We have recently acquired a large collection of glass plate negatives, likely to be all gelatin emulsion. We will be cataloging and rehousing the collection next year and are currently working on a protocol for the project.
Some of the plates are likely to be damaged (broken, or with flaking emulsion) and will need to be stored securely. I have been reading about two different approaches; sandwiching between two sheets of glass or placing in a box (broken fragments being tightly blocked in place, not touching other pieces of glass). I think the sandwiching technique would be very useful in terms of creating a sturdy, transparent package that can be handled and also takes up minimal storage space. The issue appears to be that some 19th C. glass is unstable and would be a poor candidate for sandwiching. I am looking for input on these two rehousing strategies and other possible solutions. Also if we need to survey for unstable glass, what would people recommend for an easy test for glass deterioration? (Has anyone used portable XRF for this?) Thanks for your input, Teresa Myers Conservation Specialist Maine State Museum Augusta, ME USA ****** Unsubscribe by sending a message to [email protected] Searchable archives: http://cool.conservation-us.org/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/
