Alma Buscher’s Ladder Chair for Children’s Room

Front / Recto

Title Alma Buscher’s Ladder Chair for Children’s Room (Leiterstuhl für ein Kindzimmer, von Alma Buscher)
Negative Date 1923–25
Print Date 1923–25
Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions Image 6 9/16 × 8 3/8" (16.7 × 21.2 cm)
Place Taken Dessau
Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
MoMA Accession Number 1647.2001
Copyright © 2015 Lucia Moholy Estate/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Mount Type No mount
Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top left: WH/NTR and 63,2. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top center: Alma Buscher. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top center: ↑ [partially erased].
Provenance The artist. Sold through Schoppmann & Partner, Düsseldorf, to Thomas Walther; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 7.

Surface Sheen Semireflective
Techniques Contact print
PTM

Detail view of the recto of the artwork made using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) software, which exaggerates subtle surface details and renders the features of the artwork plainly visible. Department of Conservation, MoMA
Micro-raking

Raking-light close-up image, as shot. Area of detail is 6.7 x 6.7 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Raking-light close-up image, processed. Processing included removal of color, equalization of the histogram, and sharpening, all designed to enhance visual comparison. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Format Unknown
Weight Double weight
Thickness (mm) 0.26
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 47%
Hardwood bleached sulfite 1%
Grass 50%
Rag 2%
Material Techniques Developing-out paper
XRF
This work was determined to be a gelatin silver print via X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry.

The following elements have been positively identified in the work, through XRF readings taken from its recto and verso (or from the mount, where the verso was not accessible):
- Recto: S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
- Verso: Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Sr, Ba
The graphs below show XRF spectra for three areas on the print: two of the recto—from areas of maximum and minimum image density (Dmax and Dmin)—and one of the verso or mount. The background spectrum represents the contribution of the XRF instrument itself. The first graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the lower energy range (0 to 8 keV). The second graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the higher energy range (8 to 40 keV).

Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Ag, Ba

Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Fe, Zn, Sr, Ag