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About the Gevaert Paper Project
The Gevaert Paper Project unlocks the photographic paper and photo documentation, packaging and sample books of the historical Agfa-Gevaert collection from the Gevaert period (1894-1964). It aims to be the first reference collection of its kind in Europe.
In 2017, the Fotomuseum Antwerpen (FOMU) acquired the Historical Collection Agfa-Gevaert. The collection contains an enormous amount of valuable information about the production and characteristics of (early) 20th-century photographic papers. That is why the decision was made to register, digitize, and publish both the sample images and the technical information in a graphic database. The larger goal of the project is the preservation of what is otherwise rapidly disappearing information about analog photography. Since the advent of digital photography, knowledge about photographic paper has become nearly obsolete, with the exception of niche markets, and technical information about this medium has become scarce.
We digitized and recorded more than 1,300 photographic paper packages and 70 hanging folders from Gevaert's collection of photographic paper information and developed a data model containing three levels: that of product line, product, and product instance.
Some context about photographic paper is in order to better understand the information structure. A photo paper was launched under a particular product name, for example Gevarto. Gevarto's user target group was the artistic photographer, and the characteristics of the photo paper were tailored accordingly. Gevarto is the product line in this example.
The specific characteristics of a photo paper were cast into product codes for easy recognition, such as "Gevarto K8XZ" for example. In that code, the "K" stands for a cardboard backing, "8" for a particular texture and reflection, and "XZ" for extra soft contrast. We describe that combination of properties within a product code within the record product. For example, there are records for Ridax 8V, Ridax 8XZ, Ridax 8Z, ...
Finally, we describe the features that make a package unique compared to other packages: there is a handwritten inventory number on it, inscriptions may have been made by previous owners of the package, we note whether the package is complete (how many photo papers have been taken out), and what the physical condition of the package is.