In the theaterlike darkness of the international Center of Photography in New York City, black-and-white ghosts of New England's mid-19th-century Boston Brahmins stared out from behind the glass-and-rosewood frames. These were the works of Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes, the Rembrandts of daguerreotypy—the first practical form of photography. A demure bride in white silk crepe fingered her ribbons; the stern and haughty statesman Daniel Webster glared from behind his brow. When the “Young America” exhibit opened in 2005, its 150-year-old images captured American icons at a time when the nation was transitioning from adolescence into a world power. “Each picture glows on the wall like a stone in a mood ring,” the New York Times raved in its review.

Yet after a month on exhibit, the silver plate–bound images began to degrade. White spots overtook half the portrait of a woman in a curtain-length skirt. Iridescent halos formed on abolitionist Henry Ingersoll Bowditch. Other images blistered. By the end of the two-and-a-half-month show, 25 daguerreotypes had been damaged, five of them critically.

This article was originally published with the title The Case of the Disappearing Daguerreotypes.

2 Comments

1. 1. Daniel35 03:08 PM 12/15/12

   To me, the main value of the originals is studying how, and how quickly, they deteriorate.

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2. 2. daguerreian artist 01:15 PM 1/11/13

   From personal experience I can tell you that I have 19th century daguerreotypes as well as my own daguerreotypes that have been on continuous display on my studio wall for 10+ years with no sign of change.
   
   Southworth and Hawes plates have a very unique storage history contrary to the norm. The great majority of S&H images that remain were plates retained by the studio stored completely unsealed in plate boxes. A typical preservation package used by the George Eastman House from the mid-1970's to 1999 consisted of 4-ply buffered board with a paper binding tape, and a buffered die cut paper mat separating the plate from the glass. The buffering agent is 3% calcium carbonate to provide an alkali reserve of ph 8.5.
   
   I have experienced the "white haze" phenomena on other of my contemporary images as well as on 19th century images that have been in contact with buffered board. What is good for the conservation of paper, ie alkaline buffering, is not necessarily good for daguerreotypes.
   
   In reviewing the conservation efforts for the Young America Exhibition I learned that plates were not removed from their mat board and die cut preservation packages. These were placed intact into extremely well sealed secondary housings incorporating shallow copper pans to act as pollutant scavengers. A complete overview of the conservation for this exhibition can be found here.
   http://notesonphotographs.org/images/1/1e/Young_America_design_for_web.pdf
   
   If the buffered materials are a co-factor in the formation of "white-haze" deterioration it would explain why even with the best intentioned conservation, some plates still changed during exhibition. A questionable environment was enclosed within a stable one.
   This scenario is a possible alternative and/or co-factor to the silver-chloride scenario presented in the Scientific American article.
   
   Daguerreotypes are among the most stable of photographs providing the housings are intact to prevent pollutants from reacting with the silver surface and the housings themselves are not contributing to the problem. The mechanism of deterioration particular to a small percentage of Southworth and Hawes daguerreotypes is not yet fully understood. This article should not prevent us from exhibiting these amazing photographs. It is prudent, as has been shown by the Young America exhibition, to accurately document any daguerreotype intended for exhibition and carefully monitor it at regular intervals to note any changes.
   
   sincerely,
   
   Mike Robinson
   President of the Daguerreian Society

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