Dalibando Margarita — restorer of the highest category, the State Historical Museum, Head of the restoration workshop.
E-mail: margodalibando@yandex.ru

Zolotarev Dmitry — restorer of the second category, the State Historical Museum, artist-restorer.
E-mail: macmicus@gmail.com

Among the available methods – chemical and physical – which are practiced now to reconstruct damaged images of photographic materials in archive and museum collection only the method of photographic reconstruction is completely noninvasive. It guarantees the stability of image material structure afterwards this method performing which means, in particular, no threat of thermal or photochemical degradation. Image reconstruction mentioned here does not mean the improving of digital image copy in photographic redactor computer programs but implies scientific techniques of light production and registration, especially in UV and IR spectrum. These techniques are generally accessible and have been frequently used in the heritage investigation projects, but till recent time photographic materials were underestimated as the objects of such projects. Unlike digital graphic reconstruction that gives nice iproved pictures but with the lack of authenticity in the case of scientific UV and IR image scanning we get reliable visual data so it can be declared truly documental reconstruction. Several technical advances were required to develop a scanning set proper for dealing especially with photographic objects. In this article we describe the experience of developing such a set, its properties and opportunities in archive and museum practice.

94 nanometers, chemical degradation, contactless, infrared photography, optical radiation, photographic plate, Photography, silver mirroring, silver sulfide, visualization.