The Attic
I remember finding a wooden box in the attic of an older lecture hall at the University of Connecticut. It contained glass plate negatives. I was intrigued with an image of a house and wondered if it existed near campus. I took the plate to a camera shop had and them print a contact sheet so I could have a positive image. Surprisedly I was able to locate the house, surrounded by trees just off campus. This type of sleuthing has always been of interest to me since photography offers a way to look back in time. It was probably a inevitable that I would someday involved with historical photos.
New Ipswich Historical Society
When I became a member of the New Ipswich Historical Society, I offered to scan photos from photo albums to preserve them as digital files for publication. These were prints, many of which were faded and torn. I have enough skill in photoshop to bring back some details but there are limits to what can be done.
Glass Plate Negatives
Glass plates were used as the first base for photographs from 1850 to 1920. I discovered that the New Ipswich Historical Society had several wooden boxes of negatives. Unlike the paper photographs, the glass images were pristine. I needed to devise a way to digitize them. This is not something that can be done with a regular slide or flatbed scanner.
The Rig
The first thing I did was buy an inexpensive light table. The new ones have LED lighting and produce a perfect backlight for the glass negative. The glass lies perfectly flat unlike film negatives which curl. I supported my camera with a mount and used a remote control for the shutter.
Portfolio
A collection of the digitized photos from glass plate negatives of the New Ipswich Historical Society. Many of these were reproduced as postcards.
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John, it’s amazing what you do, and what you can figure out how to do! You are invaluable to the museum, and all of us.
Do you/they know what those machines were being used to build or make? Or who was housed in the “dormitory”?
We had cotton mills in New Ipswich which produced denim, There were all types of large machines. I suspect one of those photos was of a magneto that generated hydro power along the Souhegan River. The dormitory had students that went to Appleton Academy. It was the second oldest academy chartered in New Hampshire after Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter. The school building still stands as a private residence as does the dormitory. What is unique about this town is how many of the original buildings exist. I enjoy comparing the “then” and “now” photos as a member of the historical society. Remember my childhood home was demolished to make way for Rippowam High School. Fourth Street is my touchstone to the past.
Nice work. The NIHS is lucky to have you as a member.
Thank you, it is a great group of folks. We also have an interesting town to chronicle.