I was wondering if there is a process out there to help revive or restore old photos that have suffered some, what appears to be, silver loss. The areas on the prints that I'm describing look like they have browned.They are old photos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, professionally framed, but are slightly deteriorated. They say the photographer is Lilo Raymond. While I'm asking, is anyone familiar with that name, or do you know a site I might check to find out more about these apparently commissioned photos? Thanks for any assistance.

-- Kim Crawford (kimmer6926@aol.com), May 02, 2000

Answers

Gretings,

What you are describing sounds like silver oxidization, or a break down of the paper's RC coating. Are these Resin Coated, or Fiber Based prints? Either way is doesn't appear they were archivally processed. Having prints framed for a long period can actually cause more harm than good. I doubt there is any way to restore the print, but you may be able to stop further damage. You should seek the advice of a archival framer that specializes in B&W photos.

Regards,

-- Pete Caluori (pcaluori@hotmail.com), May 02, 2000.

You could try Sulphide toning the whole print, but any chemical process will carry the risk of making matters worse. The only safe answer is to make, or have made, good quality copy negs, and re-print from those. If the affected patches are browned they should be copied through a blue filter. Digital scanning and retouching is another option, but if you don't own the copyright you'll be breaking the law with any form of reproduction. A bit of a dilemma really.

Good luck to you and your conscience.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), May 03, 2000.