Photo Restoration question

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by EddieP

We’re not talking about the Ruth photo. A wire photo was a type of press photo in which the original photo ( AKA vintage Original or Type 1) was transmitted over a “wire” ( similar to fax machines) to various newspapers across the country. Thus “wire” photos ( or Vintage Copies) are copies of the original. The quality of the picture is similar to fax machine or Xerox copy. In PSA/ BGS terminology they are “ Type 3” .

Wire photos tend to have the captions typed under the white border of the photo.

So no, cleaning, restoring etc will not affect the “ Type” of the photo.
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“At most I will clean the front of the photo with PEC-12 or Isopropyl alcohol and repair any rips or tears with archival document repair tape, which is essentially tissue paper, from the back. If I was concerned about the acidity of the caption sheet I would use newspaper deacidification spray sold by one of the archival supply companies like University Products or Archival Methods.”

So how’s this any different from what a Card Cleaning Company would do?

NSS! After stating that I collect photos and have for over 35 years you try photosplaining? I clearly state the usual difference between regular press photos and wire photos. A wire photo in many cases has the caption imbedded in the photo. Press photos that have original period caption sheets attached, even when it is completely attached to the back rather than folded over the front, are usually not wire photos.

If you think that using PEC-12 or Isopropyl alcohol on the front of a glossy photo is similar to what a card cleaning company does you do not understand photographs. Using them is similar to washing a car. It has no affect on the emulsion (image) as it is removing what is on top of the gloss not altering it at all. A silver halide print on glossy paper can be altered during the darkroom process using sepia tone or dye toner. I have a lot of darkroom experience and have printed fibre and glossy paper. About the only time you would use anything on top of a glossy print is when you use spotting dye to cover up scratches on the negative that cannot be removed during the printing. Much easier these days with scanning and adobe photoshop.

As for archival repair tape. Why not? If the corner of a photo is about to fall off or there is a tear it helps preserve it. Unless you are going for a full restoration the creases the breaks in the emulsion will still be visible,