Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/12/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]In a message dated 12/14/2004 10:03:39 PM Central Standard Time, tedgrant@shaw.ca writes: But I've got prints kicking around here, 16X20's that have to be 45 years old easily, if not more and they still look pretty damn good without all this extra processing and preserving. Umm, I work in an archive; my main job is to duplicate (scan) our massive photo and document collection. We have hundreds of snaps from the 1920s that were contact printed at a pharmacy, and thousands of other work by local amateurs and professionals. Sometimes I can look at a shot and tell by the shape of the negative and the style who took the picture. We don't scan for preservation; we scan so people can have greater access to the shots without handling them and exposing them to too much damage. Often, you can tell much more about a snap by enlarging it on a computer than you could ever tell with a magnifying glass and the print in hand. We also scan, to service a pretty large clientele of magazine, historical book publishers, and television and AV producers. We've had stuff on three American Experiences shows (WGBH) in the past two years, and something like twelve books, including a new history text. You can get a handle on some of our collection by logging on to our website. Some of our stuff is at http://www.nsula.edu/watson_library/chamber/default.htm and http://www.nsula.edu/watson_library/steamers/default.htm We are preparing to load several other example collections on the web, and at the same time are building finding aids for our collection. That's taking a lot of time as the Archive has only four full time staff altogether, but as you can see by this list we are making progress. http://www.nsula.edu/watson_library/archives_list_of_collections.htm Finding aids exist for more than we have linked, it's just a slow process to get them on the web. As there is a good deal of interest in military content, those are so marked. A description of the Cammie Henry Research Center is here. http://www.nsula.edu/watson_library/CGHRC.HTM There, I probably have driven you all to drink, but now you might have a glimpse at my fascination of carrying on this documentation project. What was the question again? Oh yeah, archival pictures. We have lots of stuff that is pretty good shape, but if you REALLY want archival, print with a good quality ink on low acid or acid-free paper. Books. I think Ted does that. The pictures in a quality printed book will outlast ALL other photographic renditions if you keep it away from the varmits. Regards, Sonny http://www.sonc.com Natchitoches, Louisiana Oldest continuous settlement in La Louisiane ?galit?, libert?, crawfish Abbreviated