This spring, I was pleased to work with a folder of materials from UT’s Alexander Architectural Archives. These materials came from the Boone Powell collection. Powell was a 20th-century Texas architect with notable work in Austin and San Antonio. He was project architect for the Tower of the Americas; in 1968, this was the tallest observation tower in the Western Hemisphere. This folder details his 1981-83 designs for the Texas Republic Bank and associated office buildings in San Antonio.
The most delicate part of this treatment was four sheets of photographic slides that had been stored in non-archival plastic protectors. The protector sheets had discolored and warped, and had stuck to the photos’ image areas. Working with magnification, and alternating between transmitted and raking light, I used a microspatula to mechanically release the slides from the plastic sheets. I then used gentle brushes and a soot sponge to remove adhered grime, and stored the slides in new protector sheets made of archival PET plastic.
We were fortunate that this treatment didn’t require heat, cold, or humidification, which might have required consultation with a photo conservator! When storing photographic slides at home, similar damage can often be avoided by using archival-quality sleeves or PET, Mylar, of Melinex plastic; and storing materials in conditions controlled for human comfort (no attics, basements, or storage buildings.)
