The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate knowledge and skill in the editing and repair of historical images using Adobe Photoshop. In particular the following images incorprate several techniques; cropping and resizing images, restoring damaged or diminished images, hand-tinting an image, creating a vignette effect in a photograph and matting an engraved image. I selected images relating to the history of St. Ann's Church for Deaf-Mutes, an Episcopal mission located in New York City. The mission was begun in 1851 by Rev. Thomas Gallaudet.1

Edited Engraving

Above are two images of St. Ann's Church as it existed on West Eighteenth Street in Manhattan between 1859 and 1894. The original image is one of the few images that we have of the church buildings that housed dual (deaf and hearing) congregations for forty years. The original engraving has been cropped and edited to create a cleaner image. The contrast was heightened to emphasize the details in the engraving. Next I removed the rough edges above and below using the spot-healing tool. Then I created a matted image to blend the image into the background of this site.

Church Fresco
Edited Church Fresco

Above is a side-by-side comparison of a cropped and resized image. The painting above appeared at the altar of the New St. Ann's Church, constructed in 1898. The work uses the iconography of Jesus speaking "Ephphatha!" or "Be Opened! to the ears of a deaf man. This was a popular symbol for religious efforts amongst the Deaf Community throughout this period. I approached this image intending to capture and highlight this iconography. I isolated the painting, repaired and removed some dust spots and removed the objects blocking the bottom of the image.

Church Mission to Deaf Mutes
Edited Church Mission to Deaf Mutes

The next grouping of images involved the restoration of a damaged photograph. The above image, likely taken in 1888, features members of the Church Mission to Deaf Mutes, an Episcopal missionary organization composed of both deaf and hearing ministers. The men pictured above served as intinerant preachers to deaf people across the country. The restoration began with repairing the tears and folds that damaged the image. I removed scratches and dust spots that were visible in the image as well. I also recolored the image.

Anniversary
Edited Anniversary

Pictured above is Elizabeth Budd Gallaudet and Rev. Thomas Gallaudet on their Fifieth Wedding Anniversary. The image has been hand-colored using Photoshop. It has also been lightly retouched to remove visible scratches and dust spots.>

Interior
Edited Interior

Utilizing an image of the recently constructed St. Ann's Chapel, I modified the image by adding a vignette effect. The efect is meant to draw your eye to the center of the photograph, placing emphasis on the altar and the church's religious iconography.

1 Legg, "Unchurched, Unchampioned and Undone'; The St. Ann's Controversy" in Citizenship in Deaf History: Studies in Deaf Agency, 1820-1990 (Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press, 2015).