Preservation Assessment of the Worcester Historical Museum's E.B. Luce Photograph Collection

FAIN: PG-51149-11

Worcester Historical Museum (Worcester, MA 01609-2504)
Robyn Christensen (Project Director: May 2010 to January 2012)

Hiring a consultant to assess the preservation needs of 75,000 prints and negatives in the Luce collection, created between the 1880s and the 1930s, that document the development of Worcester as a manufacturing center and include street views depicting a now-vanished Worcester of retail stores, factories, trolleys, and trains. Basic rehousing supplies would also be purchased.

The grant would support a collection-level assessment of the recently acquired E.B. Luce Photograph Collection by Northeast Document Conservation Center senior photo conservator Monique Fischer. This is the first step in reaching the goal of making the collection accessible to the public. The E.B. Luce Photograph Collection spans a century and is comprised of approximately 75,000 negatives and prints. Most date from the 1880s to 1930s and were taken by long-time Worcester, Massachusetts photographer, Edwin Bradley Luce (1863-1938). Unknown photographers continued to take pictures for the E.B. Luce Company into the 1970s. This collection is a significant addition to the museum's already impressive photograph collection used frequently by researchers all over the world.