chaplin

My final few weeks as an intern for the O. Winston Link Museum in downtown Roanoke has been very exciting, as I’ve gotten some experience working with a new program and project in a different place! I’ve been spending time at the History Museum of Western Virginia at Center in the Square in downtown Roanoke, which is about two blocks across the train tracks from the Link Museum. The purpose of the last few weeks here has been to utilize the PastPerfect archival program on their computer systems and tackle a separate project from my old cataloging and conditioning project, while still being able to work with O. Winston Link collections.

The new space I’m working at in Center in the Square is awesome. It’s located on the third floor of the building, and the exhibits have more variety, since it’s not as specific as the Link museum. I’m working within the museum’s library which looks directly out over the center of downtown Roanoke, which is filled with material covering a wealth of topics about the history of western Virginia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PastPerfect is a software application that streamlines the archival collection process into one organized digital database. It can be used for anything from photographic collections (what I’m working with), to various artifacts and historical documents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m working with the photographic collection on the history museum’s PastPerfect program, which has over 8,000 individual items within the database – the large majority of which are Link’s photos. The neat thing about Link’s photos within the PastPerfect program is that it covers his ‘N&W’ collection, which were his more well-known photographs of trains and railroads along the N&W line, but it also has a large amount of his commercial photographs as well. I’ve come across spreads with dozens of pictures for various commercial clients that range from ExxonMobil and their industrial facilities to a popular toothpaste marketed towards children.

Each photograph in the program has an accession number, which is how each one is organized and categorized. My main task has been to make sure that each photo has the correct accession number, and that there is consistency throughout, so that the collection is easy to navigate. Many of Link’s photos within the database haven’t been edited within the past 5 years, so a lot had to be updated with the correct number. Each photo also has three separate entry points where the accession number is used, so making sure that the number was consistent for each one was very important.

In my time as an intern, I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons about museum work, and specifically how important archival work is. Organizing and maintaining collections for museums is extremely essential, and a very delicate process. It can be frustrating sometimes, but there’s certainly a sense of accomplishment from making sure the archives, and in turn museum, are run smoothly.

After about two months since beginning my major project at the O. Winston Link Museum, I’ve finally completed it. I’ve cataloged and conditioned over 2,400 original O. Winston Link negative photos on a digital database. I then prepared and packaged them in order to be placed into cold storage for longevity. I’ve seen thousands of pictures of trains and noticed patterns, successes, and his perceived failures (usually having to do with his attempts at perfecting lighting) among Link’s brilliant photography. The most challenging aspect of this project has been working with the various materials used for cold storage, and trying to find an efficient and effective way of packaging to maintain the correct humidity needed for the collection. I’ve certainly learned a lot of helpful measures for archival work though. The process of cataloging and conditioning a larger collection is daunting, but certainly satisfying. The seven boxes of negatives that are wrapped in their primary barrier film bag are pictured below.

 

My next minor task after I completed the negative collection was to find museums of a similar size and email their curators to inquire about how often they rotate exhibits. This provided a good outlet to get some experience researching other small museums and contacting curators for ideas and comparisons.

I also plan to assist in the archives further by helping organize some larger prints. The organization is needed to sort of free up some space in the archives since the museum has a lot of un-cataloged donations that pertain to Mr. Link. Below is an example of the prints that are currently in the archives.

 

Finally, I’m also planning on spending time over at the History Museum of Western Virginia across the tracks at Center in the Square to get some experience with the program, PastPerfect. This program is software intended for collection management so it’s extremely effective in organizing and maintaining archives, and it’s very helpful to have experience with the program if working in a historical archive. This museum also has some collections that are Link related, so I’m going to be working with those and hopefully getting valuable experience working with PastPerfect!

 

In the past few weeks, I’ve continued my major project of cataloging and conditioning the collection of O. Winston Link negatives while still trying to nail down a more effective procedure for cold storage. I’ve got the process of cataloging and conditioning down to a routine that has become fairly easy, however the same problems that I mentioned in the last post concerning humidity are still present. We’re working with a few new ways of packaging the boxes of negatives, but the next step, if all else fails, would be to try a new bagging material that makes it harder for air pockets to formulate that allow humidity to increase. I haven’t yet explored those other options, but I’m anxious to make it work, since it can be rather frustrating!

Some things I’ve noticed from looking at over 1,700 of Link’s negatives now are patterns that he followed when taking photographs, as well as some preferred locations and angles in his work. Often times, Link would set up for a photo and then take several editions of the same subject spaced over very short periods of time. He was meticulous in his photography; there have been many negatives in the collection taken of him by his assistant that show his extensive amount of equipment and rigging used to take what appears to be a simple negative of a passing train. He also has a few favorite places that he would visit numerous times to take shots. These include Abingdon, VA, Rural Retreat, VA, and right here in Roanoke just to name a few.

Link was trained and educated as a civil engineer, and all of his photography talents were self-taught, as it became his main hobby and passion. Link’s analytical aptitude for thinking and problem-solving that came from his engineering education, and his extreme creativity and passion that developed out of his love for photography coalesced into the artistry that produced such popular work. This was the critical aspect of Link’s mind and career that set him apart from other photographers.

Since my last post, I’ve been primarily working with the same major project as I mentioned before among other smaller things.The cataloging, conditioning, and process of moving the collection of O. Winston Link negatives into cold storage  has progressed smoothly for the most part, with minor hiccups so far. In order to properly package and store the boxes of negatives into cold storage, it requires careful packing and materials specific to archival work.

The first step is packing the box completely with Ethafoam, so that no air can escape. Then, the box must be very tightly wrapped in a barrier film bag, followed by a static shielding bag. This ensures that moisture doesn’t enter the package, causing issues with the humidity level.

 

Above is an example of a completed box ready to enter cold storage. However, there was a problem that arose with this process. After being stored for longer than 24 hours, the humidity identifier card on the bottom right rose to an improper humidity. So, and it’s fairly evident just from the picture, the package was not packed tightly enough. The next step will be to un-wrap the boxes and work with new ways to wrap it so that the humidity remains at an acceptable level.

Other than the main cold storage project, I’ve also continued cataloging and conditioning the collection of O. Winston Link negatives, and am now over half way through about 2,300 individual photos. The most common problem, if any, on any given negative is discoloration. This manifests usually as fading around the edges in minor cases, to a completely faded and un-distinguishable picture in more serious cases. Below is a picture of my favorite tool used to assess the condition of negatives, the light box. It creates much better visibility to examine negatives.

 

 

Also, my museum work so far hasn’t been limited to archival related activities! The gift shop within the museum recently got a face-lift and rearranging in which I helped assemble and place some new furniture and items. This is just another task that pertains to museum work, as there’s a lot of minor tasks that go into making sure the museum experience is satisfying for every visitor. The shelving unit below is an example of one of the new pieces going into the gift shop that was (painstakingly) assembled by staff, volunteers, and myself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke, Virginia exhibits work from its namesake, O. Winston Link. Link was an American commercial photographer most well known for his extensive work shooting steam locomotives in the late 1950’s. He also pioneered night photography, as he was constantly finding new ways to utilize flash photography.

Link’s primary photography project was working along the Norfolk and Western rail line, which snakes through much of Southwest Virginia and into West Virginia. As such, the Roanoke station along the line became one of Link’s favorite spots to do work. The museum is situated in an original passenger rail station that was remodeled to house both the museum and the Roanoke visitor’s center.

My first day at the museum involved a full tour of the museum and run-down on O Winston Link’s work and life, learning some of the basic procedures of museum work in the process. Every exhibition is crafted carefully, and a lot of thought is put into which photos are used and where they are put on display. Each section of the exhibition rooms have to flow visually to create the right experience.

I also realized very quickly how essential volunteers are to the museum’s operation. It’s a rather small museum, with only three staff members, so volunteers are necessary to keep everything running smoothly. One of the many responsibilities of the staff, among many other organizational tasks, is to make sure volunteers are scheduled and productive each week.

My major project for the length of the internship is archival, however. The OWL museum was given a very large collection of O. Winston Link’s personal negative photos (about 2,200 total) that have yet to be digitally cataloged and stored. It’s my job to go through as many of these negatives as possible in the museum’s archive and catalog, condition, and prepare them to go into the museum’s new cold storage facility.

This process involves looking at each photo individually, with the help of some photography tools, and recording a description and condition of the negative. This is because negatives can deteriorate after a certain shelf life in the incorrect humidity. These are running out of time at about 60 years old, which is where my project comes into play.

Prior to moving the negatives into cold storage, they have to be properly packaged which is a rather thorough process that involves a lot of archival equipment. They are stored at very low temperatures with a controlled humidity to ensure that the negatives aren’t damaged.