Documents may share the everyday details of our ancestor’s lives, but photographs allow us to see firsthand the same high brow or broad smile we inherited from our grandparent and admire jewelry or artifacts that we now own. This chapter will focus on caring for the photographs and film that you find in your family archive.
Resources will direct you to archival suppliers and photo experts to help you identify the kinds of photos in your collection and where to learn more about them.
As you work with your family archive, be prepared to find photographs and film anywhere and everywhere. When emptying my aunt’s home to prepare it for sale, we didn’t want to take time to go through the contents of all her closets and drawers. A brief look showed that, over the years, important documents and photos had been layered with household receipts and advertising brochures. I transferred individual drawers to boxes and brought the contents home to examine more closely. The first box I sorted showed me that this had been a wise decision. Mixed in with free note pads from the local Realtor I found two antique cabinet card photographs of my grandmother taken when she was an infant and toddler. These treasures could have been lost forever; look carefully before tossing the trash.
I’ve found old photos inside books, tucked in letters, curled inside a vase, tacked to the back of a picture frame, and underneath dresser drawer paper lining. Wallet-sized photos might be in wallets or purses, and tiny photos were often trimmed for jewelry. Cased photographs, like tintypes and daguerreotypes, might be mixed in with books or other artifacts. Look everywhere and bring the photos you find to one place where you can sort and arrange for storage.
When working with photographs and films, always have clean hands, and wear cotton gloves when handling film or fragile photos. Specific precautions for each photography type are detailed in this chapter. In general, take the following precautions when handling any type of photography:
Ambrotypes, tintypes, daguerreotypes, cabinet cards, carte de visite, stereo vision cards. The world of antique photography includes a variety of methods, processes, sizes, and materials. Understanding the process used to create the images in your collection can help you identify mystery photographs and potentially extend your family tree. If you find antique images in your collection, take time to learn exactly what you have so that you can properly care for your treasures.
Photo experts Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective, and scientist Colleen Fitzpatrick are helpful resources for genealogists who inherit family history photos, and give frequent lectures and seminars. Photo collector footnoteMaven publishes an online magazine, Shades of the Departed Magazine, filled with informative articles about the world of antique photos. Photo restorer and collector Gary Clark shares his knowledge in a helpful website and e-book. See the Resources section of this chapter for links.
Examples: Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes
The earliest photographs date from 1839 when Louis Daguerre popularized an accessible, affordable, and astounding new invention—the daguerreotype. Our ancestors surely thought they were living in the “modern age” when a photographic portrait could be produced economically in a relatively short amount of time. The first photographs were made directly onto a rigid glass or metal plate that was sealed in a glass-front case for protection and framing. Portraits were no longer only for the rich. For the first time in history, the average person could have his or her likeness recorded to be viewed by contemporary family and friends and future generations.
The small size and easy portability of early cased photographs were among their most popular features, but also contributed to their damage and scarcity today. Unlike oil portraits that remained hanging in a family home for generations, cased images were easily lost, damaged, or misplaced among other items. Few images include any kind of identification and, when the photo is separated from the owner or family, it can be difficult to identify the subject.
Daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes are all examples of early cased images, but the processes used to create these three types of photos are different. Here’s how to distinguish between the three.
Daguerreotypes. These were the first photographs. They are positive images on copper plates and usually encased between glass and a mat. The image is only visible when the photo is seen from an angle.
Tintypes. These are similar to daguerreotypes, but made on polished iron plates, and are visible when viewed straight-on. (Hint: Hold a small magnet to the back of the plate—an iron tintype will attract the magnet, the copper daguerreotype will not.)
Ambrotypes. These are negative images on glass plates (meaning the image is flipped) but appears positive due to a dark backing. The image is reflective but can be viewed from all angles. The glass plate is not magnetic.
Don’t worry if you have difficulty determining whether your photos are daguerreotypes, tintypes, or ambrotypes. The care for antique cased images is the same. Photographs should be stored in close-fitting individual archival folders inside an archival box. It is important that both the folder enclosures and the box fit the photo snugly to prevent damage from sliding and scratching.
Cased images are easily damaged. Seek out a professional conservator if your images need repair or restoration.
Within a few decades of its invention, photography had progressed to include the innovation of albumen prints made from a glass negative on paper coated with an egg white mixture. The resulting print was typically mounted on card stock of varying sizes, the most popular being the small calling-card sized carte de visite (visiting card), which was 2½” × 4”, and the mid-size cabinet card, which was 4¼” × 6½”.
The card mounting stock provided an added benefit for the photographer; he now had a ready spot for his imprint and advertising. Today, antique photo collectors use information about the photographers, card stock, image size, and shape to help identify the date and location of the photo subject.
Fast forward to the twentieth century and the world of personal photography. My grandmother was a real shutterbug. Her letters refer to using her Kodak Brownie camera on outings, and the hundreds of black-and-white snapshots and negatives she created attest to her fascination with photography. My sons must have inherited her flair for light and setting because our own albums are filled with their efforts to capture life on film.
The enduring popularity of black-and-white photography must be at least partly due to its reputation as a long-lasting photographic medium. Well-processed negatives and prints will survive decades with reasonable care, yielding images that are as crisp and bright today as when they were first printed.
My grandparents had exactly three diversions available for visiting children: a wooden stacking game called Blockhead, a set of wooden pick-up-sticks, and a wicker basket filled with old stereoscope cards and a wooden viewer. My younger sister and I played the games for a short time and, eventually, I was left alone with the basket of old photographs. One by one I viewed the marvels of the nation’s natural wonders—the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Yellowstone’s Old Faithful.
Stereograph photos are actually two separate images printed side by side. The viewer causes your eyes to see the same images independent of each other. Viewing the images this way causes your brain to process the two single photos as a three-dimensional image.
The earliest stereo views were produced as daguerreotypes, glass, or porcelain images. Stereoscope photos were produced on card stock as late as 1938. The stereoscope cards I viewed as a child in the 1950s and 60s were probably created before the 1920s.
Organize and store your stereoscope cards following the guidelines for the materials they are made from. Rigid images on metal, glass, or porcelain should be cared for following preservation techniques for cased images; stereoscope cards should be preserved like early paper prints.
The best conditions for preventing deterioration of your black-and-white photograph collection are:
A temperature around 68°F
Relative humidity level of 30–40 percent
According to the Library of Congress, black-and-white photos are “easiest to maintain in an interior closet or air-conditioned room—not in an attic or basement.”
We’ve become so accustomed to the bright, high-definition colors of digital photography that it’s sometimes hard to remember that amateur color photography is not yet one hundred years old. Eastman Kodak’s revolutionary color negative film and affordable Kodak cameras brought color photography into millions of homes and backyards in the 1930s. The new technology allowed families to compare shades of orange and red hair between cousins, even when they lived in distant cities.
Color photos are especially prone to fading when exposed to light, but even images stored in the dark may be susceptible to color shift and a yellowish haze caused by the dye used in the original film. Fortunately, scanning and digital restoration can bring back much of the original color in old prints. Look for scanning companies that offer this service, or investigate the “Auto Restore” options of your personal scanner.
Did you inherit an avalanche of slide carousels and little yellow boxes of mounted slides? The relatively inexpensive cost of Kodachrome slides is both its best and worst feature. Photographers felt the freedom to take countless photos—a blessing to shutterbugs. But too often, they didn’t dispose of “rejects,” leaving their descendants with boxes and trays of nearly identical images.
Your first order of business may be to rent or borrow a slide projector and quickly triage the images left in your care. Discard duplicates and damaged images guilt-free. My uncle’s slide collection was demoted to the garage for many years, and now I expect to find very few images worth saving in those carousels.
Color slides, like film and negatives, can be preserved almost indefinitely when placed in cold storage. Most home archives don’t have freezer space to devote to archival storage, but if you do, seek out specialized information on preparing film for cold storage to avoid the pitfalls of cold temperatures and fluctuating humidity. See the resources at the end of this chapter for more information.
I thought I had already seen all the photos in my grandmother’s collection until I stumbled upon a yellow paper packet crammed with old black-and-white negatives. Measuring a generous 2¾” × 4¼”, the negatives contained images I had never seen before—mostly young, handsome soldiers first hamming it up with a few pretty girls, and then looking seriously at the lens as they struck a regimental pose. It was a moment in time captured on film.
Don’t overlook the negatives in your collection or assume that prints were made and still exist. Unless damaged, negatives will yield fresh crisp prints for archiving with better results than scanning a print of the same image.
Before organizing, scanning, or storing your negatives, be certain that you are working with safety film. Review the sidebar about cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate films. These films are highly toxic and dangerous.
When you find old negatives, film, or slides in your collection, first determine if the film is safe before proceeding. Black-and-white negatives and early movie film may have also been made of cellulose nitrate, a highly explosive product. “Bursting into flames” is a real possibility when cellulose nitrate film is part of your collection.
Improved “safety film” made of cellulose acetate aimed to provide a more stable medium, but proved to be subject to “Vinegar Syndrome.” As the film degraded, it turned into acetic acid, or vinegar. You can often detect cellulose acetate negatives or movie film from the vinegar odor. If you notice a peculiar sour vinegar odor in your negatives or film, remove the offender immediately before it causes damage to other items in your collection. Plan to copy or digitize as soon as possible.
Around 1960, film was made out of polyester, which has proven to be both safe and stable. But you will want to immediately remove from your collection any negatives and movie film that you suspect may be cellulose nitrate or cellulose acetate. Smithsonian preservationist Don Williams recommends using the following test to determine the kind of film in your collection.
Test Your Film
You will need two pairs of Polaroid sunglasses.
What to Do With Dangerous Film
If you encounter cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate film, remove it immediately from your collection. Store in a cool place and plan to digitize or copy as soon as possible. Don’t keep the film in a freezer used for food storage because it builds up toxic substances.
Contact your local library or museum for information about digitizing images. Do not discard films into your regular trash. Cellulose nitrate film is considered hazardous waste and must be disposed of properly. Contact your local waste disposal office for more information.
We needed a 16mm projector to view movies my mother-in-law made when she lived in Hawaii in the 1930s. I found a likely looking Bell & Howell model on craigslist and drove across town to meet the seller. He was keen on adding a few items to our bill, including some vintage movie reels still in their board and metal boxes. He pulled back the straps and we nearly passed out from the strong odor of vinegar that rolled out of the box. The film was surely cellulose acetate degrading with a full case of “Vinegar Syndrome.” If you encounter this in your archive, follow the steps outlined in The Dangers of Cellulous Nitrate and Acetate Film sidebar.
Items placed in cold storage are susceptible to moisture if brought to room temperature quickly. See the Resources section for specialized cold storage references.
Look for local professional film storage if you want to store old films in optimal conditions.
Gary Clark, PhotoTree <www.PhotoTree.com>
Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD, Forensic Genealogist <www.forensicgenealogy.info>
footnoteMaven <www.ShadesoftheDeparted.com>
Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective <www.maureentaylor.com>
The Association of Moving Image Archivists, Film Forever Home Film Preservation Guide <www.filmforever.org>
Library of Congress, Care, Handling and Storage of Motion Picture Film
<www.loc.gov/preservation/care/film.html>
Little Film, Home Movies: A Basic Primer <littlefilm.org/Primer.html>
National Archives, Cold Storage Handling Guidelines for Photographs
<www.archives.gov/preservation/storage/cold-storage-photos.html>