Topics in Photographic Preservation 1988, Volume 2, Article 5 (pp. 40-49)

Three French Photograph Conservation Techniques

by Nora Kennedy

This paper is a description and discussion of three conservation techniques used in France. These include the use of gouache en poudre (a toning method), the fond tendu (a lining method), and nettoyage à la Tylose (a mount cleaning method).

My graduate internship for the Winterthur Museum/University of Delaware Art Conservation Program was spent in Paris, France. The year was divided between the Atelier de Restauration de Photographies under the supervision of Anne Cartier-Bresson, and the Centre de Recherches sur la Conservation des Documents Graphiques under Françoise Flieder and Martine Gillet. The techniques described were learned at the Atelier from Anne Cartier-Bresson, and from Claude Laroque and Florence Herrenschmidt, private paper conservators in Paris.

The Atelier de Restauration de Photographies is responsible for the care of the photographs in the collections of the City of Paris. These include the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris, the Bibliothèque Administratif, the Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand, the Musée Carnavalet (which also provides laboratory space for the Atelier) and a number of other libraries and museums under the city's juristiction. The photographic holdings of these institutions are considerable and impressive.

Gouache En Poudre: A Method for Toning Inserts

In France, gouache en poudre is a powdered pigment available from Winsor & Newton. This particular product is not available in the United States, but any good quality powdered pigment can be substituted.

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The Fond Tendu: A Lining Method

The term fond tendu can be loosely translated as a ‘taut or tightly held base or background.’ The method described below is a variation on the fond tendu used in paper conservation in France.

At the Atelier de Restauration, the mounting or remounting of photographs onto matboard supports was avoided where possible. Objects requiring additional support due to extensive tears, losses, and/or brittleness were lined on a Japanese tissue by the fond tendu method rather than being mounted directly onto a solid support. They were subsequently hinged into a good quality mat and mount.

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Nettoyage A La Tylose: A Mount Cleaning Method

Nettoyage à la Tylose refers to a ‘wet cleaning’ method used to remove ground-in surface grime. The French word nettoyer means “to clean”, nettoyage is the noun from the same base. Tylose (R) is a French brand name for methylcellulose.

An attitude has been developing among photograph conservators that not every mounted photograph should necessarily be unmounted and remounted. There are many cases, indeed, where it is imperative that an original mount be retained, be it for historical reasons, or for concern for saving the photograph from stress of treatment. With this in mind, this technique is useful in reducing surface grime and other accretions on original mounts that surface cleaning cannot remove. To a much lesser extent, nettoyage a la Tylose will help to flatten cockled boards.

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Concluding Remarks

Conservators are usually eager to add new conservation techniques or variations on existing ones to their treatment repertoires. The three treatments presented above are to be used, discussed, and adjusted to individual habits as necessary. To help broaden our sources of information it is useful to establish avenues for international exchange with overseas conservation communities. There is much to be learned from this type of communication and collaboration. I hope that this paper adds a small segment to the international network so vital to growth in our profession.

Acknowlegements

My internship year in France was funded through the generosity of the Winterthur Program, the Getty Foundation, and the Friends of French Art. Some of the treatment slides shown during the presentation of this paper in New Orleans, February 1987 were courtesy of the Musée Carnavalet, the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris, and the Bibliothèque Administratif. I would like to thank Anne Cartier-Bresson and Debbie Hess Norris for their support and guidance, and the many individuals in France and the United States who made the year such a rewarding experience.