Ask GEM: How do you work with light-sensitive objects from the collection?

As part of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, we have been cataloging and digitizing our Boyer Collection, which includes over 10,000 objects that are important in the history of photography.

The book here is “The Pencil of Nature” by William Henry Fox Talbot. It is the first commercially published book illustrated with photographs made of negatives, and it was issued in fascicles from 1844 through 1846. There are approximately 40 surviving copies of the book, and the Eastman Museum is lucky to have two copies, one of which includes all 24 original image plates.

The salted paper prints in this book are not properly fixed, which means that they are extremely sensitive to light induced deterioration, such as fading and discoloration. Because of the light sensitivity, The Pencil of Nature is rarely accessed and the original object cannot be exhibited. Thus, also the cataloging and digitizing needed to be performed with utmost care with the supervision of our conservators.

Here, Boyer Project Cataloger Lilyan Jones catalogs the book. This process entails examining the book and adding it as a record to our collection database. The information gathered includes the title, date, medium, dimensions, and inscriptions. To avoid any physical damages to the fragile book, it is resting on a supportive cradle while handled with gloved hands. Nylon-covered lead weights are used to gently hold the pages.

Next, The Pencil of Nature is taken to the photography studio, where Boyer Project Photographer Mireya Salinas takes high resolution images of the book covers, and of each individual spread and page. Not only do these images serve as an accurate representation and record of this book, but they can also be used for research and exhibition purposes, in publications, and on our Online Collections.

The studio is set up according to the parameters established and published by the Paper Conservation and Imaging Services Departments at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Strobes equipped with ultraviolet filters and large soft boxes are used as light sources when capturing the images, and to make sure that the light levels are not too high and that the lights are not emitting any damaging UV radiation, the outputs were measured before the book was brought to the studio.

The binding of this particular copy of the book has deteriorated over time, and the text block, including the salted paper photographs, is detached from the covers and is in several parts. Conservator in Charge Taina Meller is assisting in the safe handling of this delicate object.

The entire process, from once The Pencil of Nature is first taken out of the box to when it returns, is done under red safelight conditions. While this makes the cataloging and digitization more challenging, it ensures that the book is protected from excessive exposure to visible light, and UV and infrared radiation. Therefore, it reduces the chance that The Pencil of Nature will deteriorate further.

Learn more about this project at eastman.org/boyer.

This project has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this talk, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.