From: Ed Buffaloe (EdBuffaloe@unblinkingeye.com)
Date: 03/20/02-05:12:04 PM Z
There is an article by Michael A. Smith in the November/December 2000 issue
of VIEW CAMERA entitled "Advances in Archival Mounting and Storage". The
article is about mounting silver and color prints, and touts a new ArtCare
mounting board which sequesters pollutants and prevents them from combining
with ionic silver. However, toward the end of the article the following
statement is made: "Curiously, the dry-mounted photographs, for both the
black-and-white and color prints, fared far better than those that were
hinged. This would indicate that no matter what type of board is used,
dry-mounted prints are better protected than those only hinged or affixed
with photo corners. The dry-mount tissue acts as an additional barrier."
I don't think a definitive study of the archival stability of dry-mount
products has ever been attempted, even though the process originated in
1901. The only document I've been able to locate about it is entitled "The
Origins and Development of Dry Mounting," which can be found at
http://aic.stanford.edu/conspec/bpg/annual/v12/bp12-15.html. It does not
speculate as to archival stability, but the history is interesting
nonetheless. The article is by Stephanie Watkins, who is currently the
paper conservator for the Humanities Research Center Library at the
University of Texas in Austin.
Ed Buffaloe
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sandy King" <sanking@clemson.edu>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 3:48 PM
Subject: Archival matters
> Advice sought on the following matter.
>
> Most of my carbon prints are on sized watercolor papers. However,
> with these papers the relief or dimensional appearance that many
> people associate with the carbon process, is either lost or
> diminished when compared to the same image on fixed out photographic
> papers, especially on mat surfaces. For that reason I have lately
> been using fixed out photographic papers for many of my prints.
> However, I am uncomfortable with the fragility of these supports,
> especially single weight papers, and am considering the possibility
> of dry mounting my prints on photographic papers to a 2-ply or 4-ply
> mat board, or perhaps even to an art paper. I am convinced from
> reading about the issue that dry mounted prints will have better long
> term permanence but wonder about other archival considerations.
>
> Thoughts on this matter would be appreciated, as would be sites on
> the web that may deal with the issue.
>
> Sandy King
> --
>
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