Convex or Flat - Large Photographs - Circa 1900Writen by William Heroy
Often having a pastel or chalky or simply just a photographic brown or black and white appearance in the early 1900s, the large family portrait hanging over the mantle was an expensive and difficult project to undertake. Hometown photographers throughout the world simply were not able to produce the large portraits easily and resorted to mail order services. These mail order studios were generally located in large cities and could provide, what history has proven, a truly lasting and fine product by using photographic equipment capable of oversized printing, the use of talented hand-tinters (artists) and excellent photo mounting facilities not to mention a very efficient mail shipping room.
Over the years I have studied and usually repaired more than 3000 of these pieces and have noted their constitution. May of these prints are convex, oval and hand colored. Others look like flat black and white or brown tone prints. Some look like drawings where as others look just like a large photograph. All of these large convex and flat photos are mounted on rag-board. Over the years, sunlight, heat and moisture have given the prints an aged look usually accented by a large exquisite frame. What matters most about them is that they are someones ancestors. The family traits, eyes, noses and mouths are important, but what matters most is they are family from the past, our heritage.
Can they be refurbished if there is damage from years of storage and neglect? The answer is nearly almost yes though sometime the task is made considerably more difficult if the photographs are actually broken. The process that was used in their initial manufacture is the key to the remarkable ability to bring these prints back to a nearly new condition without sacrificing the established aged look.
When a restoration or refurbishing is undertaken, special attention must be paid to the brittle nature of the pieces and the highly acidic nature of the photographic paper in which the silver image is embedded. Careless use of the wrong retouching materials and lacquers may severely damage any effort to rescue an otherwise fine image. Insect manifestation and water lines must receive special attention. The fine touches of color must be made with ground up oil-based pastels.
The technical beauty of these photographs lies in their inherent archival qualities. When properly taken care of, these objects will grace the walls of any home for decades without any significant deterioration of the image content unlike its contemporary counterpart, the natural color photograph which begins a slow, but steady decomposition from the time it is purchased.
William Heroy Owner of Old Photo Specialists Founded in 1973
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Old Photo Specialists is a highly specialized restoration studio. We provide a variety of services including original restoration, digital restoration, archival black and white and sepia tone printing, hand oil tinting, oils on canvas and a large variety of photography services. We educate our clients on how to take care of, preserve, and archive their precious family photos.
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Old Photo Specialist
909 N. Elm St.
Greensboro, NC 27401
(336) 271-6960