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Archive: April 2026 (2 Posts)

Image of a drawing of a locomotive wheel with the tracks and the inscription del by. Chas. F. Thomas

Preserving the Rails-to-Rotunda Story of Charles F. Thomas: treating a hand-colored salted paper photograph

Posted by: Meg Gray

From designing early locomotives to raising the Statue of Freedom on the Capitol Dome, Charles Frederick Thomas played a unique role in D.C. history. Harper-Inglis Fellow in Photograph Conservation, Sophie Hoone, discusses the treatment of a hand-colored photograph of a locomotive from the Charles Frederick Thomas Photographs collection in the Prints and Photographs Division.

Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Conservation, Preservation, Tangible Media

Twenty magnified images arranged in a 4 by 5 rectangle. The images show various materials as seen under a microscope including paper-based documents, drawings, and prints, as well as other materials such as pigments.

Observing Collections a Micron at a Time: A Tools of the Trade Post

Posted by: Megan Zins

Ever wonder what all those intriguing looking instruments in science labs actually do? This first reimagined installment of our “Tools of the Trade” series takes an up-close look at microscopy. Learn how the Library uses this classic technique to look at a material’s structure, answer preservation questions about the collections, and capture intrigue.

Posted in: Heritage Science, Pigments, Preservation, Tangible Media, Tools of the Trade