Conservation of the heinz and georges leichter dry plate collection, Egypt: Case study

The Heinz and Georges Leichter collection of gelatin dry plate negatives, located in Egypt, includes approximately 1000 negatives, 500 of which are gelatin dry plate negatives. The negatives were found to depict different subjects (i.e. archaeological sites, portraits, landscapes and others). Different formats and sizes were noted. Similar to other photographic materials, gelatin dry plate negatives consist of a layered structure which can be divided into three components: the primary support, glass; the binder layer, gelatin; and the final image material, silver grains. With regard to the state of preservation, the majority of the negatives were found to suffer from mechanical damage due to poor handling and improper housing, as well as chemical damage due to storage in unfavorable environmental conditions. This paper mainly aimed at studying the collection in terms of historical background, structure and state of preservation. It also evaluated several mirroring reduction/removal treatments for possible use with mirrored dry plate negatives prior to digitization for producing an enhanced copy of the original, which is a significant measure for safeguarding the context of these valuable records. Finally, it also aimed at preserving the collection for future generations through performing several conservation treatments. Several examination and analytical techniques were utilized to study five representative gelatin dry plates selected from the Leichter collection such as: visual inspection, USB digital microscope, stereomicroscope, and SEM-EDX. Fungal testing was also carried out to identify fungal growths.