I inherited more than 200 of my great great grandmother's glass negatives. Mary M. West was the only female photographer in Bradford, Pennsylvania from 1870 to 1906. She moved to the area with her photographer husband, Jacob, and broke off from him in 1896 with her own studio. She was know in town for her photographs of women and children. The personal negatives that I inherited include photos of her grandchildren, family and many landscapes.
I have been doing historical research on her for years and have now been researching what it took to be a photographer during this period. I have just discovered that she belonged to the Photographer's Association of America and attended the convention in Celoron, New York. I am pretty sure that one of her negatives is a photo of Fitz W. Guerin, who was the associations president at the time.
I purchased a professional flat bed negative scanner and wide format printer to produce prints, and I am amazed at the amount of detail that the negatives contain.
Any suggestions of how to get the most out of her negatives is greatly welcome.
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