#saltprint

We recently discovered the significance of this salted paper print in our Special Collections. This group photo of American and Japanese officers turned out to be the photograph of the first Japanese Delegation to the United States after Japan ended 鎖国 or sakoku. Sakoku was the isolationist foreign policy during the Edo period, lasting from 1633 through 1853 under the Tokugawa shogunate.

During this period, Japan limited commerce and foreign relationships, but was not completely isolated. There was extensive trade with China through the port of Nagasaki, as well as Korea, the Ainu, and the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Dutch were the only European influence permitted and allowed to stay in Dejima, an artificial island off Nagasaki.

Sakoku policy ended in 1853 when the Perry Expedition commanded by Matthew C. Perry forced the opening of Japan to American interests.

On February 9, 1860, the first Japanese Delegation to the United States set sail on the Kanrin Maru, a ship built by the Dutch. It was the first Japanese vessel to sail to the Western world. The group reached San Francisco with a stopover in Hawaii, then continued to Panama to reach Washington D.C., and onto New York before returning to Japan. Their mission was the formal ratification of the Harris Treaty, which was signed between the United States and the Tokugawa shogunate to open Japanese ports to foreign trade.

Besides three official Japanese emissaries and the sailors on Kanrin Maru, the delegation included the Embassy’s escorts, such as Katsu Kaishu as the captain, Nakahama “John” Manjiro as the official translator, and Fukuzawa Yukichi, the future author, educator, and philosopher, known for his efforts to introduce and promote Western ideas and institutions in Meiji Japan. .

What makes this photograph exceptionally unique are the handwritten notations identifying each figure, including the American officials. The photograph was taken at the Navy Yard at Washington, D.C. in June of 1860.

Salted paper print was an early negative/positive printing process developed by William Henry Fox Talbot in England in 1839. Many beautiful examples of this process were created in the 19th century and can be found in a variety of photograph collections.

Harvard’s Weissman Preservation Center (WPC) undertook Salt Print Initiative at Harvard, a university-wide project to preserve and enhance access to salt prints at Harvard. The project focused on photogenic drawings, paper negatives, and salted paper prints (positive prints created from paper or glass-plate negatives) found throughout Harvard’s libraries, archives, and museums. The Fine Arts Library holds many salted prints in our special collections. 

Salted Paper Prints: Process and Purpose A Collaborative Workshop in Photograph Conservation

It’s still not too late to register for the Salted Paper Prints symposium.

In collaboration with the Foundation for the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Harvard Art Museums, and Houghton Library, Harvard Weissman Preservation Center (WPC) is hosting a symposium on salted paper prints on September 14th and 15th. Registered participants will be able to attend a special viewing of salted paper prints from the Harvard Fine Arts Library's historic photographs collection on September 13th.

Here you see the wide range in tonality and richness in colors. Indeed, monochrome can be very colorful. We are so glad that many of these salt prints have remained in good condition, such that the facial expressions and details of clothing and accessories for each sitter are still astonishingly clear. During the two-day symposium, a hands-on workshop hosted by the Northeast Document Conservation Center will allow participants to explore the chemistry and artistic nuance of creating salted paper prints. A brief lecture will acquaint the participants with the basic chemistry and variations of the process and discuss preservation concerns. The salted paper print was an early negative/positive printing process developed by William Henry Fox Talbot in England in the 1830s. Many beautiful examples of this process were created in the 19th century and can be found in a variety of photograph collections.