Hello David,
I used to curate the photographic collections at Brighton Museum, and I encountered far more records of Daguerreotypes in the collection than the real things. It's a twofold problem. Almost all museums have photographic collections but there are very few photographic specialists working in the museum sector. Also, it can also be virtually impossible to identify some 19th century print processes without water and alcohol tests, which many people are understandably reluctant to perform.
I've not seen any quantitative data published on this, but there are a couple of places you might enquire. The Getty Conservation Institute have done a lot of work on photographic process identification, and may be able to point you to published research or literature: http://www.getty.edu/conservation/our_projects/science/photocon/. Otherwise, Susie Clark is one of the few specialist photographic conservators working in the UK and often teaches identification techniques. She may be able to point you in the direction of something useful, and you can find her contact details on this National Media Museum contact list: http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/~/media/Files/NMeM/PDF/Collections/Conservation/ConservationContacts.ashx.
All the best,
Kevin
Kevin Bacon
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The Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton & Hove
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-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Croft
Sent: 06 June 2012 10:13
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Photographic process misidentification rates in professional collections
Hello MCGers,
For my research I need to be able to compare the different processes used between pairs of records and to identify the similarity of the processes mentioned in each record. However, part of the challenge in doing this is that the process listed in the metadata is not always correct. For example, tin types listed as dagarotypes. Is anyone aware of any research, or even better any figures, on the rates of process misidentification in collections? I've not been able to find anything with a quantitative analysis of the rates.
Thanks
David
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