5.0079 Responses: Ultraviolet and Infrared Light (3/57)

Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Tue, 21 May 91 15:04:26 EDT

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 5, No. 0079. Tuesday, 21 May 1991.


(1) Date: Thu, 16 May 91 19:26:35 CDT (23 lines)
From: James Marchand <marchand@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Re: 5.0071 Notes and Queries

(2) Date: Thu, 16 May 91 21:47-0400 (13 lines)
From: WIEBEM@QUCDN
Subject: 5.0071 Notes and Queries

(3) Date: Fri, 17 May 91 09:40:50 GMT (21 lines)
From: Christopher Currie <THRA004@CMS.ULCC.AC.UK>
Subject: infrared/uv and documents

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 May 91 19:26:35 CDT
From: James Marchand <marchand@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Re: 5.0071 Notes and Queries

I have had extensive experience, mostly with ultraviolet and other mono-
chromatic light sources. By ultraviolet one usually means fluorescence
photography, in which the ink (one hopes) fluoresces under ultraviolet
light, and one simply photographs the result in the normal manner.
Infra-red requires a particular film and is more of a problem. Nowadays
it is possible to digitize directly into the computer (e.g. with
Xap-Shot or a video camera and a capture board), but it is best to
obtain a good photograph (do not put all your eggs in the ultra-violet
basket) and to scan it into the computer using a scanner which can do at
least 32 gray levels (256 with an 8-bit chip). The resulting
"photograph" can then be treated almost in real time as opposed to the
enormous amounts of time spent in the darkroom. Thus, one can use the
computer as a darkroom. Photography nowadays is a snap. You do not
have to worry about grain, you develop for a gamma of seven (you have to
do your own development; none of the professionals does good black and
white any more); if, like me, your eyes are going bad, you can have the
camera focus for you; you go through the lens, so there is no parallax,
etc. etc. Everything is miniaturized and made user-friendly. If I can
help, contact me.
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------22----
Date: Thu, 16 May 91 21:47-0400
From: WIEBEM@QUCDN
Subject: 5.0071 Notes and Queries


Re: ultraviolet and infra-red techniques: Professor Norman H. Mackenzie,
Professor Emeritus of English, Queen's University at Kingston, Kingston,
Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6 is an expert in these techniques, which he used
for his Oxford Standard Authors edition of Hopkins. I'm sure he would
be happy to share his expertise.

M.G. Wiebe, Queen's U.

(3) --------------------------------------------------------------31----
Date: Fri, 17 May 91 09:40:50 GMT
From: Christopher Currie <THRA004@CMS.ULCC.AC.UK>
Subject: infrared/uv and documents


Date: Thu, 16 May 91 08:30 CDT
>From: crisp@engr.uark.edu (Crisp Group)
>Subject: Ultraviolet/Infra red document treatment


>Is there anyone on humanist who has experience in using Ultraviolet or
>Infra red light in the enhancement/restoration of historical documents?

What is meant by 'enhancement' here? I'm sure many of us have experience
of using ultraviolet to read early documents, but is some permanent
improve- meant of the text, as read subsequently under normal light,
meant? I certainly hadn't heard of such techniques and would be
interested in any replies to Crisp Group's query.


Christopher