XRF analysis to identify historical photographic processes: The case of some Interguglielmi Jr.’s images from the Palermo Municipal Archive

Modica, Aurora; Alberghina, Maria Francesca; Brai, Maria; Bruno, Mauricio; Bella, Marco; Fontana, Dorotea; Tranchina, Luigi

doi:10.1016/j.radphyschem.2017.02.026

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The majority of the above-described factors (variables) can be quantified by employing analytical techniques, such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF) [9][10][11][12][13][14]. These instrumental techniques were, for instance, successfully employed for the non-destructive [15][16][17] identification of photographs, paintings, and other objects of cultural heritage [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. The energy dose provided by X-ray radiation and utilized by the ED-XRF spectrometer had no noticeable effect on old photographs and paintings if measurements were performed occasionally [24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studies on the Authorship of Albumen Vintage Photographs: A Combined Experimental and Chemometric Approach

Adamowska,

Zając,

Sawicki

et al. 2024

Molecules

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The differences in albumen photographs from vintage photographic studios were identified by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results inspired the concept of finding common features characteristic of a given photographic studio. The obtained measurement data (i.e., positions of vibrational bands for characteristic groups of albumen and the mass contents of chosen elements) were analyzed chemometrically by employing the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The PCA technique allowed us to reduce the number of relevant experimental parameters characterizing the unique features of the photographic objects. The two major components were able to distinguish the photographic objects in terms of their authorship and the time to produce a photograph. The method developed was examined for a selected group of photographs consisting of albumen prints from three Polish photographic ateliers. To validate ED-XRF measurements and, consequently, the chemometric findings, reference albumen photo samples were designed and prepared. The empirical functional relationships between the content of photochemically reduced silver particles on the photographic paper and several physicochemical factors, including time of exposure to UV light, AgNO3 concentration in a fixed bath, and concentrations of other additives, were proposed. These results can be used for the prediction of the experimental conditions under which the investigated photographs were developed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studies on the Authorship of Albumen Vintage Photographs: A Combined Experimental and Chemometric Approach

Adamowska,

Zając,

Sawicki

et al. 2024

Molecules

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“…Desde su corta historia, los estudios más relevantes acerca de las copias fotográficas a la albúmina fueron los desarrollados a finales de 1980 por James Reilly [6,[10][11], a través del George Eastman Museum y el Image Permanence Institute, y en la década de 1990 por Messier y Vitale [12][13]. Actualmente, existen investigaciones importantes desde instituciones norteamericanas como el Getty Conservation Institute, de la mano de científicos como Stulik y Kaplan que han aportado a las investigaciones espectros de referencia sobre la composición de estos materiales y su datación estimada [7,[14][15] y otros estudios más recientes de autores que han aplicado diferentes técnicas analíticas para la caracterización y el diagnóstico en albúminas de colecciones patrimoniales [16][17][18][19], obteniendo resultados prometedores y desarrollando metodologías eficaces para la identificación de capas y componentes [20][21].…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Materials characterization of albumen prints from Calouste Gulbenkian´s memories album

Guerrero,

Silva

2023

Cons. Património

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The present investigation gathers the results of the characterization and scientific analysis of a memories album with albumen prints from the end of the 19th century, belonging to the art collector Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian. The study has focused on different analytical techniques, such as optical microscopy (OM), energy dispersive X-ray micro-fluorescence (ED-XRF), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (ATR-FTIR), Raman microspectroscopy (μ-Raman) and Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (μ-FTIR). The use of these different and complementary techniques allowed us to collect important information about this album, namely some organic and inorganic components present in the photographic prints and its conservation condition, data about its manufacture and to make an approximation to its historical dating.

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“…Most technical studies of 19th-century photographic media to date focus on daguerreotypes and their degradation [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Attention to other 19th-century photographic processes, however, has been rising thanks to the availability of cutting-edge methods of non-invasive instrumental analysis, although these studies mostly aim to characterize photographic supports, materials, and techniques used by a single photographer or for a specific photographic category [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. The materials used in developing and printing processes during the late 19th and early 20th centuries have been largely investigated, but the results of photographic processes undertaken in the frigid environment of the Arctic have not been studied from a scientific standpoint, nor have the methods for creating halftone reproductions been examined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary photographs and improved positives: discovering the New York Public Library’s Arctic Exploration album

et al. 2021

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In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, original photographs were sent to publishers so that they could be reproduced in print. The photographs often needed to be reworked with overpainting and masking, and such modifications were especially necessary for low-contrast photographs to be reproduced as a letterpress halftone. As altered objects, many of these marked-up photographs were simply discarded after use. An album at The New York Public Library, however, contains 157 such photographs, all relating to the Jackson–Harmsworth expedition to Franz Josef Land, from 1894 to 1897. Received as gifts from publishers, the photographs are heavily retouched with overpainting and masking, as well as drawn and collaged elements. The intense level of overpainting on many of the photographs, but not on others, raised questions about their production and alteration. Jackson’s accounts attested to his practice of developing and printing photographs on site, testing different materials and techniques—including platino-bromide and silver-gelatin papers—to overcome the harsh environmental conditions. In this context, sixteen photographs from the album were analyzed through a combination of non-invasive and micro-invasive techniques, including X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, fiber optics reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), Raman and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies, and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). This analytical campaign aimed to evaluate the possible residual presence of silver halides in any of the preliminary and improved photographs. The detection of these compounds would be one of several factors supporting a hypothesis that some of the photographs in the album were indeed printed on site, in the Arctic, and, as a result, may have been impacted by the extreme environment. Additional goals of the study included the evaluation of the extent of retouching, providing a full characterization of the pigments and dyes used in overpainted prints, and comparing the results with contemporaneous photographic publications that indicate which coloring materials were available at the time. Further analyses shed light on the organic components present in the binders and photographic emulsions. This research has increased our knowledge of photographic processes undertaken in a hostile environment such as the Arctic, and shed light on the technical aspects of photographically illustrating books during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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XRF analysis to identify historical photographic processes: The case of some Interguglielmi Jr.’s images from the Palermo Municipal Archive

Cited by 10 publications

References 11 publications

Studies on the Authorship of Albumen Vintage Photographs: A Combined Experimental and Chemometric Approach

Studies on the Authorship of Albumen Vintage Photographs: A Combined Experimental and Chemometric Approach

Materials characterization of albumen prints from Calouste Gulbenkian´s memories album

Preliminary photographs and improved positives: discovering the New York Public Library’s Arctic Exploration album

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