1- CECIL is the contact point for any and all people or organization that has an interest in the history of photography and the role played by Kodak in its development along the years. CECIL has gathered thousands and thousands of artifacts, product samples, pictures, industrial history, employee testimonials, and Kodak related archives.
CECIL has also entered partnerships with world famous museums and foundations such as:
- Musée Niepce Chalon-sur-Saône/France, devoted to the history of photography from an artistic stand point. Both parties have co-developed a common approach in document and artifacts conservation. - Fondation Seydoux-Pathé Paris, dedicated to the life of Charles Pathé. CECIL allowed the foundation to access freely the collection of CECIL documents related to Charles Pathé. CECIL also wishes to reach out to universities, researchers and photography enthusiasts by the means of a catalog describing the main categories of CECIL collection;
CECIL, at its Chalon-sur-Saone location, opens its doors during the European Patrimonial Days and participates in the various national and international photography events. On request, special access can be arranged for researchers.
2 - CECIL communicates through :
- An Internet Web site, regularly updated.
- A network of members, former KODAK employees or silver halide photography passionates. They answer questions and gather testimonials and anecdotes.
- An association newsletter “La Gazette de CECIL” published quarterly. The articles bring back from the past various aspects of KODAK’s activities through testimonials and some of the items that have been curated by CECIL.
3 - CECIL manages its archive Collections :
- Each item is examined by CECIL’s experts and then recorded in the tailor-made database. This allows for quick and easy retrieval of information and facilitates the management of the unique items donated or lent to CECIL. This ensures that these items will be easily accessed in the future.
4 - CECIL Museum exhibits :
- CECIL has gathered a unique collection of still and motion picture cameras as well as projectors. Most of these objects come from the KODAK museum of the Vincennes plant that closed its doors in 1986.
- Equipment’s used in the Chalon-sur-Saone factory during industrial production of photographic film. Close collaboration with the Niepce Museum allows many objects to be exhibited in the future so that people can understand how “the light-sensitive surface” described by Nicephore Niepce came into existence and evolved across time.
To summarize, CECIL’s goal is to allow all researchers to access all the preserved company related archives, objects, testimonies that will allow them to study and understand the way argentic emulsions were born and evolved in France