P3D Prints vs slides - Archival Qualities

[bill3dbw3d@xxxxxxxx (Bill C Walton)]

I think this particular thread has "been beat to death" but apparently
not.  It is hard,I THINK, to compare the archival qualities of stereo
prints and stereo slides since Kodachrome has only been around since the
mid 1930s..And, as far, as far as I can determine, was not really used
for stereo slides (except Viewmaster-No, Mary Ann I didn't forget) until
after WWII and the invention of the Stereo Realist.  So let's say the
oldest slides are about 60 years old.Stereo prints on the other hand have
been with us since the 1850s.  My oldest stereo print was made in July
1862 at the dedication of a Lion Statute in Flensburg ,Germany, by
Friedrich Brandt.  He made several exposures that day, both planar and
stereo, including some with Hans Christian Andersen in the scene. 
Unfortunately no one  stood still in the people pictures and they are all
blurs.  I guess, for insurance, he posed one man with the Lion 
Statue and it turned out very nice.  That makes it over 135 years old.
and, although it is showing it's age it is still a very viewable image.

My oldest Kodachrome planar slide was made in Sep 1957, upon completion
of my first solo flight in a Army helicopter.  It is still viewable, but
fading badly, so I have copied it onto a BW negative as it is one image I
don't want to lose.

This comparison reminds me of the comparison among Black & White
printmakers concerning the archival qualities of Resin Coated enlarging
paper vs Fiber Base enlarging paper.  We won't really know until a 100
years or so goes by.  Both sides have their admirers and detractors- 
Take your choice!!!

I put on a stereo demonstration/SSA Exhibition for  the Creative
Exposures Photo Club here in Columbus last evening.  One lady came up and
told me she had brought her wedding stereo slides, made in 1951, and had
never seen them projected.  So after my presentation we looked at her
slides.  They are Kodachome and were 
probably nice  when then were a bit newer, but they are badly faded and
some of them are almost gone.  She 
enjoyed that part of the program immensely, but afterwards told me that
she wished the photographer had made 
BW stereo cards instead of what she has.  I suggested she have the slides
converted to BW negatives in order to keep what little she has.  I am
sure that this must be an exception, because Kodachrome is known to last
longer that 46 years.

BILL  C WALTON 
Bill3dbw3d@xxxxxxxx


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