Introduction
This article is about the conservation treatment of an albumen print face-mounted to glass depicting the original Canadian Parliament building, belonging to a private collection.
Before treatment documentation- recto and verso
The photograph depicts the original Canadian Parliament building, completed in 1876-1877. It was taken from the South Bank of the Ottawa River, on the West side of the Parliament, near the current location of the Supreme Court of Canada. The original Parliament building were destroyed – except for the Library of Parliament – in a fire on February 3, 1916. This historical context helps us date the photograph between 1876 and 1916, more likely between 1876 and the mid-1890s given the photographic technique.
What is an albumen print?
Albumen prints were introduced to the Académie des Sciences (Paris, France) in 1850 by Louis-Désiré Blanquart-Evrard (1802-1972). They were the most common photographic printing technique from the 1860s to the mid-1890s. Starting in the mid-1880s they are progressively replaced by silver gelatin and collodion printing-out prints.
Albumen prints are composed of a paper primary support with an albumen binder, containing a silver chloride printing-out photographic image. Most prints were gold-toned, resulting in a warm, deep purple image tone. The prints were printed by contact with the negative. That means the size of the printed image is the same as the negative.
This albumen print is face-mounted to a 2 mm-thick glass plate. Given the thinness of the glass and its evenness (no default or bubbles), it is likely to be a modern glass plate. The mounting system would thus be more modern than the print itself. The print used to be framed in a thin-profile brass frame, which has since been lost.
Condition of the photograph upon arrival at CLC’s conservation lab
This photograph was brought to our conservation lab because it was broken in three pieces. Indeed, the photograph had fallen on the ground, resulting in a break in the bottom left corner. There were also a few missing glass shards along the break lines. Additionally, the print shows significant yellowing of the albumen binder and fading of the photographic image, from extended exposure to light. Tidelines on the verso of the print indicate a former water damage. The presence of water has not impacted the adhesion between the glass and the print.
Documentation before treatment – detail of the bottom left corner – recto and verso
Conservation treatment of the broken photograph on glass
Cleaning
The conservation treatment started with cleaning the photograph’s recto and verso. Cleaning aims to remove dust and soiling that could react chemically with the constitutive materials and further damage the photograph. It also provides a clean surface for the glass repair and consolidation.
Glass repair and consolidation
To determine which adhesive would be the most appropriate to readhere the glass plate fragments together without damaging the albumen print, preliminary tests were undertaken on a didactic albumen print belonging to CLC.
Adhesive test on a didactic albumen print mounted on secondary support
Small dots of adhesive A and B were applied to the didactic albumen print and left to dry. Adhesive B’s refractive index is closer to that of glass than adhesive A and would provide a more invisible mend. However, adhesive B strongly reacted with the didactic print by diffusing inside the print and staining it. Adhesive A did not stain the didactic print during our preliminary test. As a result, adhesive A was selected for the treatment of the broken albumen print face-mounted to glass.
The photograph was then placed vertically to realign the glass fragments with the help of gravity. The fragments were maintained together with dental wax, and the adhesive infiltrated into the break line by capillarity.
During conservation treatment – Vertical assembly set up and detail of the reassembled fragments prior to adhesive infiltration
Conclusion
After treatment, the three fragments are adhered together, and the photograph can once again be handled as one piece. We made a custom cradle in order to safely handle the photograph while limiting the risk of handling the fragile bottom left corner. The cradle was made with conservation materials that pass the Photographic Activity Test (ISO 18916:2007 “Imaging materials — Processed imaging materials — Photographic activity test for enclosure materials”).
After treatment documentation and custom cradle created to provide support and protection to the repaired face-mounted to glass albumen print.
Do you have broken photographic glass plates? CLC specializes in the care of all photographic materials and we help you preserve it. Contact us.