A piece of history restored

By Jason Gabak
Editor

It may seem strange now when most everyone walks around with a cellphone that is capable of taking pictures, but not all that long ago, taking a picture required a lot of equipment.

From the camera to the equipment required to process the negative and expose the photo, it was an involved process.

In the archives of the Skaneateles Historical Society a historically important photo has sat for many years.

The albumen picture captures the first known image of boats on the lake.

This is a piece members of the historical society put an emphasis on preserving.

As a piece that captures boats on the lake, images that have come to be so strongly associated with Skaneateles, the photo captures this in its nascent period.

“The importance is that this is the oldest known photo we have of boats on Skaneateles Lake,” Laurie Winship, retiring director of the Museum at The VReamery said. “The preservation of a photo that old is an important part of our mission, which is, in  part, ‘… to collect, preserve, and exhibit historical material connected to the Town of Skaneateles.’ It is now on permanent exhibit, on a wall that does not receive direct sunlight, to better protect it. To be able to show the progression of photos and artifacts we have from the 1800s to the present day is a wonderful accomplishment for the historical society.”

“This photo has been in the collection for an undetermined length of time,” Winship said. “There are no donor records for it, which indicates it was probably given to the society before the museum was opened in 1992 and they were occupying limited space in the town hall. It is a tribute to those people collecting artifacts at that time that is was protected, brought over to the new building, and put in a safe storage area.”

The historical society recently decided to have the photo restored and framed for display.

“The idea to have it restored was prompted by a notice from the Greater Hudson Heritage Network that their annual Conservation Treatment Grant Program was seeking applications in the spring of 2016,” Winship said. “We keep a list of objects that need conservation treatment and felt this was the best artifact to apply for at that time. We have applied and received grants from this organization in past years that have been carried out by West Lake Conservators.”

West Lake Conservators again took on this project for the historical society.

Luisa Casella took on the task of restoring the photo.

She said this piece posed certain challenges as albumen photos have a tendency to crack over time.

This coupled with other elements the photo had been exposed to over the years made the restoration a challenge.

“Albumen pictures get wet and they dry and crack and they become very fragile,” Casella said. “This one had a number of challenges.”

But Casella was up for the task, separating the photo from its original framing and preserving all the pieces, some of which had become stuck to the glass and frame.

Casella was able to reassemble the pieces and through various restoration techniques breathe life back into the historic photo.

“I’m happy with the way it came out,” Casella said. “I always wish I had more time with everything I work on, but I am happy with the way it came out and I am glad it will be preserved and people will be able to look at it 100 years from now.”

Winship said the historical society had to apply for the grant to do the restoration work.

“We had to fill out an online application that addressed the contents of our collection in general, why this piece was particularly important, budget information, etc.,” Winship said. “We also had to have an estimate from West Lake Conservators that briefly explained the proposed treatment and an estimate of cost. There is a limit of $7500.00 for this grant; their estimate was under that limit.”

Winship said the historical society is incredibly happy with Casella’s work and pleased to have the photo on display.

“Everyone I’ve talked to has been impressed with the results,” Winship said. “The before-and-after photos show quite clearly the improvement in clarity of the photo as well as the restoration of the frame.”