Photograph: Yellowstone National Park Archives

Photographer not known

[Four US Army Officers Posed Behind Poached Bison Heads], c. 1894

Matte collodion print

Image: 3 13/16” H x 5 1/2” W

Secondary support: 4 3/16” H x 6 1/2” W

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.