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Re: Display of photographs



Alan:

There are many factors to consider.
+Are the prints B&W or color? Color is generally less stable.
+Are the prints on fiber-base or RC paper? What brand? Especially with
color, some brands are more stable than others.
+If B&W, were the prints toned? Toned with what?
+How bright is the display area? All light can damage photos if bright enough.
And on and on.
If you must display the prints, reduce the sunlight, even that bouncing off
walls, remove some of the fluorescent tubes, filter the rest, and keep
total display time as short as possible.

Michael McColgin
Conservation Officer
Arizona State Archives


At 08:49 AM 1/13/00 -0800, you wrote:
I have been asked to authorize the display of some oversize photographs. The
items would be displayed in an area with no direct sunlight, but in which
florescent lamps are on much of the time.   There is some reluctance to
spend what would be needed to produce new, high-quality  prints of these
items for display.  Since we do not have negatives, the costs of making the
prints would be slighly higher.

From a preservation standpoint, this strikes me as a very bad idea, but
unfortunately, I can't find my copy of the SAA photo collections manual to
justify my hunch (or to correct me if I am wrong). Can anyone help me out?

Thanks

Alan S. Divack
Archivist, The Ford Foundation
320 East 43rd St.
New York, NY 10017
phone: (212) 573-4851
fax:      (212) 351-3681
a.divack@fordfound.org

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