Archiving and preserving photographs in the archives

Iako je u prošlosti uglavnom svrstavana pod “razno” u odnosu na druge pisane dokumente, fotografija se u današnje vrijeme sve više smatra primarnim povijesnim izvorom. U prvom dijelu rada objašnjeni su neki od osnovnih pojmova koji se vežu uz arhive i fotografije te koja je zapravo uloga fotografije u arhivu. Opisani su različiti postupci nastanka fotografija kroz povijest (heliogravura, dagerotipija, želatinske, suhe emulzije) do danas. Fotografije kao specifično arhivsko gradivo zahtijevaju posebne uvjete prostora za njihovo pravilno očuvanje, ali prije svega posebno educirano osoblje čija je zadaća osigurati navedene uvjete te znati pravilno postupati s fotografijama što je objašnjeno pred sam kraj rada. Glavni fokus u radu je stavljen na osnove koje je potrebno poštivati prilikom arhiviranja i konzervacije fotografija. Although in the past it has mostly been classified as “miscellaneous” in relation to other written documents, photographs are nowadays increasingly considered as a primary historical source. The first part of the thesis explains some of the basic concepts associated with archives and photographs and discusses the role of photography in the archives. Various procedures for the creation of photographs throughout history (helioengraving, daguerrotipia, gelatin, dry emulsions) to date are described. Photographs as a specific archival material require special storage conditions for their proper preservation, but above all specially educated staff whose task is to secure the conditions and to know how to handle the photographs properly, which is explained towards the end of the thesis The focus of this thesis is on the fundamental requirements to be respected when archiving and preserving photographs.