film. With the development of colour photogra-
phy, the impermanence of the colour dyes became
an additional issue.
Corbis contracted Henry Wilhelm, the world-
renowned photographic conservation expert and
the author ofThe Permanence and Care of Color
Photographs, Traditional and Digital Color Prints,
Color Negatives, Slides and Motion Pictures(1993).
Wilhelm produced a 21-page rescue report that
advised minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit storage in
order to slow the deterioration and extend the life
of the material an estimated 5,000 years.
Meanwhile, 65 miles north of Pittsburgh there was
an underground storage facility located more than
200 feet below the surface of the earth. Iron Moun-
tain had been a thousand-acre mine supplying lime-
stone to the steel industry. In 1950 it was opened as a
storage facility utilizing 30 acres of storage con-
nected by more than twenty miles of passageways.
At this writing it is the largest commercially owned
underground storage facility in the world and the
largest privately owned sub-zero vault.
In 2002, 18 refrigerated trucks were used to
transport the entire Bettmann Archive to Iron
Mountain to much furor and relief from the oppos-
ing camps. On one side were researchers who felt
that they would no longer be able to easily access
the physical objects or browse through the files. On
the other side were conservationists and preserva-
tionists who were relieved that the treasure-trove,
which spanned virtually the entire visual history of
the twentieth century, would be saved for future
generations. According to long-time employees at
the Bettmann Archive, however, researchers never
had had direct access to the files. Files were
brought to them by experienced staff who knew
where to find and correctly re-file them. This
aspect has not changed, and people wishing to do
physical picture research are welcome to submit
their search requests before visiting the Corbis
underground vaults where a staff person will deli-
ver the originals.
The original intent of Bettmann was the commer-
cial licensing of reproduction images for profit and
this has not changed, it has only become larger in
scope and digitized. Interestingly, the staff at the
Bettmann Archive have researched the number of
hits made at the archive and noted that of the 7.5
million images (plus 3.5 million duplicates) only
100,000 images had been pulled from the files to be
looked at and only 75,000 had been licensed for use.
From 1997 until the move in 2002, the Corbis
staff searched the archive for those images most in
danger in order to scan and then vault them. In
addition, of the negatives and photographs not in
immediate danger, decisions were made about
which images should be scanned for historical
interest as well as which images might likely be
selected in the relatively near future. These images
include those that might become ‘newsworthy,’
such as those likely to die during the upcoming
decade, or political figures likely be pushed into
the news. With this in mind, 1.3 million images
were slated to be digitized with, at the end of the
century 225,000 already scanned, catalogued, and
filed for instant retrieval.
The images are preserved through digital pro-
cesses that lend the highest resolution and repro-
duction capabilities. Once the image or negative is
scanned, the digital product is cleaned up, coded,
catalogued, and electronically stored. As a library
is only as good as its cataloguing system, a catalo-
gue system had to be developed that had a sophis-
ticated cross-referencing system, much like the one
Bettmann himself had developed. This problem,
however, was minor compared to the problem of
‘‘forward migration.’’ As software becomes obso-
lete, the digital files must be translated into the next
generation of software and to keep up with the
development of hardware.
In addition to preserving images, Corbis is also
attempting to identify the photographers, the sub-
jects, and the events depicted. Corbis has a contact
point on their website for people who may be able
to identify themselves, the event, or the people in
the photographs. Corbis will then add that infor-
mation to the image.
Corbis has tried to achieve globally what Otto
Bettmann achieved nationally—a source for
images and the insight and foresight to know
what images might be appropriate for which cli-
ents’ needs. To access the Bettmann Archive or
the image bank at Corbis, one need only log onto
http://www.Corbis.com. If a professional has additional
needs, Corbis also employs designers and consul-
tants who are available 24 hours a day to assist
clients in obtaining the right images and the rights
to use those images.
LorraineAnneDavis
Seealso:Archives; Conservation; Digital Photogra-
phy; Visual AnthropologyFurther Reading
Battiata, Mary. ‘‘Can the Photos of the 20th Century be
Saved?’’The Washington Post Magazine, May 18, 2003.
Bettmann, Otto L.Bettmann the Picture Man. Gainsville,
Florida: University of Gainsville Press, 1992.CORBIS/BETTMANN