I have uncovered several boxes of old metal photographic plates which have not been stored well. The plates on the top of the open boxes are very dusty and have evidence of some corrosion. What is the best way to clean them and then to store them properly after cleaning?
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Hiya Noeleen,
We had very similar (if not exactly the same) metal photographic plates on woodblocks come into our collection last year, wrapped in greasy and yellowing newspaper and butchers paper as well. The advice from our conservator was to remove the covering paper, cover the face of the plate in archival card to protect it from rubbing and then to wrap the whole block with acid-free / archival paper. I kept the wrapping together with archival string. These blocks were then placed in the NAA blue card boxes.
I kept any butchers paper or newspaper that had identifying information on it (they were all numbered).
I hope this helps! Metal photographic plates are very sensitive to the oil on human skin so be careful to wear gloves. These ones weren't very dirty though so I can't say how to clean them, although I would perhaps guess that a soft brush would be ok. But please don't quote me on that!
Good luck :)
Angela
Thank you. What I have are boxes of copper photo printing plates attached to woodblocks. They have been wrapped in 'butcher paper' but this has yellowed and is dusty and dirty. The plates themselves have become very dusty, with areas of corrosion. I hope this clarifies the problem a bit more.
Oh, I see. My apologies for jumping to conclusions!
That's even better then, as these will be quite stable. I'm not sure what the conservation way to clean them would be other than using a soft brush. Here is thread I found on the housing and storage of similar plates: https://www.connectingtocollections.org/forums/topic/how-to-store-z...
Perhaps a metals conservator might have some suggestions as to cleaning them?
Clair
Hi Noeleen,
The best way to remove the dust would be with a very soft brush (deer hair works well) taking care around corroded areas.
If they are to be accessed frequently you should place them into archival plastic bags/sleeves that are open at the top - food safe plastic bags should be fine and will also give you a place to write item information on the back. Just don't seal them as this can create a microclimate and hasten any corrosion activity. Or place them into a polypropylene view book - most of the ones you purchase at a newsagent or Kmart will be of suitable quality.
Paper storage for photographic media should be non-buffered - so a neutral pH paper, card, tissue. Storage should be flat if there is corrosion on image area. If ok condition, you can store them vertically leaving a separating layer (paper/plastic) between each photograph. This site has some great pictures: https://www.archivalmethods.com/blog/tintypes-archival-preservation/
very exciting find!! I do wish I would uncover a few boxes of tin types :) good luck with them!
Clair