The Nanotechnology of the Daguerreotype

(credit: Cincinnati Waterfront Daguerreotype Panorama, Fontayne and Porter, daguerreotypists, 1848 // Owned by the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County http://1848.cincinnatilibrary.org )

The daguerreotype is widely considered to be the first form of photography, invented by Frenchman Louis Daguerre in 1839. The George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, NY owns one of the largest collections of these unique photographic artifacts, with over 5,000 in their holdings. Conservators who have been working with and studying this remarkable technology have discovered that the silver plates that the images are recorded on have been deteriorating over time, but up until recently they haven't been able to explain why.

This is where physicists at the University of Rochester enter into the equation. Using advanced technology such as a scanning electron microscope (SEM), they have been able to observe previously unknown properties of these more than 150 year old photographic plates. Nicholas Bigelow, the Lee A. DuBridge Chair in Physics and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy has been looking at the nanostructure of these very old and very high resolution photographs and finding that they are actually a biologically active surface. Using the SEM they can see remarkable hybrid organic-metallic features that appear to be growing on the plates, like fungi. The images obtained with the SEM also reveal surface pores and voids below the image surface that may be a significant cause of image deterioration and loss over time.

Through this research initiative, Ralph Wiegandt, Senior Project Conservator at the George Eastman House has been able to dedicate his work to developing solutions for stopping further deterioration of daguerreotypes and preserve the collection. One such tool is an encasement that contains the gas argon, which they have found will not degrade the images like oxygen will. The cases also keep out harmful moisture and contaminants and each has a sensor that allows conservators to test for the presence of oxygen within the case.

While the research has not yet provided a solution for restoring already damaged daguerreotypes, it offers hope that the existing pieces will not further deteriorate.

History of Collaboration
The University of Rochester and George Eastman House share a common history through Kodak founder George Eastman -- who shared half his philanthropic fortune with the University, including establishing the River Campus, the Eastman School of Music, and the School of Medicine and Dentistry. Upon his death in 1932, he bequeathed his home to the University. Two presidents resided there, beginning with his close friend Rush Rhees, until 1947 when the University transferred the property to a board of trustees, which established a museum of photography. Since then the University and Eastman House have had a history of sharing collections followed by academic collaboration in the 1950s, which continue to the present day.

In 2010, the University of Rochester and George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, the world's preeminent museum of imaging, entered into an alliance to further public engagement, research, and education in the arts and sciences, with a focus on the museum's photography and motion-picture collections.

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