displaying glass positives

[jnantz]

hi there
i saw a thread yesterday about displaying tintypes and i have a similar
questions but it has to do with displaying of glass positives.
these aren't ambrotypes or silver gelatin ambrotype-type images
but photographs printed on hand coated glass ( big and small dry plates,
and maybe glass cyanotypes ) any suggestions on how to display
glass images, without making light boxes, or cases like ambrotypes are presented in?
they will be shown eventually on a library's wall and there are little spot ( speck ) lights ...
i made images similar to this years ago but like now i couldn't figure out
a good way to display them, so i just contact printed them ... and i don't want to do that
any suggestions? affordable and a solution for 20-30 images is the bottom line ..
( or i might just end up changing what i present if its too much of a PITA )
thanks for your suggestions !
john

[Pere Casals]

A simple white paper under the glass positive displays well the image, bare paper can be coated with gelatin+baryte for a high reflectance of the white. You also can fix expired photopaper to get a good paper base...

...but the problem is that in that case the glass positive has to be adjusted to have half the normal density than if it was an slide, as light passes two times by the emulsion, one to reach the paper and once light reflected it has to pass another time to reach the viewer, if not the image would look very dark.

So the way it is crafted the positive will determine if it is suitable for a reflective display or for a transmissive display.

If using a transmissive diaplay perhaps I'd use cheap paper with that nasty OBA (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_brightener) that turns yellow with time, ruining the jet prints, in this case the OBAs works nice, and when it gets yellow you can simply replace the paper...

[ghostcount]

These should work...

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41-xwa3F6dL.jpg

https://www.amazon.com/Wallniture-Boston-Contemporary-Floating-Shelf/dp/B01GTV43N8

They are simple enough to make if you need a more customized sized/look.

[Ted R]

It would seem advantageous to adopt a method that makes it obvious the image is on glass. I haven't done this myself but one idea would be to make open boxes that attach to the wall, slightly larger than the image, the glass plate is attached at the front closing off the box. The interior is the background for the image and is the reason for the box, to provide a background for the image that is under your control, which is not the case when glass is hung in open space, the background is not under your control, visitors moving around in the space provide a background that changes all the time and which make comprehension of the hanging glass image difficult. The interior of the display boxes may be designed with the images in mind, perhaps a smooth white, or a smooth gray, or colors, or second image chosen either to complement or contrast with the glass primary image, small objects may be included in the box, there are endless permutations possible.

[jnantz]

these are nice suggestions
i'll have to find out if i will be able to attach a moulding to the wall of the library
i know i will not have the funds or the time to construct something elaborate ...

[LabRat]

Hey John, this is an incomplete thought, but if you ran thin sturdy stainless steel cable (like they use for fishing line), you would only have to securely anchor it at the ends to brackets so the wall would be spared many holes... And you can string it so there is space off the wall...

Or maybe like one of those 19th century Paris galleries with the wood/metal/pipe etc bars high overhead, and the images hanging low below it...

Then you would have to attach the glass to the cable somehow, but hey, it's an incomplete thought...

Figuring it out is FUN!!!

Steve K

[Drew Bedo]

Not sure I understand why ambrotype black backing isn't the answer. I would try different backing schemes. Maybe aluminum foil or a piece of mirror. please let us know what you do and post images though.

[Light Guru]

First off what color is the wall?

If it’s white and you are allowed to mount things to it then stand off the wall display would be really easy.

Simple small pieces of would with a groove that the glass goes it would do it. You could place them on the corners, on all 4 sides, or even just the top and bottom. Or you could even do a long track of wood at top and bottom to hold multiple images.

The biggest issue is going to be light. It should like the light there is horrible. If you went with the long track I mentioned you could easily run a string of tiny LED lights along both the top and bottom wood piece behind where the glass goes. It wouldn’t be perfectly even light but it would still make the images pop. Those LED strips let you adjust the brightness so you can set it at whatever works best with your glass slides.


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[Light Guru]

Another thought don’t use the wall. Hang them on windows or glass deciders.

I’m sure there would be a simple way to hang them with suction cups or wires.


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