Old Photographic plates

Being a greenhorn to the type of words that are used on this site, I am asking in a very simple term for some help with old plates that were my fathers and I do not know how or where I can get them reproduced.

They show many old clips of local life and characters taken around the early part of the century. They are 2 different size plates, details availabe to anyone who can help. some have been damaged by the damp but the subjects are mostly portraits and scenes. They are not the very large plates.

I need help please. Maybe I am in the wrong place but perhaps someone would be able to help.

These are glass negative plates? A professional lab should be able to print them.

I Janet,
at the moment I am working on 7 Big boxes of glass plates from 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10 in. in size.
The great grandfather of the owner was the first photographer in Whittier, great documents.
What I am doing for this client is to retouch them in some damaged areas and preserve them in an archival manner: I suggest you to do the same.
If you are intersted in printing them I believe many professional photo labs will do it for you,
best,
Domenico

Probably the best thing to do is scan them if possible and manipulate any images to regain anything lost. To preserve the plates, a dark dry environment is probably the best, but contact a conservator or Google around. If you could print them, or if someone was local and you could get the good ones printed, that would be great. I would not ship them tho.

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Originally Posted by David A. Goldfarb

These are glass negative plates? A professional lab should be able to print them.

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They are glass negative plates? A sixth grader with a bathtub and a 60 watt lamp should be able to contact print them.

If they are turn of the century they will normally print well on printing out paper(POP). This is available from specialist suppliers. It helps if you have a split-back printing out frame of the right size, fixer and gold toner, but you could get an idea of the images with just the paper and sunlight.