[Nhcoll-l] [EXTERNAL] light damage to microscope slides?

[Woodward, Jon]

Thanks all --

Kevin, the mountant is Canada balsam. The proposed term of the exhibition is (IIRC) between six months and a year.

Regular pictures with a settings template is a good idea.

--Jon



________________________________
From: Kevin Kocot <kmkocot at ua.edu>
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2026 12:55 PM
To: Woodward, Jon <jwoodward at oeb.harvard.edu>; Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] [Nhcoll-l] light damage to microscope slides?

Hi Jon,

My sense is that Orange G is not particularly sensitive to photo bleaching but the cochineal might be. What are the sections mounted in? How long will the exhibit be up?

Presumably the LED photo table produces little to no UV light and I think the motion activated light is a great idea. I think you don't have much to worry about for a short-term exhibit, but I'm not sure if anyone's going to be able to give you a confident answer.

If you say yes, you might ask the borrower to regularly take pictures (even a quick macro photo of the slides in situ with one's phone using a camera app that forces all the same settings) and compare them over time to watch for signs of fading.

Best,
Kevin






________________________________
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Woodward, Jon <jwoodward at oeb.harvard.edu>
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2026 9:26:04 AM
To: Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [Nhcoll-l] light damage to microscope slides?

Some people who received this message don't often get email from jwoodward at oeb.harvard.edu. Learn why this is important<https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification>
Hi all,

We've gotten an exhibition loan request for some microscope slides which preserve the histological serial sections of a hagfish embryo. The slide prep was done (very nicely) in 1926. The stain was recorded as "Alum cochineal and Orange G." The sections are a little faint, and we're worried that putting them on display (on an LED light table) might result in further fading or other damage. The borrower proposes to put the light on a motion sensor, so the slides would only be lit when a visitor was nearby, rather than 24/7, which seems sensible. I would welcome anyone's thoughts about possible risks and mitigations.

Thanks,
Jon


-------
Jon Woodward
Digitization Manager, Collections Operations
Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology
26 Oxford St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-8205

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20260427/0664ecb1/attachment.html>