How to Preserve Centuries-Old Daguerreotypes

[00:00:09]Hey everybody, Adam Savage and I am in the conservation lab at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery with photography conservator Christina.

[00:00:17]Hello.

[00:00:18]Christina, tell me what we've got here.

[00:00:20]>> Right. Um, this is a daguerreotype Well, this is a daguerreotype of um Thomas Ustick Walter who was um the fourth architect of the US Capitol building. So, he was um overseeing when they were building the dome and the the wings of the Capitol building.

[00:00:35]So, this is the case. I've removed it from the case because um I don't know if you can see it if it's >> I can barely see it. It almost looks like a mirror.

[00:00:42]>> It is. It's a It's a polished silver plate and then the image. So, I don't know if that helps.

[00:00:47]>> Oh. Oh, wow.

[00:00:49]Oh, yes. Okay, now it does.

[00:00:51]>> Yeah, so that's why they're um they're displayed on an They're displayed usually at like a 45° angle.

[00:00:56]>> Wow.

[00:00:56]>> Um um but anyway, I'm in the process of taking this apart because when daguerreotype um daguerreotypes, they are a copper plate with silver either cold pressed or electroplated and as silver, you see that it tarnishes. Well, um they were put in these cases but the the original packages, they would be sealed with a paper seal and then they would have this um yeah, the brass plate, the preserver and the glass to try to help mitigate from tarnish.

[00:01:21]>> And so, these this is all about creating a barrier so the air can't chemically change the composition.

[00:01:27]>> Yes. Yes. And then so, that's why you see often though with um daguerreotypes, they'll have these kind of corrosion rings around the perimeter and that's just from the um the air getting in through the sides.

[00:01:35]It's like how if you go to a library and um you see a bunch of books and the books will look perfect on the inside.

[00:01:41]It's just cuz they have this kind of natural preservation set up just cuz they're all compressed together so the air can't circulate. So, this I can show you um I just wanted to keep it covered cuz the plates are incredibly sensitive and the image itself is like like less than an nanometer you know so thin that if you if you if I just did this across it would be gone.

[00:02:03]>> Wow.

[00:02:03]>> So um they're extremely sensitive. Um But so this I would um yeah I take it out of the case and then and then this one um people with their I shouldn't say misguided just cuz they don't know but this one was um sealed together with uh You can see that you can see the remnants of the old paper seal.

[00:02:26]>> Oh yeah.

[00:02:27]>> But then this um someone used uh Scotch tape yeah [clears throat] or yeah pressure some kind of pressure sensitive tape so I'll be removing that.

[00:02:34]>> Oh okay.

[00:02:35]>> And um probably using a little heat and if you know at first I was kind of nervous about using heat but then I'm like oh wait they would heat the plates when they were doing if gold toning so it should be okay. But yeah you can this one's gold toned and they added gold toning to the process in order to help preserve the image even more.

[00:02:52]>> Now when you're going to turn this over to remove that tape how do you support it so that it doesn't touch anything?

[00:02:58]>> I'll put it on the glass.

[00:02:59]>> Ah got you of course.

[00:03:00]>> I'll um clip it so it doesn't it doesn't slide at all. But so and then part of the preparation is just um we have these little air blowers that I love just cuz they look like you know little rockets.

[00:03:11]>> We're huge fans. We have several of these in our camera department.

[00:03:13]>> But so we just um you know just blow over the surface and just make sure there's no dust any dust remaining and then I clean the glass um and then I reseal it all with a filmoplast tape which is um uh an acrylic tape with a paper barrier so it doesn't it won't interact with the metals it won't um it's sort of yeah and then you put them a a sheet of Mylar on the back of the plate and then you just kind of seal it all together so the tape isn't coming in contact with the plate but it makes a kind of microenvironment.

[00:03:41]>> Right right so it's almost an envelope.

[00:03:44]>> Yeah basically.

[00:03:45]>> Um is this a original daguerreotype or is it a copy of a daguerreotype?

[00:03:49]>> This is an original daguerreotype and it's probably from I I I I think it's it's from it's like 1851 or 1852 and he was probably about 50 years old at the time.

[00:03:58]>> He I the expression on his face, I looked at it for a long time. It has this kind of what the hell are you doing sort of aspect to it.

[00:04:05]>> Definitely.

[00:04:06]>> Um I also so that that means that some of the artifacts of tarnished we're seeing are the artifacts of the first painting of the of the chemicals on this plate, am I right?

[00:04:15]>> Um I'm not I'm not sure about that cuz I think that was more sort of a like a pouring process rather than a brushing.

[00:04:22]>> Like washing like a mirror.

[00:04:23]>> yeah, and then there's mercury and iodide and >> All sorts of marvelous things.

[00:04:27]>> Yeah, which you shouldn't have, you know, it's pretty toxic. So I can show you a daguerreotype that has >> Yeah.

[00:04:32]>> the preserver still. And this is sweet.

[00:04:34]It's a little um portrait of Henry David Thoreau.

[00:04:38]>> Oh.

[00:04:38]>> And yeah, and the case is quite nice.

[00:04:41]But um yeah, so here it is with the preserver and the the brass mat.

[00:04:46]>> But yeah, there's the preserver and then it's basically um it's sort of crimped around the package.

[00:04:51]>> Yeah.

[00:04:52]>> But yeah, they they break relatively easily.

[00:04:55]So.

[00:04:56]And I can take this out and show you what what it looks like after I've um resealed.

[00:05:01]>> Absolutely.

[00:05:02]>> So I'm just This is like a um Oh, of course it's going to be recalcitrant.

[00:05:07]>> Of course.

[00:05:08]>> Cuz I'm trying to show off. Okay.

[00:05:11]So that takes it out.

[00:05:13]And um here you can see like so this is the film of of the Mylar and then the filmoplast um sealing of the of the piece. And with this one this one that doesn't that it's lost its preserver >> Mhm.

[00:05:27]>> I'll um I'll tone I'll try to tone the filmoplast um tape with a acrylics to kind of mimic what the color of this brass mat.

[00:05:35]>> So it's not too obvious.

[00:05:36]>> Yeah, so it doesn't look you know, oh great modern. I can show you another >> Please do.

[00:05:40]>> Oh well we're you were talking we were talking about Samuel Morse and you just saw him in the men kind progress. Sorry, that's my little but this is a little locket that we have of him.

[00:05:49]>> Oh, wow.

[00:05:51]>> So, I don't know if you can you can see that.

[00:05:53]>> No, it's it's showing up perfectly.

[00:05:55]>> Yes. But it is going to go on view um as as is this um Thomas Easterly Walter is going to go on view in um our Daguerreian gallery downstairs and the show is called Spirit of Invention. And so it's all these it's related to the this actual building and then other inventors around the time.

[00:06:12]So, yeah.

[00:06:13]>> Every Every time I engage with early early photography, uh it feels like it was integrated into our our lives and our cultural idea of ourselves way longer and way earlier than we currently think. Like I always think of it starting around the turn of the 20th century, but it predates that by decades.

[00:06:31]>> It's true. It's true. No, it's such a That's why another reason why I just get I am really sad about just the um sort of primacy of digital imaging just cuz this is so >> It's so immediate.

[00:06:43]>> and it's >> Right. Like this There's a a moment of photons and chemicals >> Yes.

[00:06:48]>> 150 years. Do you um do you find yourself um uh uh uh I'm just weird to say this, but like anthropomorphizing the characters of these faces you're looking at?

[00:06:58]>> Yeah, I get I get I get pretty fond of some of them.

[00:07:00]>> [laughter] >> Cuz cuz this is I feel like I'm seeing a real person's face here.

[00:07:05]>> Yeah. Well, I mean it someone I worked with before I went to grad school, he was saying that it's actually like it's the light from the person in a way that other imagery isn't. Like it's the actual >> Yeah, there's a magic to it. Yeah, cuz it's >> a remnant of the actual human. But um do you have time to see one more Daguerreotype?

[00:07:19]>> Of course.

[00:07:20]>> But this one's um this one's is excep- exceptional for the collection. It's um sort of the first known photographic portrait of a president. And this is um can you see that?

[00:07:30]>> Oh, yeah. Now I can.

[00:07:31]>> And so this is John Quincy Adams.

[00:07:33]>> Oh my god.

[00:07:34]>> was after he was it was after he was in office.

[00:07:37]But um yeah, and so you can see with this one you can sort sort see the processing. Seems like this is it's so early. It's from about 1842. So um the daguerreotype process was newly brought to the United States.

[00:07:48]>> Yeah.

[00:07:49]>> And so it's they're still kind of figuring it out. Um >> It's so simple and I cannot believe it's our He's our sixth president. We have a photo.

[00:07:56]>> Yeah, so it's pretty amazing. And then I just I I love his expression cuz he just looks so grumpy. And then >> look really pissed off to be sitting there.

[00:08:03]>> And his little argyle socks.

[00:08:04]>> Oh yeah, what a fancy man.

[00:08:07]>> Yeah, so I guess um and I found I don't remember where I saw it but there was he wrote a letter to a friend about the experience and he he thought the technology he just thought the daguerreotype process was amazing and he loved that but he's like did not like sitting for the portrait, didn't like the results, you know, but >> [laughter] >> otherwise he he yeah was very impressed.

[00:08:25]But yeah, I love this piece. So.

[00:08:28]>> I mean there's a way in which obviously because of the the age we live in he had a fundamentally different relationship to his own face.

[00:08:35]>> Yeah.

[00:08:36]>> [laughter] >> Yeah.

[00:08:38]>> Of course he he I love that he you know, you have to sit still for a period of time, however many seconds, right? And he does that and then he's like, "Oh really? That's what I got?"

[00:08:46]>> [laughter] >> Definitely. So.

[00:08:49]>> 1840s?

[00:08:50]>> Yeah, I think it's I think they think it's 1842 or 1843.

[00:08:54]>> God, 80 some odd years.

[00:08:56]>> Yeah.

[00:08:56]>> Wow.

[00:08:56]>> And it's still it's still stunning.

[00:08:58]>> Incredible.

[00:08:59]>> Yeah.

[00:09:00]>> Christina, thank you so much for taking me on this literally was just sort of like waxing philosophically in my head about how beautiful this is. What an amazing amazing thing you get to do.

[00:09:10]>> It Yeah, definitely. These are I mean well this is sort of 19th century photography is definitely my my my favorite.

[00:09:16]>> Incredible. Thank you so much.

[00:09:17]>> Wonderful. Oh, you're so welcome. Thank you. Thanks for talking to me but >> Oh, dude, it's so cool.

[00:09:20]>> It's always really fun.

[00:09:23]>> I loved so much visiting the National Portrait Gallery. We shot several videos there and you can watch them all by clicking on that link.

[00:09:48]>> Mhm.