Photographs of the Past. Process and Preservation [Bertrand Lavédrine, John P. McElhone, Michel Frizot, Jean-Paul Gandolfo, Sibylle Monod
Translated by John McElhone
The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles
Published in France in 2007 by the Comite des travaux historiques et scientifiques under the title
Connaitre et conserver les photographies anciennes
English translation © 2009 J. Paul Getty Trust
Second printing
Lavédrine, Bertrand.
[Reconnaitre et conserver les photographies anciennes. English]
Photographs of the past process and preservation
I Bertrand Lavédrine; with Jean- Paul Gandolfo, John McElhone, and Sibylle Monod; translated by John McElhone.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-89236-957-7 (pbk.)
1. Photographs-Conservation and restoration. I. Title.
TR465. L39313 2009
771-dc22
Author(s): Bertrand Lavédrine
Edition: 2nd edition
Publisher: The Getty Conservation Institute
Year: 2009
Language: English
Commentary: Digitized by Atelierele Albe.
Pages: 368 [350]
City: Los Angeles
Bertrand Lavédrine
With the collaboration of Jean-Paul Gandolfo, Sibylle Monod, and John P. McElhone
Preface by Michel Frizot
In recent years, interest in old photographs has grown significantly among a broad public, from collectors, conservators, and archivists to amateurs seeking to preserve precious family albums. Although the medium of photography is barely 150 years old, its relatively brief history has witnessed the birth of a wide range of photographic processes, each of which poses unique conservation challenges.
This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to the practice of photograph preservation, bringing together more information on photographic processes than any other single source. Introductory chapters cover issues of terminology; the rest of the book is divided into three parts: positives, negatives, and conservation. Each chapter focuses on a single process―daguerreotypes, albumen negatives, black-and-white prints, and so on―providing an overview of its history and materials and tracing the evolution of its technology. This book will serve as an irreplaceable reference work for conservators, curators, collectors, dealers, conservation students, and photographers, as well as those in the general public seeking information on preserving this ubiquitous form of cultural heritage.
Bertrand Lavédrine is director of the Centre de recherches sur la conservation des documents graphiques, Paris. Jean-Paul Gandolfo teaches at the École nationale supérieure Louis Lumière, Paris. Sibylle Monod oversees research publications at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Paris. John P. McElhone is photograph conservator at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
350 pages
7 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches
171 color and 164 b/w illustrations
130 line drawings
ISBN 978-0-89236-957-7
paperback
Getty Publications
Imprint: Getty Conservation Institute
