The Centre for Photographic Conservation

The main focus of The Centre's work is active preservation and interventive conservation techniques for photographic negative and positive material. In the late 1970's and early 1980's The Centre undertook some major identification, condition, preservation and conservation surveys for a number of national collections. This was at a time when photographic collections were still "sleeping giants", often unappreciated and at their best were the subject of benign neglect.

The courses at The Centre are intensive and all adhere to a programme. Each year the Moors strive to impart information more clearly, to improve teaching methods, and to share their expertise and skills by demonstration or example, thereby always seeking to raise the standard. Despite expecting course participants to work hard Ian and Angela endeavour to create a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Class sizes are small which encourages participants to feel at ease and free to ask questions and take part in discussions. This alfresco scene shows, left to right, Helen Sharp, Angela Moor, Ian Moor, Nick Berkeley, Montse Noguera and Sarah Lewery taking a lunch break in The Centre's garden.

Even as a young child, Henry Talbot, more commonly referred to today as William Henry Fox Talbot, the father of modern photography, showed an enthusiastic passion for chemistry. Age twelve writing to his mother, Lady Elizabeth Fielding, from his school at Harrow (on the Hill) he enthused "you can have no idea with what vigour I pursue my favourite science of chemistry here ----- which at present engrosses all my attention --- Chemistry is what I cannot get tired of." After a brief dabble in politics, as a young man, he returned to his real passion and interests, astronomy, optics, botany, mathematics, crystallography, etymology, theoretical physics, Assyriology, languages and travel. Despite his eclectic interests in which he had formidable gifts and made major contributions to science and academia Talbot is most honoured and remembered for his inventions in photography.

Talbots father died when he was a few months old and Lady Elizabeth married a Captain Fielding R.N., His relationship with the Captain was excellent but it was his mother who was a major supportive influence on Talbots academic pursuits and achievements. His mother and two half sisters from this second marriage were accomplished artists as was his wife Constance. It is thought that it was on a sketching trip with his sister Caroline that Talbot had his first thoughts on photography, possibly because his own efforts at draughtsmanship filled him with chagrin, the following quote is from his diary written in Italy in 1833. "the faithless pencil had only left traces on the paper melancholy to behold."

Returning from Italy on January 11th 1834 Talbot was determined to actively pursue his notion that ".... how charming it would be if it were possible to cause these natural images to imprint themselves durably, and remain fixed upon paper!", ....... "These natural images" that Talbot referred to were "...... the inimitable beauty of the pictures of nature's painting, which the glass lens of the camera (obscura) throws upon the paper in its focus - fairy pictures, creations of a moment, and destined as rapidly to fade away."

Talbot commenced his "photographic" experiments in the spring of 1834 beginning, as others had done before him with silver nitrate ..."since, according to chemical writers, the nitrate of silver is a substance peculiarly sensitive to the action of light, ..."

Talbot quickly realised that silver nitrate and indeed coating paper with freshly prepared precipitated silver chloride lacked the sensitivity required. Even forming silver chloride directly on paper with separate coatings of common salt (sodium chloride) and silver nitrate fared no better.

To say that observation is the stuff of science is certainly true of Talbot. He quickly realised that there was a fundamental relationship between the relative proportions of sodium chloride to silver nitrate and image density, resulting from their combination on exposure to light. He concluded that a deficiency of salt increased sensitivity to light whereas an excess of salt decreased its sensitivity. Talbot was not only able to increase the sensitivity of his sensitised papers, but having produced the image, he was able to prevent it being further acted upon by light. Stabilisation was possible. In addition to stabilising his images with sodium chloride Talbot also then employed potassium iodide as a stabiliser because he found that an excess of this salt also decreased sensitivity in his silver chloride paper.

There is nothing quite as enjoyable as a 'crisp' morning browsing round the market, listening to the dawn chorus "What's yer best price on this Guv'?"

"It's like a museum where you get to touch the objects, and if you can afford it, even get to take them home".

In Talbot's publication "The Pencil of Nature" printed in fascicules between 1844-1846, with its images of statues, glassware and books it is clear that he had grasped from the outset of his invention the breadth of application for photography. Talbot envisioned the use of the "Photographic Art" not just for portraiture, architecture, travel and landscape but also for copying manuscripts, objects and works of art not just for pleasure but as an inventory.

"...the whole cabinet of a Virtuoso and collector of old China might be depicted on paper in little more time than it would take him to make a written inventory describing it in the usual way. The more strange and fantastic the forms of his old teapots, the more advantage in having their pictures given instead of their description.

And should a thief afterwards purloin the treasures - if the mute testimony of the pictures were to be produced against him in court - it would certainly be evidence of a novel kind." The Pencil of Nature

Within the course curriculum of The Centre's"Certificated" seven week course there are two short research projects, participants are given the choice of subjects which all have a direct bearing on what they will learn and experience at The Centre. They have the resources of The Centre’s Collections and Library for their assistance and may discuss their ideas, conclusions and research with Ian Moor and Angela Moor. Participants are encouraged to use these projects to form the basis for a lecture or presentation to enhance their Curriculum Vitae after the conclusion of the course.

In 2003 Elizabeth Hadlow from the Australian National Maritime Museum Sydney Australia chose the documentation of an Album from The Centre’s collection the project title. "On a given object produce a brief historical outline of the process, conservation documentation and a proposal for its treatment: Kodak Album: Daily Mail £1000 Holiday Competition”. Elizabeth’s project produced an excellent documentary record, extensively illustrated, of a quite complex concertina Album. Her project, which considerably enhanced the provenance of this work is now part of The Centre’s Conservation Treatment Archive.

S. Girikumar from New Delhi, India who attended The Centre’s "Certificated" course in 2000 and four week Master Class in 2002 gave a lecture and a poster display, “A Note on the Conservation of Photographic Materials in India”, at the Photographic Materials Conservation Group Meeting in November 2002 utilizing images and materials from The Centre’s Collection and the Moor Private Collection.

In 2000 Dino Makridis undertook a project on Tri-color screen processes, this detail from the Paget tri-colour screen plate of a "Water Cart No 89" circa 1912 clearly shows the printed colour distribution patterns.

Through out The Centre’s courses participant are encouraged to photograph the work studies they undertake. In November 2005 Sun Hee Park Ogdon recently graduated from Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, Roderick Ewart from the Akershus Fylkesmuseum, Norway and Dino Makridis Trondelag Folkemuseum, Torndheim, Norway who attended The Centre’s seven week “Certificated” Course and four week Master Class between 2001 and 2004 produced Power Point Presentations of work studies which they presented at The Photographic Materials Conservation Group Meeting at The National Gallery London.

Here Ian Moor discusses their work-studies with Rosina Herrera from Spain and Standford Groetzinger from the USA who were participants on The Centre’s “Certifacted” 2003 course.

The village of Lacock was bequeathed to the National Trust by Talbot's granddaughter Matilda. The National Trust have preserved the Abbey, which dates back to 1232, and village, parts of which date from this period, as near as original to a Georgian - Victorian village as is possible in the 21st Century. The Fox Talbot Museum is an absolute 'gem' worth a visit even if you are only marginally interested in photography. Lacock Abbey, Talbot's home and the birthplace of photography, was the subject of many of his photographs. Lacock Abbey and village are still the subject of the "Photographic Art", not only by the many visitors throughout the year but also they 'Star' in many television and film historical dramas. Those of you who had the pleasure of watching the BBC's series or video of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice would have seen the village streets transformed into Meryton and the cloisters at the Abbey becoming the halls of academia at Cambridge, down which Mr Darcy strides to discover the perfidious character of that dastardly Wickham.

Elizabeth Hadlow from Australia, Rosina Herrera, and her father who visited her at The Centre, standing on the steps leading up to main door to the Abbey in June 1999. At the top of the stairs is the Great Hall which was the venue for the Photographic Materials Conservation Group meeting in 1998.