Beating the Heat at the Maryland State Archives

Despite the sweltering heat, Lynn Waller, Banneker-Douglass Museum archivist, and I, Michael Janakis, took a trip to the Maryland State Archives (MSA). The purpose of our trip was to examine in person some daguerreotypes and tintypes, which are early photographic mediums. I was able to see some pictures of daguerreotypes and tintypes in some materials I have been reading at the Banneker-Douglass Museum, but reproductions of daguerreotypes do not reproduce the full flavor of the daguerreotype. That is, daguerreotypes were made out of a polished copper plate coated in polished silver, which results in the finished product having a mirrored finish. It looks like someone printed a photograph on a mirror. When one looks at a reproduction of a daguerreotype in a book, the mirrored finish is not visible.

Lynn and I were taken to the conversation lab of the MSA, where the staff had prepared some daguerreotypes and tintypes for us to examine. The staff reviewed some information about these photographic processes with me, and answered some questions I had. Daguerreotypes were the first photographic medium, and pose specific problems for preservationists and conservators. Daguerreotypes were placed in a sealed case with a photo mat after they had been developed (the development process involved evaporating mercury!). Anywhere that this case has not maintained its airtight seal is susceptible to a form of tarnishing known as "silver mirroring", which is devastating to the image. One of the daguerreotypes we were able to examine was suffering from silver mirroring near the edges of its case. Speaking of damage to photographic materials, we were also able to see examples of damage to tintypes and albumen prints, two types of photograph popular during the mid- to late-19th century. Tintypes were similar to daguerreotypes in that the image was "printed", as it were, on metal plates. Tintypes used polished iron instead of copper/silver plates, thus making them susceptible to rust. However, tintypes were much cheaper, allowing them to be purchased cheaply by, say, Civil War troops, and sent home to their families. Albumen prints were paper prints with an emulsion material made from albumen, or egg white. One of the characteristics of albumen prints is that over time, their white highlights take on a characteristic yellow hue. Additionally, albumen prints exhibit minute cracks over time. Despite the organic base, albumen prints are also susceptible to silver mirroring. This is because photographs use photosensitive silver salts. The staff was able to explain this to me in greater detail.

The conservator and staff discussed some aspects of dating photographs with us. One of the best ways to date photographs is by examining the fashions worn by the subjects (especially in the case of portraiture, which represents most of early photography). Often, because of the expense of photography, early photograph subjects would dress in their best clothing in the latest fashion. This is not a hard and fast rule, however, and when dating photographs the archivist must be careful of reenactors or history buffs dressing up in period clothing for a modern tintype. For example, there are photography enthusiasts who still use tintype photography for the novelty. An archivist must be careful not to be deceived. An excellent reference for anyone dating photographs is Dress for the Photographer by Joan Severa.

The staff was also able to answer some of my questions about silver mirroring in more modern photography, as well as show us a website of a modern user of tintype photography, which detailed the entire process of taking a tintype photograph. One of the staff even had a tintype of her and her husband on the website!

Another book highly recommended by the staff was Care and Identification of 19th Century Photographic Prints by James M. Reilley.

This was a very informative trip, and I was glad to be able to see daguerreotypes and tintypes
in person.