Sarah Purnell

Matte Collodion Print | Yellowstone National Park Archives

Photographer not known
[Four US Army Officers posed behind poached bison heads], c. 1894
Matte collodion print

Treatment rationale and goals:

This photograph is one of the most requested archival materials at Yellowstone National Park due to its significance to the history of the park and its influence on early American wildlife conservation and anti-poaching legislation. Because of this, the primary goal of treatment is to ensure that the photograph is stabilized to prevent further damage and facilitate safe handling by future researchers and users of Yellowstone’s collection. This object poses some treatment challenges—a complex crack runs through the upper proper right corner of the photograph and into the mount, and is at risk of detachment. The metallic silver image material appears to be suspended in a collodion binder; however, the binding media could not be conclusively identified without further analysis, so treatment must be carried out cautiously without using solvents or significant moisture.

This treatment was supervised by photograph conservators Debra Hess Norris and Barbara Lemmen.