Exploring tarnished daguerreotypes with synchrotron light: XRF and μ-XANES analysis

Kozachuk, M. S.; Sham, Tsun‐Kong; Martin, Ronald R.; Nelson, Andrew J.; Coulthard, I.

doi:10.1186/s40494-018-0171-8

Cited by 17 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…This, along with the optical image of the plate, is evidence that the conservation method was successful at returning the image to as close as possible to its original state, removing unwanted degradation products (based on both S and Cl) on the surface. Both of the before-cleaning absorption spectra clearly indicate the presence of AgCl as the primary tarnish product, which is clear from the location of the K-edge at 2822 eV along with the position and shape of the oscillations after the edge jump [33]. Only one of the two examined locations provided sufficient signal to collect an adequate post-electrocleaning Cl K-edge spectrum (Figure 4).…”

Section: The Barger Processmentioning

confidence: 95%

Recovering Past Reflections: X-ray Fluorescence Imaging of Electrocleaned 19th Century Daguerreotypes

et al. 2019

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The first commercially viable photographic image, the daguerreotype, captured images for a span of approximately 20 years . DeDterioration now disfigures many of these valuable images. One proposed restoration method is an electrochemical process. However, its safety and effectiveness are still under debate within the conservation community as the effects of this treatment, and its physical and chemical impact on the daguerreotype image, have not yet been analyzed in depth. This study used synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence to map the elemental distribution pre-and post-electrocleaning on 19th century daguerreotypes using both soft and hard incident X-rays. X-ray absorption spectroscopy was used to probe local chemistry before and after cleaning. Two different electro-treatment methods were compared: the original method proposed by Barger and a second put forward by Wei. When used correctly, both processes significantly reduced the S and Cl surface contamination without dulling the surface. However, both electrochemical methods used in this study resulted in a loss of Hg and Au from the surface. In all cases, the Hg distribution tracks with image particle density allowing the retrieval of full portraits from entirely corroded daguerreotypes, suggesting that Hg concentration may be a useful proxy for the original image.

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Section: The Barger Processmentioning

confidence: 95%

Recovering Past Reflections: X-ray Fluorescence Imaging of Electrocleaned 19th Century Daguerreotypes

et al. 2019

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“…and compared with the number of daguerreotypes reported to have been produced in the 19th century, only a relatively small number of plates have been examined beyond conventional optical microscopy with spectroscopic techniques, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and other nanoscale imaging methods capable of examining and characterizing the nanostructures on their surface (6,(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47). Unfortunately, time and exposure to the elements have irreversibly altered 19th-century daguerreotype images, making it difficult to use them to characterize their properties.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Nineteenth-century nanotechnology: The plasmonic properties of daguerreotypes

Schlather

Gieri

Robinson³

et al. 2019

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Plasmons, the collective oscillations of mobile electrons in metallic nanostructures, interact strongly with light and produce vivid colors, thus offering a new route to develop color printing technologies with improved durability and material simplicity compared with conventional pigments. Over the last decades, researchers in plasmonics have been devoted to manipulating the characteristics of metallic nanostructures to achieve unique and controlled optical effects. However, before plasmonic nanostructures became a science, they were an art. The invention of the daguerreotype was publicly announced in 1839 and is recognized as the earliest photographic technology that successfully captured an image from a camera, with resolution and clarity that remain impressive even by today’s standards. Here, using a unique combination of daguerreotype artistry and expertise, experimental nanoscale surface analysis, and electromagnetic simulations, we perform a comprehensive analysis of the plasmonic properties of these early photographs, which can be recognized as an example of plasmonic color printing. Despite the large variability in size, morphology, and material composition of the nanostructures on the surface of a daguerreotype, we are able to identify and characterize the general mechanisms that give rise to the optical response of daguerreotypes. Therefore, our results provide valuable knowledge to develop preservation protocols and color printing technologies inspired by past ones.

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“…Most technical studies of 19th-century photographic media to date focus on daguerreotypes and their degradation [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Attention to other 19th-century photographic processes, however, has been rising thanks to the availability of cutting-edge methods of non-invasive instrumental analysis, although these studies mostly aim to characterize photographic supports, materials, and techniques used by a single photographer or for a specific photographic category [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary photographs and improved positives: discovering the New York Public Library’s Arctic Exploration album

et al. 2021

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In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, original photographs were sent to publishers so that they could be reproduced in print. The photographs often needed to be reworked with overpainting and masking, and such modifications were especially necessary for low-contrast photographs to be reproduced as a letterpress halftone. As altered objects, many of these marked-up photographs were simply discarded after use. An album at The New York Public Library, however, contains 157 such photographs, all relating to the Jackson–Harmsworth expedition to Franz Josef Land, from 1894 to 1897. Received as gifts from publishers, the photographs are heavily retouched with overpainting and masking, as well as drawn and collaged elements. The intense level of overpainting on many of the photographs, but not on others, raised questions about their production and alteration. Jackson’s accounts attested to his practice of developing and printing photographs on site, testing different materials and techniques—including platino-bromide and silver-gelatin papers—to overcome the harsh environmental conditions. In this context, sixteen photographs from the album were analyzed through a combination of non-invasive and micro-invasive techniques, including X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, fiber optics reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), Raman and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies, and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). This analytical campaign aimed to evaluate the possible residual presence of silver halides in any of the preliminary and improved photographs. The detection of these compounds would be one of several factors supporting a hypothesis that some of the photographs in the album were indeed printed on site, in the Arctic, and, as a result, may have been impacted by the extreme environment. Additional goals of the study included the evaluation of the extent of retouching, providing a full characterization of the pigments and dyes used in overpainted prints, and comparing the results with contemporaneous photographic publications that indicate which coloring materials were available at the time. Further analyses shed light on the organic components present in the binders and photographic emulsions. This research has increased our knowledge of photographic processes undertaken in a hostile environment such as the Arctic, and shed light on the technical aspects of photographically illustrating books during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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Exploring tarnished daguerreotypes with synchrotron light: XRF and μ-XANES analysis

Cited by 17 publications

References 35 publications

Recovering Past Reflections: X-ray Fluorescence Imaging of Electrocleaned 19th Century Daguerreotypes

Recovering Past Reflections: X-ray Fluorescence Imaging of Electrocleaned 19th Century Daguerreotypes

Nineteenth-century nanotechnology: The plasmonic properties of daguerreotypes

Preliminary photographs and improved positives: discovering the New York Public Library’s Arctic Exploration album

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