Saving Pictures of History

Panoman617 · Jul 12, 2011

Thought you might like to see this. Its about a photographer form Lansing Michigan Russell Leavenworth from around 1985. Did a lot of old photos for REO, Oldsmobile.

We printed some large pano negs of his for the Michigan Museum for a display.

Story.

http://seekingmichigan.org/look/2009/11/17/leavenworth-preservation

BrianShaw · Jul 12, 2011

Cool!

... but I think you meant 1895, not 1985.

Panoman617 · Jul 12, 2011

Thanks Brian my type-o

BrianShaw · Jul 12, 2011

I do that all the time. Recently I goofed on my birthdate... and all of the sudden started getting senior citizen discounts.

Jeff Kubach · Jul 12, 2011

Great picture! Nice cars and cameras!

Jeff

Panoman617 · Jul 12, 2011

Here's a link to 1 of the rare Agfacolor glass plates in the collection from 1934.

http://seekingmichigan.org/look/2009/11/16/oldsmobile-in-pictures

Jeff Kubach · Jul 12, 2011

That is a wonderful picture! Enjoyed it!

Jeff

domaz · Jul 12, 2011

Panoman617 said:
Thanks Brian my type-o

Don't think that could be from 1895 either.. The Model T wasn't even produced until 1908 and the Graflex SLR wasn't first produced until 1898.

Moopheus · Jul 12, 2011

domaz said:
Don't think that could be from 1895 either.. The Model T wasn't even produced until 1908 and the Graflex SLR wasn't first produced until 1898.

The article says he opened his studio in 1895, but was in business for several decades.

Panoman617 · Jul 12, 2011

Leavenworth Photographics Inc. is still open today. at 401 East North St Lansing MI 48906

holmburgers · Jul 12, 2011

Great story and links for anyone interested in photographic preservation.

In one of the links however, it states that "Nitrate negatives must be properly disposed because they can actually self-ignite if the temperature rises above 106 degrees Fahrenheit for a sustained period of time."

I've heard that this is not necessarily true, and is perhaps a bit of an old wive's tale. But then again, I can't cite any hard & fast evidence to support either claim. Just wanted to mention it, and see if anyone knew the straight & skinny.

semi-ambivalent · Jul 12, 2011

BrianShaw said:
Cool!

... but I think you meant 1895, not 1985.

Why not 1985? Maybe the man is an APUGer.

jakyamuni · Jul 12, 2011

I worked on those negatives, sorting the nitrate sheets. They came packed, ten to an envelope, in brown paper... and they were foul. They had begun to decompose, some of them, and a few had actually begun to melt together into a giant, red, sticky mess. More than a few of them had to be discarded because of it, and they went into an air-conditioned loading dock because of the concern of self-ignition. Given the smell, some of us would have been glad if they did. Glad to see them in cold storage now.

holmburgers · Jul 12, 2011

Well.. I was born in 1985..

jakyamuni, how would you describe the smell?

It was pointed out to me that the self-ignition point of nitrocellulose is 388°F.

pentaxuser · Jul 12, 2011

1985? I was going to say: "No wonder the U.S. car industry is struggling against foreign competition"

Nice shot though

pentaxuser

jakyamuni · Jul 12, 2011

The smell? Imagine a vinegar factory burning down, with the fire department trying to put it out with mustard gas. Inside your head. Made worse by the fact that everything these touched turned into a sticky, red, corn-syrupy mess.

holmburgers · Jul 12, 2011

jakyamuni said:
The smell? Imagine a vinegar factory burning down, with the fire department trying to put it out with mustard gas. Inside your head. Made worse by the fact that everything these touched turned into a sticky, red, corn-syrupy mess.

Mmmm... sounds a bit like a delicious sandwich.

BrianShaw · Jul 12, 2011

semi-ambivalent said:
Why not 1985?

Because I read the article and it says 1895.

jakyamuni · Jul 12, 2011

holmburgers said:
Mmmm... sounds a bit like a delicious sandwich.

That being said, the Michigan State Library makes an awesome grilled cheese sandwich.

Toffle · Jul 12, 2011

holmburgers said:
Well.. I was born in 1985..

jakyamuni, how would you describe the smell?

It was pointed out to me that the self-ignition point of nitrocellulose is 388°F.

Given the typos/mismatched numbers already in this thread, that number could mean just about anything.

michaelbsc · Jul 12, 2011

BrianShaw said:
I do that all the time. Recently I goofed on my birthdate... and all of the sudden started getting senior citizen discounts.

Humrumph! I get those when the date is right!

Newt_on_Swings · Jul 12, 2011

very cool! thanks

that Afga color is trippy! Almost like the hand colored process!

Saving Pictures of History

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