Dry-Plate Collodion Project

From 2008 to 2011, as part of the Getty Conservation Institute's project on photographic technology research, a series of experimental reproductions were produced using authentic period formulae and materials. The project was to produce two samples each (one for destructive testing and one for archiving) for all the major variations on collodion dry-plate technology. The thesis for the project was based on the fact that the dry-plate is mentioned in almost all technical manuals of the time, yet few museum objects are labeled as having been produced with this technique. The vast majority of negatives from that time period (roughly 1860-1880) are labeled as the more common wet-plate. We posited that, given the frequency dry-plates appears in the literature, there must be some existing examples. The research objective was to discover if it were possible to differentiate the two techniques. Chemical analysis of known examples don't exist, so period correct facsimiles were produced. In total, thirteen different techniques were reproduced. All material 4x5 inches.