METRO will welcome Gawain Weaver to the METRO Training Center from 10:00am-4:00pm September 27th-30th to lead the “Care and Identification of Photographic Materials” workshop. The workshop will be of particular interest to librarians, archivists, and museum curators interested in a practical approach to the identification and preservation of photographic materials. It has been offered throughout the country and often fills to capacity, so register early to reserve your space. Please read on for additional information and registration information.

Care and Identification of Photographs

This 4-day workshop is an introduction to the history, identification, and preservation of photographic materials. Participants will acquire hands-on identification skills and learn practical photograph preservation techniques. Using handheld 30x microscopes and a large set of photographic and photomechanical samples, they will learn how a variety of processes were created, why they look the way they do, and how they deteriorate. Knowledge about photographic processes is essential to their preservation and leads to a greater appreciation of the aesthetics and history of photographic prints.

Preservation topics include enclosures, handling guidelines, environmental monitoring, the effects of temperature and relative humidity on collections, and the importance of cold storage for certain photographic materials.

Processes examined in detail include but are not limited to the following: daguerreotype, albumen, collodion and gelatin printing-out processes (POP), matte collodion, gelatin silver, photogravure, offset litho, letterpress halftone, collotype, chromogenic color, inkjet, and dye sublimation. Group ID sessions, using a digital microscope and screen projection, will allow participants to practice their identification skills in a guided setting,

The registration fee for this 4-day workshop is $595 and includes a workshop notebook with lecture handouts, Quick ID Sheets for each process, and a selection of readings on photograph preservation. The Basic Photographic Sample Set, consisting of 18 identified photographic and photomechanical processes, is available for $75 on-site during the workshop. No member library, student, or myMETRO discounts will be offered for this course.

Due to the hands-on nature of this workshop, the number of participants will be limited to 15. Please register for this workshop online here.

Please contact Laura Forshay at lforshay@metro.org, 212.228.2320 x10 with any questions.

The Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA), a certifying organization of professional archivists, will award 15 Archival Recertification Credits (ARCs) to eligible Certified Archivists (CAs) attending this workshop.

Peter J. Wosh
Director, Archives/Public History Program
History Department
New York University
53 Washington Square South
Room 503
New York NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-8601
Fax: (212) 995-4017
http://aphdigital.org
http://history.fas.nyu.edu/object/history.gradprog.archivespublichistory.html