The Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works is proud to announce advance sales of Platinum and Palladium Photographs: Technical History, Connoisseurship, and Preservation.
Edited by Constance McCabe, the book presents the results of a four-year inter-institutional, interdisciplinary research initiative led by the National Gallery of Art and contains contributions by 47 leading photograph conservators, scientists, and historians.
This volume will help those who care for photograph collections gain a thorough appreciation of the technical and aesthetic characteristics of platinum and palladium prints and a scientific basis for their preservation. Topics, among many, that specifically address the permanence of platinum and palladium prints include:
How platinum/palladium prints are made and their degradation;
Analytical methods used to characterize and identify these and related photomechanical processes;
The history and use of both artist-prepared and manufactured papers and their distinguishing characteristics;
Historic chemical treatments to reduce staining, and an investigation of chelation treatments in use today;
and Proper storage, display, and non-adhesive mounting methods.
Not only does this volume advance our understanding of the history and character of platinum and palladium prints; it also validates and promotes a method of investigation that brings together professionals from various disciplines, each examining the subject with a unique perspective and area of expertise, informing one another for a richer and more complex understanding of the art and science of photography.
Foreword, Malcolm Daniel, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Learn more at
www.conservation-us.org/platinum-palladium-book.