To the editor:
We are all historians with our letter writing and the photographs we make, especially the photos showing how people appear, how they dress and their homes and activities. Kathy McCarthy at the Star-Herald, Theresa Fowler at the chamber and Dr. Richard Graves, Presque Isle’s historian, and I, have been attempting to identify old photos for Presque Isle’s 150th anniversary publications. Who are these people and where and when were the photos made? I have got to confess that some of the photos are mine. Members of various historical societies spent days in attempts to find out who people are in photos that have been given to the societies. The pictures could be a valuable part of any museum’s collection if more information were known. So pardon me if I editorialize a little and say, please ID your photos.
I am concerned about the present means we have for making images. The new digital images on CDs and DVDs, are electronic images, are not expected to have a great longevity. I have read that experts state that some may expire in a year or two, or perhaps in seven years. Equipment to record images and play them back keeps changing. How do you now show those movies you made years ago, or the video tapes? Movies I produced for clients were put on video tapes so I could look at them. I no longer can. Should I have put them on DVDs?
I have been working with black and white glass plates, that is black and white negatives on sheets of glass, which was used to record images before the celluloid base for film was invented. Some of these are over 100 years old and they are as nearly as good as when they were made. Negatives and slides made 50 years ago seem to be holding up well.
Presque Isle
