Recently Jessica and I started working on a series of special collection items from UC Libraries’ DAAP Library. These were recent acquisitions specifically bought to be used as a teaching collection within the DAAP Library. Most items are small prints and single manuscript leaves that need to be matted for exhibition and prepared for handling during class. We have been working on these in small batches since it is a much larger collection that keeps growing.
Most of the items we have received so far have been very straightforward matting projects, however we encountered one that was puzzling and fun to work on. We received this item: a proof print accompanied by its very heavy, copper engraving plate. The print was adhered to a paper brown envelope with no information and the copper plate was also unhoused.
Proof print (left) and engraving plate (right) before treatment and housing.
The curator of the collection wanted both items to be housed together and housed in a way that would allow students to touch the items, and also be able to use them for exhibits. We decided that both items would be matted individually, and then housed together in a thin corrugated clamshell box. The most challenging part would be to create a matting system that was strong enough to secure the very heavy copper plate and elegant enough to be used for exhibition.
The print itself received minor treatment, with the backing envelope being removed and the print housed in a polyester L-sleeve mounted with photo corners.
Print housed in a polyester L-sleeve and matted with photo corners.
With the engraving plate, I needed to figure out how to create a matting system that was strong enough to hold the copper plate in place, especially if used for an exhibit where it may be propped at a slight angle. After considering some options, I created a sink mat that would secure the plate halfway, and then the rest of the sink mat would be adhered to the window mat so the copper plate, resting on a polyester tray, could be pulled out of the mat easily. How would I keep the matting system closed? ….with magnets, lots of magnets! For this project I used 24 rare earth magnets.
Copper engraving plate housed in a specialty sink mat with magnetic closures.Matting system for the copper plate – a sink mat, half attached to the back mat and half attached to the window mat, all secured closed with magnets.Copper plate slightly removed from the matting system by the polyester film tray.
This was a fun project to work on. After using 24 magnets and breaking a few in the process, the copper plate was securely housed in the sink mat, while also able to be propped up for exhibition and handled for teaching.
Before treatmentAfter treatmentThe matting system in action!
As conservation professionals at the Preservation Lab, we get to see and work with our fair share of historic, rare, and just plain interesting artifacts. I recently had the pleasure of becoming familiar with an item that is all 3 of these, and just so happens to be one of The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library’s (CHPL) most prized possessions: the Fontayne and Porter 1848 Cincinnati Panorama Daguerreotype.
Cincinnati Daguerreotype Panorama by C. Fontayne and W. Porter, 1848
For those who are unfamiliar, a daguerreotype is the very first photographic process, utilizing iodine-sensitized silver plates and mercury vapors, often offering stunning detail and resolution. Currently on display in the downtown Main Library’s Cincinnati Room, the Cincinnati Panorama is no exception, and is considered one of the most detailed and vivid examples of daguerreotype photography currently in existence.
CHPL panorama plate 5 detail
CHPL panorama plate 4 detail
CHPL panorama plate 2 detail
Daguerreotype photography is not without its challenges, however. Most significant of these (at least which concerns us in the conservation field) is that daguerreotypes are extremely delicate. They scratch easily and can degrade with simple exposure to oxygen, atmospheric pollutants, and moisture. These attributes bring up a difficult question: how does one display an item like this, while also ensuring its preservation for generations to come?
Enter Ralph Wiegandt. Wiegandt is a Photograph Research Conservator who designed and installed the 1848 Cincinnati Panorama’s enclosure and display case in 2008. He routinely has performed on-site follow-up consultations in 2012, ’14, ’16, and most recently this past June with Genealogy and Local History and Preservation Lab staff. My fellow lab mate, Hyacinth, and I had the good fortune to also meet with Wiegandt on this recent visit to attend a presentation on his uniquely designed enclosure. Although the primary purpose of the visit was to discuss the enclosure, Ralph shared no shortage of information about daguerreotype plates, the photographers (Fontayne and Porter), the conditions surrounding the panorama, and much more.
Ralph Wiegandt, photo by Hyacinth Tucker
It was clear from speaking with Wiegandt that this project was one he was deeply passionate about, referring to it as “a seminal object in my career.” He spoke with excitement about the unique attributes the Cincinnati Panorama showcases, chief among them: the stunning detail and clarity. According to Wiegandt, this image is so detailed that it can be magnified up to 30x before experiencing any resolution loss. This allowed for intense digital imaging to be performed during the initial conservation of the daguerreotype in 2008. In this process, digital photos were taken from different degrees of closeness to the original image and then stitched together, creating one large interactive digital display, viewable here.
Wiegandt informed us that the 1848 Cincinnati Panorama was not the first attempt at such a picture. Just several months prior, W.S. Porter had taken another daguerreotype panorama of the Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia.
Fairmount Water Works Daguerreotype Panorama by W.S. Porter, 1848
The detail of this image, however, is not as impressive as the Cincinnati Panorama. What can be gleaned from this fact, according to Wiegandt, is that the Philadelphia capture was a successful learning experience for Porter, and that his skills and techniques were able to improve dramatically by the time he attempted the Cincinnati Panorama with C. Fontayne.
At the time of the Cincinnati Panorama, daguerreotype photography had only existed for 9 years. Equally as remarkable as the detail these images were able to capture is the inception of this technology. Wiegandt explained how Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre experimented with plates of silver sensitized with iodine fumes. The idea was that the sensitized silver would be reduced as it was exposed to light (i.e., the shutters on a camera opening and allowing light from the image field to hit the plates), thus creating latent images in the silver. Although this proved to be successful, a viewable image was not detectable until a chance happening, which Wiegandt describes as “a miracle.” Legend has it that one of Daguerre’s exposed plates was stored in a cabinet, sharing this space with one other singular item: a broken instrument that utilizes mercury (such as a thermometer, barometer, etc.). Upon examining this plate, Daguerre realized the latent image was now detectable, correctly deducing that the mercury fumes had developed the film. The fumes had caused the light-exposed areas on the silver plate to form small bumps, roughly 1 micron in size, creating an instant high-resolution image. The microscopic size of these bumps means that, according to Wiegandt, daguerreotype images are an early example of what we would today call nanotechnology. (Ralph also notes the actual circumstances of its discovery are unclear since any notes from Daguerre’s studio would have been lost during a fire shortly afterwards.)
Much like the Fontayne and Porter Cincinnati Daguerreotype, the current display case is quite unique as well. As mentioned before, daguerreotypes are incredibly delicate. To successfully prevent further degradation and preserve this object for generations to come, its exposure to oxygen and other reactive gases must be severely limited. The solution that Wiegandt produced was a specialized inert gas case, similar in concept to how the Declaration of Independence is housed. The goal of this case is “to maintain a slightly elevated pressure of a non-reactive gas such that it will not put excessive strain on the seals yet will be above the potentially highest barometric pressure” (Wiegandt, 2006), thus preventing any atmospheric air from coming in contact with the sensitive daguerreotype plates.
Wiegandt’s sealed encasement design sketch provided in treatment documentation
Wiegandt chose argon to pressurize the case with as it has a better diffusion rate and is more inert than other gases such as nitrogen, all while being cost effective.
Wiegandt informed us on his most recent visit that the case is doing its job: the panorama has experienced no detectable degradation since its installation. However, this was likely his final visit to the Cincinnati Library, as he is retiring from the field. I should add that a further and perhaps more important purpose for this visit was to advise and inform CHPL (and Preservation Lab) staff to be successful in monitoring and caring for the object in his absence. Fortunately, Wiegandt was able to leave us with a wealth of information and resources that will aid in the continued preservation of this amazing artifact. With an updated preservation plan, knowledgeable staff in both the Genealogy & Local History and Preservation Lab departments, and a commitment to preserving cultural property, we can be confident the Cincinnati daguerreotype panorama will be enjoyed by library visitors for many generations to come.
The Preservation Lab has enjoyed our involvement in the Vesalius lecture series and exhibits including preparing the loan agreements, leading and assisting with photographic documentation, and providing spectral and computational imaging to the Vesalius researchers and lecturers.
Some of this work made a guest appearance on the FoxNews 19 segment, starring Dr. Stephen Joffe, on the three rare books that had been on view in December in the Winkler Center.
Please join us for the second lecture in the six-part series – “Making the Fabrica: The Illustrations, Printing, Binding & Publication.” Award-winning cultural historian Dániel Margócsy, PhD, University of Cambridge, will describe the creation of the “Fabrica.” Dr. Margócsy will be joined by Gabrielle Fox, a Cincinnati book binding and preservation expert, who will discuss the bindings of the first and second editions that will be on public display in the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library.
The lecture, free and open to the public, will be held Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium, 231 Albert Sabin Way. In-person activities will be provided under CDC guidelines or local COVID-19 restrictions, with the well-being of all guests remaining the top priority. View UC’s current COVID-19 updates.For those not wishing to attend in person, the lectures will be live streamed via Zoom.
