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| Photographic Restoration Laboratory, Fratelli Alinari, Florence |
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| Museum & Archives |
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC RESTORATION LABORATORY
Since 1996 the Fratelli Alinari Museum of the History of Photography has been flanked by the Photographic Restoration Laboratory, which avails itself of the scientific collaboration of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence.
The laboratory is a significant and qualified national center of reference for everything regarding the problems connected with the preservation, conservation and restoration of photographic materials in their broadest sense, drawing from its on-going experience in the conservation of the extensive funds the Fratelli Alinari Museum of the History of Photography has in its keeping.
Photographic restoration requires a basic knowledge of the problems encountered in working with a variety of materials, a familiarity with the different photographic techniques and processes beginning with the earliest daguerreotype and calotype experiments, followed by the various modes of chemical sensitization of glass-plate negatives and negatives on film, as well as all forms of printing on paper and on other types of supports used in presenting the "photograph-object". These include leather and velvet cases for daguerreotypes or ambrotypes, fine bindings for albums, frames, which in turn require an acquaintance with restoration techniques involving materials such as paper, wood, semi-precious stones, leather and metal.
The restoration of a photograph therefore entails a complex and specialized professional preparation and with this in mind one of the objectives of the Fratelli Alinari restoration laboratory is that of helping train qualified personnel in this sector.
Availing itself of the scientific collaboration of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, the laboratory has instituted a series of workshops, directed by specialists from the leading photographic institutions in the world, aimed at providing specific knowledge of the suitable techniques to be used on the different types of photographic materials (photographs on paper, glass-plate and film negatives, daguerreotypes and calotypes, etc.) and hosting short-term training and specialization courses in collaboration with the principal international restoration centers.
Contact: museo@alinari.it
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