Toll Free 800-650-9030 International 239-948-6915
Order By Fax 239-949-9537
Toll Free 800-650-9030 International 239-948-6915
Order By Fax 239-949-9537
© 2007 Atocha Treasure Company LLC All Rights Reserved
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TREASURE PICS In an earlier Treasure Pics column, I made reference to and described in some detail an early Spanish photographer who was sailing with the ill-fated Treasure Fleet of 1622. What little information we had on Pepe Feinstein was found in a separate document attached to an old manifest. This document was discovered in the nautical museum of the “Archives of Flatbush” in Brooklyn, New York, by a Jewish scholar doing genealogy research on post-Inquisition immigration patterns of lesser known photographers of the Old World. |
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As soon as he realized the significance of his discovery he sent the document to Mel, who in turn gave it to me for inspiration, saying, “Here, Pat, you can have this for part of your division. I can’t read a damn word of it anyhow.” Inspired by Mel’s generosity, I knew that I had to start this old document on a preservation process that would eventually and hopefully lead to its complete restoration. I took the precious parchment up to our conservation laboratories on the third floor, where I asked the advice of our conservator, Jim Sinclair, on how to go about preserving this fragile piece of history. He suggested at first a revolutionary new stabilizing technique where we could rearrange the molecular subatomic particles by using laser sonics, then reestablishing the anti-matter using a neutrino accelerator to reform a positive document. |
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was amazed at how scientifically advanced our conservation process had become and asked if that was the secret of how he has been able to restore so many of these beautiful artifacts. “Well, no, not exactly,” he said. “I find that Super Glue works the best.” When I showed the document to Duncan, he looked at it and, while circling the coffee machine several times, kept repeating, “It’s got to be a message from the past!’ Archaeologists say that a lot when they’re not sure what they’ve got. The document eventually got translated by our own Sandy McKinney who, I’m told, at one time studied under the world famous Senor Richard Ricardo. |
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It is through this translation that I was able, for the first time, to introduce to the world an artist who would otherwise never have been known, since all his works apparently were lost with him at sea. The little information this document provided showed his significant contribution to the photographic world. The reason I’m bringing this up again is that our divers have just brought in some EO’s (encrusted objects) that appear to be old Spanish photo9raphic plates, and if they are, this could be a major historical discovery. Imagine actual pictures of shipboard life on the Atocha At this printing we are now stabilizing the plates and hope to be able to bring you, in the next issue of Treasure Talk, these first, never-before-seen photographs as seen through the eyes of photographer Pepe Feinstein aboard the Atocha. Duncan could he right. This may be the message from the past” that we’ve all been looking for. |
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Something new: Because some of our mail is directed to our photography department with questions on camera use, underwater photography, and video equipment, Treasure Pics will try to answer some of these in itsupcomingcolumns, Just address s’our questions to Pat Ciyne, Treasure Pics, Treasure Salvors Inc., 200 Greene Street, Key West, Florida, 33040. Pat Clyne, goaded by the example of Pepe Feinstein to a spirit of fierce competitiveness, has just finished a brilliant video tape, recording the conservation and curating processes used for the Atocha artifacts. |
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From The Archives Of
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