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Imaging rare, unusual, and intriguing objects at the Brown University Library

Monthly Archives: January 2013

Napoleon’s Death Mask

January 23, 2013 by | 4 Comments

While the bulk of my work involves the digitization of two-dimensional documents, or straightforward photographs of pages from books, I also photograph other types of items – like the 360 degree photography, and the interiors that I have posted about. Every once in a while, I get more unusual requests. Since I am usually the person who handles three-dimensional items, I get to photograph some of the most interesting – and unexpected – items from our collections.

Two years before this shoot, I actually photographed a portrait of Napoleon; an oil painting by Vernet in a gold-colored frame with the familiar bee (a symbol of immortality and resurrection) carved onto the front. It’s a part of the William Henry Hoffman Collection on Napoleon I and it’s absolutely stunning. Actually, the entire collection (of approximately 600 items) is fascinating, so I was excited when I was called over to look at an object that needed digitization. I was a little surprised to find it was not exactly a portrait of Napoleon; it was a plaster cast of his death mask. The request had come internally; we have a series of talks on our Special Collections at Brown, and this image was to help publicize and showcase a talk on the mask, given by Peter Harrington, curator of the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection.

I had to bring it back to my studio at DPS to photograph, as I needed better light than I could get in the room the mask is stored in. I set everything up before bringing the mask out of its box; I was using hot lights, and the less exposure the mask has to the heat and drying nature of the lights, the better. Using a stack of books about the same size and shape of the mask, I set up foam to cushion it on a low table, set up lights equidistant and at the same angle to the object, and utilized the horizontal arm of our tripod so that I could shoot straight down onto the object. I used a color checker card to make sure that my white balance and exposure was correct, I tripled-checked the depth of field and focus, and then was ready to go.

As is often the case when dealing with unique objects, the setup took much longer than the actual photography. I replaced the books very carefully with the mask, took approximately 10 shots at slightly different exposures and focuses at three different angles. I ended up with a high resolution photograph of the death mask, and a great response when people asked me what I was bringing around the library in a box.

Edgar Allan Poe & Sarah Helen Whitman

January 17, 2013 by | 10 Comments

1848 daguerreotype by William Hartshorn

1856(?) daguerreotype attributed to J. White

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, two hundred and four years ago. This anniversary has coincided with my work this week which has involved preparing digitized images of daguerreotypes of Poe and Providence poet Sarah Helen Whitman for publication to the Brown Digital Repository. The daguerreotypes had been found to be suffering some deterioration and were sent to the Northeast Document Conservation Center for treatment. Poe sat for this daguerreotype, known as the Whitman or Hartshorn Daguerreotype, on November 13, 1848 at the Westminster Street studio of Masury and Hartshorn in Providence, Rhode Island, after a tumultuous week which included an overdose of laudanum and a bout of heavy drinking. The daguerreotype was a gift from Poe to Sarah Helen Whitman, given to her after she finally consented to marry him. The engagement did not last long, but Whitman kept the daguerreotype until 1874. In a letter she noted Poe’s “sweet and serene expression” in the image. The daguerreotype was gifted to the Brown University Library in 1905.

Before treatment

Some of the condition problems with the daguerreotype and its case are apparent in before and after treatment images. The leather spine on the case was broken and cracked along the bottom. The case was scuffed and scratched, and the cover glass was beginning to deteriorate. After disassembling the daguerreotype package, preservationists at NEDCC replaced the cover glass with a more stable borosilicate glass, and used a variety of techniques to repair the case, broken edge, and spine. Of the many materials relating to Poe in the Harris Collection holdings, the daguerreotype is perhaps the best known and most frequently requested. The recent preservation treatment along with its housing in a clamshell presentation box will ensure its longevity for future library patrons.

After treatment

Sarah Helen Whitman

The daguerreotype of Sarah Helen Whitman is attributed to Joseph White, another Providence daguerreotypist, and dates from 1856. The daguerreotype plate and brass mat were enclosed in a paper-covered wooden case. The cloth spine on the case had been broken and previously “repaired” usuing black electrical tape. The tape and residual adhesive were mechanically removed, and the spine was repaired using cloth toned with acrylic color. The glass was replaced with borosilicate, and the package reassembled and sealed with Filmoplast P90 and a sheet of Melinex.

 

After treatment

After treatment

Before treatment

 

Sarah Helen Whitman was a poet and essayist and interested in transcendentalism, mesmerism, and spiritualism. She hosted well-known writers at her salon in Providence, and served as vice president of the Rhode Island suffrage association. Poe first set eyes on Whitman as she stood in the rose garden behind her Benefit Street home. The house and garden are much the same as they were nearly two centuries ago.

Rose garden behind Whitman’s house at 88 Benefit Street.
Photo courtesy Will Hart

Digital Production Services in-house photographers recently digitized two photographs of Sarah Helen Whitman, which the author herself inserted into an autographed presentation copy of Whitman’s Hours of Life, and Other Poems. Consult the finding aid for more information on the significant holdings of Sarah Helen Whitman within the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays. Brown University also owns a portrait of Whitman painted by John Nelson Arnold in 1869.

Albumen photograph of Sarah Helen Whitman c.1853-78

Albumen photograph of Sarah Helen Whitman as a medium c.1853-78

Professor Smiley and the Mayans

January 9, 2013 by | Comments Off on Professor Smiley and the Mayans

Already noted by Brown anthropology professor Stephen Houston last summer, the long-count Mayan calendar has now also been pragmatically confirmed to be of no grave cataclysmic import. Brown astronomy professor Charles H. Smiley (1903–1977) had contributed detailed work on the Mayan calendar system. He also happened to keep extensive travel scrapbooks throughout his career, several of which have been digitized by the library (as full volumes, per page, and also as individual objects within pages). His scrapbooks preserve miscellaneous travel ephemera — ticket stubs, restaurant menus — as well as personal photographs and letters. Shown below are some items from his winter 1959–1960 visit to Mayan ruins relating to the resulting publication of his cross-calendar correlation research.

Professor Smiley at Mayan site

Mayan hieroglyphs as drawn by Professor Smiley (detail)

Pre-print of Professor Smiley’s calendar research (detail)

Interior Designs

January 4, 2013 by | 1 Comment

Much of the work that we do here at DPS involves objects and items from the Brown Library’s Special Collections. These are housed in the John Hay Library, which just recently celebrated its Centennial. It is a gorgeous building, and many of the simple, white wooden doors belie the beautifully curated spaces beyond.

The Bruhn Memorial Reading Room is one such room. When I was asked for photograph it for Brown’s new version of the History & Guide to Special Collections, I had never actually been in the room before. Home to part of the Special Collections, and featuring warm wood paneling and tall windows that overlook Prospect Street, the Bruhn Room is used for a variety of purposes within the library, from classes and private study, to candidate presentations and meetings, to videotaped interviews with students and visiting scholars.

It’s a beautiful space, to be certain, but it’s difficult to capture all of this photographically. To capture all the elements of the room; from the paneling and windows, to the many books, objects, furniture and chandelier, I had to make many exposures that I could use to blend together to create one single, merged image. I shot a great many images, varying both the exposures (to pick up the detailing under the tables, in the bookcases, and on the ceiling), and the white balance (to correct for the overhead lights as well as the window light from outside). Although I did use a specialized lens (a 24mm tilt-shift lens, like the one in this video) to correct for perspective issues, I also had to make a final perspective correction as well.

The final image came out very strong, and ended up being published in The Manuscript Society News (vol 31, no. 4). Below you will see the progression of images as I compiled the final image, building up exposures and color balance. n.b.: You can click on any image to make it larger, and then click through the images to view one at a time.

Image 1: Overexposure to capture shadow detail under table, in bookcases.

Image 2: A darker exposure to bring out the richness in the wood paneling, floors and walls.

 

 

 

Image 3: A MUCH darker exposure, to bring out the details in the ceiling, washed out in the previous exposures.

Image 4: Image correction in Photoshop to correct the ceiling color and luminance but preserve the detail of the chandelier.

 

 

 

Image 5: An additional, darker layer, to bring in ONLY the detail of the overexposed window.

Image 6: An exposure the same as Image 5, but set to daylight white balance to correct the blue tone.

 

 

 

Image 7: A slight darkening on the ceiling, along the strips of light that outline the arch.

Image 8: A minor contrast adjustment on the same strip of ceiling, to show the detailing and sculptural quality of the ceiling.

The final image, with perspective adjustments to compensate for shooting at a wide angle in an enclosed interior space.