Title: The Preservation of Glass Plate Negatives
Headings: The Preservation of Glass Plate Negatives
The Preservation of Glass Plate Negatives
Introduction
A Brief History of the Two Photographic Processes
Storage of Glass Plate Negatives
Handling Techniques for Glass Plate Negatives
Preservation Concerns
Creating Digital Collections with Glass Plate Negatives
Conclusion
References
Bibliography

Content: Cooler temperatures will slow the rate of chemical reactions that cause degradation, but caution should be taken to avoid too low of a temperature which can render the glass, photographic emulsion and binders brittle (Herskovitz, 1999, p. 5). The ideal storage environment for glass plate negatives is “less than 65º Fahrenheit with minimal fluctuation (+/- 2 degrees), and an ideal relative humidity is 30% RH with minimal fluctuation (+/-3 percent)” (Herskovitz, 1999, p. 5). After establishing standard temperature and relative humidity levels, negatives should be re-housed in a preservation friendly environment. This can involve removing the negatives from their original wooden studio crates or other suboptimal storage method. Following any uncrating or unboxing, each negative should be re-housed in an individual paper enclosure or sink mat. Selections should also be made regarding appropriate load-bearing boxes and heavy-load capacity shelving (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, “How Do I House Glass Plate Negatives?” 2001, p. 1). Individual plates should be placed in loosely-fitting buffered paper sleeves or four flap envelopes. If seamed envelopes are selected for the storage of plates, side-seamed envelopes should be used in order to prevent the envelope's adhesives from interacting with the photographic emulsion. Four flap paper envelopes are the ideal storage envelope, as they do not use adhesives and eliminate the risk of a negative chemical interaction between the adhesives and the emulsion.