Virtus Et labor

Old Photographs

Posted by namitajaspal Posted on May 24, 2017 0 Comments

We started our discussion regarding old photographs (https://heritagepreservationatelier.com/2017/05/20/historic-photographs/https://heritagepreservationatelier.com/2017/05/20/historic-photographs/) with an example of a silver albumin print. In this blog, we’ll see some other examples from the same collection,but all different techniques of photo-prints.

This photograph has a very distinctly visible, low contrast and fading. It seems to be a salted paper print

f9445658 — Top and right edges have a distinct silvering

Good contrast, no fading and no silvering. This is a definite Platinum print as confirmed by the ghost image it formed on the back of another photograph which was in contact with this one. Another confirmation test is in the video attached

A yellow-brown “ghost” image on paper or board that has been in direct contact with the platinum image.

2014 and 2015 were a bit busy years and hence i could not record all the work that we did. We did try to record more casual briefings about the work we were doing. Once such video clip 0f a December afternoon of 2014 is here:

Author: namitajaspal

Namita Jaspal, with inherited skills of art and aesthetics and passion for science, opted to pursue post- graduation in ‘Conservation of Cultural Property’ after her graduation in Science from Delhi University in 1992. Four year intense training at National Museum Institute provided the right foundation to start a career in Conservation. She is currently practicing conservation consultancy for Heritage property including monuments and collections. She has been doing independent research in conservation techniques and procedures in Indian context. She is currently working on the conservation of wall-paintings of Sri Harmandir Sahib Ji (The Golden temple at Amritsar. The project is nearing completion and getting a lot of appreciation for the organized and ethical treatment it is providing. It is for the first time in the history of Sri Harmandir Sahib Ji (The Golden Temple) that wall painting conservation and preservation is being done in a scientific manner, keeping the codes of Ethics into consideration while decision making. Another project just completed is of the Conservation of Krishna Temple at Kishankot, Gurdaspur, Punjab. In her private Conservation Laboratory, she is not only providing onservation services, but also mentoring young aspiring conservators and archaeologists by the way of training and paid internships. She has been a guest lecturer at DIHRM (Delhi Institute of Heritage Research and Management). With all the updated knowledge database and innovative practical approaches relevant to the Indian conditions, she could successfully do curative and preservative treatment of very old textiles like a nine feet long flag from nineteenth century that is regarded as priceless memorabilia of second Dogra regiment at Chandi Mandir, and four hundred years old (seventeenth century) Chola Sahib Ji of Sixth Guru of Sikhs, Sri Hargobind Sahib Ji. Apart from this she has done conservation of Photograph collections, archival records, numerous paintings, manuscripts and other cultural objects. She is also involved in preparation of up-gradation proposals for museums and such organizations. Her expertise includes Conservation and preservation technologies and procedures for conservation of varied material like wall paintings, paper, photographs, textile, ceramics, stone, metal and archaeological objects.