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The technology of microfilm was one of the many technical improvements of the 19th century, which combined the advances of photography to fix images with the microscope optics to reduce them. Since then, microfilming has spread slowly in quite particular fields. Embraced by spies, shaped by librarians, loved by genealogists, microphotography presents a paradox as the basis of its survival: while the conservation of documents is probably its main goal, access to the information may be its principal obstacle. Almost like a riddle, each reel may contain hundreds of documents, but they cannot be read without the proper device. Our aim is to tackle microfilming from the perspectives of media archeology and microhistory, i.e., looking for small stories and affairs related to this imaging technique, which can still be found in the 21st century. That is why we would like to focus on three matters of this media: the traditional uses of microfilm for archival purposes, considering both successful and unsuccessful cases of information recovery; the appropriation of the technique by espionage in the context of Cold War, and its representation in films; and the use of microphotography in jewelry and ornaments, both in the past and the present. |
