When your Museum gets a public office and exhibit space, we'll approach our local colleges, universities and volunteer organizations for volunteers to work on important historical preservation projects such as our recently acquired collection of photographs from David High. Numbering, scanning, photographing, cleaning, storing and in some cases displaying photographs and artifacts is a big (and we are planning on) a never-ending job. Cataloguing and alerting other historical organizations will someday be a full time supervisory job.
Right now, I am cleaning, scanning and protecting the photos from the High Collection. I'm working on photo 74. Every time one of these images in touched, many of which are over 100 years old, a bent corner or fragment of cardboard matting has the chance of breaking off. (Just ask our Board Member, Phyllis Hansen, what it is like handling old news clippings - some of which almost evaporate when touched.) The High Collection's images are being separated and placed in protective sleeves. In the future they were be exposed only under the most careful of circumstances.
Scanning an historic photograph and subjecting the copy to enhancements can help folks identify peoples, places and things without dealing with the original.
Here's a mystery man, likely standing in front of his farm. We hope it was taken in the San Fernando Valley. Jerry
Farm House Photograph - Given to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by David High - July 2009 refer to photo HC-68 (click on image to enlarge) This is the condition of the image as it is today.
First manipulation of the image - removing from the viewer, the matting.
The Mystery house as seen in black and white
The photograph with additional manipulation.
The San Fernando Valley, in the heart of the Creative Capital of the World, deserves a great Museum of history and culture.
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