Preservation of 19th-Century Negatives in the National Archives

Abstract

This article discusses an extensive project to preserve nearly 8,000 collodion glass plate negatives of portrait and field work by noted photographers Matthew Brady, William Henry Jackson, Timothy H. O'Sullivan, and others. Information Is presented about the constituents of collodion negatives and the characteristic deterioration related to inherent compositional factors. Finally, preservation issues such as photographic duplication, rehousing, and storage are addressed.

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