Oral Presentation , Page 632-655 (24)

Photographs are one of the most significant cultural heritage materials, which are worthy of preservation for future generation for the historical value they represent. Photographs contain important historical, social and cultural information; and therefore they are considered a very powerful documentary tool. Additionally, they represent an outstanding form of modern art. Unfortunately, due to the lake of professionals in the field in Egypt and lack of awareness on the physical and chemical nature of photographs and how they deteriorate and what is the best methods to preserve them, photographs suffer from various forms of deterioration caused by both external and internal factors. Mounted silver gelatin prints are common in photographic collections. However, such photographs are usually mounted on secondary supports of very poor quality, and accordingly expose the photograph to severe damage with time, depending on the surrounded environment. Which need more preservation and conservation that can't come without a good examination and analysis by the scientific instruments to achieve better conservation for the photograph. During this research, the researchers provide an overview of the study of the structural composition of black and white photographs mounted on secondary supports, through a number of scientific devices to examine and analyze them to identify their structural layers and the changes that occurred in order to reach the best methods for preservation and conservation.

Photographs; Conservation; Gelatin; Support; Prints