Subject: Photo identification
My apologies for not passing this on to you sooner. Here are all the correspondences I have received to date on the photo ID inquiry, along with my replies, to use as you see fit. I suspect there will be more to come. Sue Bigelow Subject: Photo Identification To: Sue Bigelow From: fr0c+ [at] andrew__cmu__edu >"I would have identified it as an ordinary 20th century silver gelatin >print" Which decade? >"The entire photograph has a brilliant reddish-orange cast, as >though the gelatin layer has been dyed this unnatural color;" Do both what would normally be the black and white areas of the photograph have the "reddish-orange cast" or just what would be white? Is the "reddish-orange cast" evenly distributed over the photograph or is it uneven with the image looking faded in some places? Is there a manufacture's name the back of the photograph? Frank Reynolds To: Sue Bigelow Subject: Reddish Photo Identification From: fr0c+ [at] andrew__cmu__edu ... If your photograph had been made more recently, I through that it may have been on a photographic paper that has color built into the emulsion (Luminos by name). Your description would seem to indicate that it has been toned, but that is just a guess from a far. If you are able to obtain books through interlibrary loan the following may be of help to you in identifying your photograph; "Conservation of Photographs, Kodak Publication No. F-40." Also if the photographer used an older photographic process; "Care and Identification of 19th-Century Photographic Prints, Kodak Publication No. G-2S." ... Frank Reynolds Subject: Copper toned photo To: ah670 [at] cleveland__Freenet__Edu From: Sue Bigelow Michael McCormick, Thanks for your suggestion of Berg Copper Toner. I'd never heard of it. I thought toners only affected the colour of the silver image. How does this one work? There are no borders on this photograph; it has been trimmed to an oval shape. The colour is equally intense throughout the photo in both highlights and image area. Sue Bigelow City of Vancouver Archives Subject: Copper toned photo To: Sue Bigelow From: ah670 [at] cleveland__freenet__edu I'm not certain what the chemical process is for copper toner, and it may well act like the other toners in plating the image silver. Another thought: Edwal makes dye toners that are absorbed by the gelatin, and color the entire surface. But again, copper toner doesn't provide any stabilizing effect for the image. In fact, Berg warns that the copper toner is NOT stable in in the long term. >to an oval shape. The colour is equally intense throughout the >photo in both highlights and image area. I have used copper toner in instances where the patron has wanted that particular tone, rather than selenium or sepia. It acts much the way you describe. The color sounds right for an fairly intense application of copper toner. Mike McCormick *** Conservation DistList Instance 5:25 Distributed: Sunday, October 27, 1991 Message Id: cdl-5-25-003 ***Received on Sunday, 13 October, 1991