Category Archives: Collection Services

CAW Digitization of Norman Rockwell Photos

The Chicago Albumen Works has worked with the Norman Rockwell Museum on a variety of digitization projects including the documentation of Rockwell’s magazine cover illustrations and his advertising work. Our most recent project with the museum was the digitization of over 20,000 photographs as part of the … Continue reading

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Digitizing a Lincoln Ambrotype

In a recent collaboration with The Better Image, CAW created an in-depth, hi-resolution digital record of the ambrotype, Portrait of Abraham Lincoln, May 7, 1858, by Abraham Byers for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The portrait, taken by eighteen-year-old Byers, was … Continue reading

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Stripping & Recovering 35mm Acetate Roll Film

Over the past few weeks we have been working on an exploratory project that involves the stripping of the image pellicle from strips of deteriorating 35mm acetate roll film from the 1950s. Our previous experience with stripping microfilm led us to the … Continue reading

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Digitizing Glass Plates for New York City Municipal Archives

  Over time the history of an institution is often captured through photographs of the people and events that helped shape it over the years. Digital technologies have made it easier to share these images and the stories they tell, … Continue reading

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Digitization for Private Collections

A recent Barron’s blog post featured quotes from Chicago Albumen Works’ Director Doug Munson. “Families that have approached us for digitization had private collections that have been passed down from the 19th and 20th century, and now there are three … Continue reading

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Negative Deterioration Part Two: Cellulose Acetate Negative Conservation

Vinegar syndrome, or the process of  cellulose acetate deterioration, is an unavoidable issue for any collection of acetate negatives, either presently or in future decades.  Before deterioration occurs or early in the deterioration process, preventative measures can be taken to … Continue reading

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Negative Deterioration Part One: Digitization and Preservation of Cellulose Nitrate and Cellulose Acetate Negatives

Before polyester film became readily available in the 1950’s, all flexible film negatives were made on some form of cellulose nitrate or cellulose acetate support.  Both of these film bases have deterioration issues, and in the case of nitrate negatives, … Continue reading

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Disaster Recovery: The Benefits of an Interdisciplinary Studio

Over the last several months, we have been working to recover and preserve a collection of photographs and related material damaged in hurricane Sandy in October of 2012.  The material was promptly frozen after the storm and transferred with the … Continue reading

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Making Facsimile Prints & Album

Over the last couple of years CAW has had the pleasure of working with Barbara Wheaton and her family digitising and printing reproductions of a collection of etchings and engravings prior to their donation to a cultural institution. There were … Continue reading

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Presentation at TechFocus II

Coming up at the end of this week Doug Munson of the Chicago Albumen Works and Jeffrey Warda of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum will be giving a presentation: “Acquisition and Creation of Exhibition Copies for Slide Works” on Friday … Continue reading

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