[alt-photo] Re: Happy New Year

[Christina Anderson]

Happy New Year to all! I for one am THRILLED it is 2012 with a New Year's goal of cutting 17 hours out of my work week per week. Now that I've told 400 list members I'll have to stick to it. I blame my frozen shoulder on excessive mousing, though technically there is no known cause.

Glad to see the list alive and well these last few days!! People still posting, and up to their old tricks!!

With all this talk about platinum longevity re: clearing agents used, it calls to mind a list discussion a while ago on the archivalness of different alt processes. I was surprised to find out pt/pd wasn't the top, but carbon and gum were. I posted that to the list and got a bit chewed up because of it. But this discussion of clearing seems to go along with that theory. AND, even if paper is exquisitely cleared, pt/pd still "ghosts" itself on a sheet it is in contact with.

SO, probably carbon is the MOST archival (e.g. carbon pigment--Sandy King rules...) but gum would be a close second, subject to pigments fading I might think.

I appreciate the clearing conversation. Now, Etienne, I am really concerned about how I have taught students all these years. From this discussion at LEAST I will start with an acid first bath (di-EDTA I think or maybe a muriatic I mix myself. I cannot let them get near the stuff). But this discussion makes me realize how much I have to stress the process of clearing for longevity. I've been buying Heico Permawash in bulk and providing it for the students, counseling three baths of the stuff.

Thanks for the intense sharing all of you and here's to years more of this list.

BTW the highest email month from 94-2004 was 900 emails, the lowest was about 300. And surprisingly, it is more a treasure trove of cyano, VDB, pt/pd, argyrotype and less of gum than I had thought it was. Albumen and carbon a bit less but with carbon abounding more...casein the very least of all. Smattering of daguerreotype. And lots of now-outdated posting on digital negatives..

Chris


Christina Z. Anderson
christinaZanderson.com

On Jan 1, 2012, at 12:30 AM, Jon Reid wrote:

> Happy New Year everyone.
> Keep it up, such a great resource.
> Jon
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
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