Case Study Progress

Since intersession, I have decided on a film collection to pull films from for case studies, the John Allen Collection. A former student from 2000 inspected a group of films from this collection which I am now using for my case studies.

The films are silent nitrate prints and from the early 20th century. The films I am inspecting are at varying levels of decay. These films are held at the Louis B. Mayer Conservation Center owned by the George Eastman Museum. I have been visiting the conservation center to inspect the films, Collection Manager, Deborah Stoiber, has been there to assist and instruct me.

As of today, I have inspected the film Garden of Allah and found that since the films have been put into the nitrate vaults the amount of decay has slowed considerably since they were last inspected in 2000. I have plans to inspect 5 titles total and compare them to each other. In the end, I hope to be able to conclude the storage conditions have slowed the rate of decomposition for all of the titles.


I am continuing to add information on current preservation practices and am deciding whether or not to add in the costs associated with preservation.