gelatin. (1p., 106KB)

	Session Outline: Photo ID: Collodion (Matte and Glossy). (1p., 111KB)

	Session Outline: Photo ID: Albumen, Cyanotype, and Platinotype. (2pp., 138KB)

Last updated: May 2011