Preservation Assessment of the Photos of the Goodridge Brothers, African American Photographers

FAIN: PG-51184-11

Public Libraries of Saginaw (Saginaw, MI 48607-1285)
John Sheridan (Project Director: May 2010 to November 2012)

Hiring a consultant to assess the preservation needs of 25 to 30 daguerreotype and ambrotype images created by African American photographers that document the history of York, Pennsylvania, and Saginaw, Michigan, from 1847 to 1922.

The Public Libraries of Saginaw, in cooperation with the Historical Society of Saginaw County, is seeking funding to contract with a professional paper conservator to provide a detailed assessment of the preservation, treatment and stabilization needs of 25-30 rare Goodridge Brothers photographs. From 1847 until 1922, the Goodridge Brothers Studio was the most significant and enduring African-American photographic enterprise in the United States. Their photographs include many iconic images of the lumbering industry in Michigan. The Library and the Historical Society have the largest archive of Goodridge photos available to the public, approximately 180 images. The assessments will be done by Jamye Jamison, Associate Paper Conservator at the Intermuseum Conservation Association in Cleveland. The project will also result in a complete inventory of the institutions' Goodridge Brothers photographs and the creation of an online finding aid to make the images more accessible.