Category Archives: Photograph Conservation

Foxing

Foxing on Paper, Textile, and Architectural Drawings: Causes, Concerns, and Prevention

Foxing is a widespread condition affecting paper and textile-based cultural heritage materials. While it’s most commonly associated with books and prints, foxing can just as easily mar textile-mounted documents, tracing cloth, or drafting linens. Understanding the nature of foxing is essential not just for conservators but also for collectors, curators, and institutions responsible for long-term…

Negatives in Early Photography

Capturing a fleeting moment onto a tangible surface for later recollection stands as one of humanity’s most transformative inventions. This material record of people, lives, and memories was not the result of a sudden discovery, but rather the culmination of years of scientific inquiry and experimentation. Long before photography became a formal discipline, many pioneers…

Conservation and Preservation of an archival scrapbook

An important record of an organization, in the form of a scrap book, was brought to our lab for treatment and preservation. The data was important and the originals need to be rescued from further deterioration. The pictures, maps and documents in this scrapbook were pasted with an acidic glue to the black paper of…

Studying old photographs

Old photographs are not just pictures showing some image, but, their anatomy, composition, texture and information written/printed/stamped etc. tell a lot more about the time, people, techniques of photography, its stability/instability with time and how it can be preserved or treated. These days , at Heritage Preservation Atelier, we are working on a collection of…

Life-size photograph from late nineteenth or early twentieth century

Condition Assessment and Treatment Record A Life -size photograph print that came for treatment to our lab could not be taken inside immediately at its arrival, as it had live termite all over it. All the life stages of a termite could be seen on the huge framed photograph. It was extremely difficult to control…

Glassine stuck to a Photograph

We come across many different kind of problems associated with old black and white photographs. Fading, yellowing, redox blemishing, silver mirroring etc are some common problems with old photographs. These problems are generally due to the inherent causes or reasons present within the Photograph either because of the technique or material involved in making of…