Paper Conservation of a Paper Collection | Museum From Home with Lucilla Ronai
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2024
- Join me as I begin the major paper conservation of a paper collection - 288 prints on paper. The treatment included washing, repairs and infills! These prints are part of the Admiral Paris collection at the Australian National Maritime Museum. This conservation treatment and video is some insight to the day in the life of a paper conservator (also known as an art conservator, artefact conservator or materials conservator) working at a museum.
Heritage professionals around the world are creating content to ensure you can find out more about collection items and museums during these times through Museum From Home, Museum At Home and Conservation At Home initiatives!
Do you want to know more about conserving a paper collection, art conservation, paper conservation and what conservators get up to behind the scenes in galleries, libraries, archives and museums? Make sure to check out my other videos!
Find out what is conservation here: • Welcome to the Conserv...
|| Links ||
Admiral Paris Collection at the Australian National Maritime Museum:
collections.anmm.gov.au/people...
Google Arts & Culture Admiral Paris Collection:
artsandculture.google.com/ass...
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|| About me! ||
Hi, I’m Lucilla Ronai, a professional paper conservator. I repair and preserve material culture and artefacts, with a bit of science and a lot of laughing. I love sharing everything about my work with cultural artefacts and museums so come join me on my conservation journey. Welcome to the Conservation Starter, where we save the world one piece of paper at a time!
|| Disclaimer ||
Conservation treatments are carried out by highly trained and qualified conservators. Treatments you see in this video were designed specifically for each item and followed careful testing and examination. These treatments are not recommended for any other items.
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Do you want to find out more about the treatment? Any questions about how or why or I did things? Please let me know in comments below!
Thank you for doing this kind of videos on CZcams, I’m a conservation and restoration student and I liked the way you explained all the process that you made, it was well explained and comprehensible. Please keep doing this type of videos! ❤️
You're very welcome Daniel! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and will be doing more. Good luck with your conservation and restoration studies!
Thank you for your uploads. I think they are great! I use a lot of your techniques on the conservation of comic books! Keep up the great work!
I'm glad you find my videos useful - thanks for watching!
Wow. That's a very important document.
It sure is. And with the right conservation and care it will be around for hundreds of years in the future!
A fantastic insight thank you!
I'm glad it was insightful for you!
This is so usefull!!! All of your channel is! How hard do you feel it is to gind a job in this field as a freshly out of uni (bachelor's in restoration and conservation of cultural patrimony)
Marvelous.
What a super video. You speak clearly, the sound is crisp and clear, the visuals are fascinating. I am a casual collector of paper documents and photographs. If you also conserve historic photos on paper it would be great to eventually see a video on conserving stained albumen and silver photos.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you for the suggestion. I have worked with photographs but usually defer to the photographic materials conservators. Treating photographs is really hard as they're made through chemical processes. I will keep it in mind for future videos though. All the best!
That was a really good talk on paper conservation Lucilla.
Thank you very much. I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
Wow your video is really helpful for me!!!And really interesting! Im a student who studying paper conservation! Thank you for making amazing video! I’ll waiting a next video :)
I'm really glad you enjoyed the video and good luck with your paper conservation studies! I'll hopefully be uploading a video every week. All the best!
Please, keep doing it. Even longer videos.
Thank you! I’m just taking a short break but will be making more videos soon.
Well done 👏
Thank you 😁
Hi I was wondering if there is anything you use that expands paper fiber more than water?
Love the video!! Just followed on Instagram. Would love to learn the process like leafcasting, deacidifying and other conservation work. I have a huge collection of comic books from the 1930s and more.
Hello! I'm so glad you enjoyed my video. It's exciting to hear you have your own collection and want to make it last.
Conservation as a profession has moved more and more to preservation conservation activities rather than just conservation treatment. This looks at preserving whole collections for its whole lifespan, rather than just spending countless hours on just one item (though if the item is important it can definitely warrant the time and effort!). Therefore I recommend you look at preventive conservation measures to ensure your collection lasts. This includes safe handling, display, transport and storage (including controlled temperature, humidity and light, preventing pests, correct conservation grade housing, good maintenance to limit dirt and dust etc.). Also digitising your collection is a great way to preserve it to limit handling of the originals. Here are some great videos by the State Library of Queensland to help you:
How to safely handle your collection: czcams.com/video/t_8RNYVz6X0/video.html
How to house your collection: czcams.com/video/2VSAARio8BA/video.html
How to store your collection safely: czcams.com/video/ONaGQDi6sUY/video.html
How to digitise your collection: czcams.com/video/-v5dRwTav40/video.html
I have more I can share if you're interested!
Also my channel is about sharing conservation, but not about creating 'DIY at home', 'conservation treatment how-to' videos. There are a few reasons for this, but the most important is the risk to the object and you. Conservation treatments are only undertaken by professionally trained conservators after a lot of examination, research and testing. The treatments aren't the same for each object - they are specially constructed for each object with risk management and careful decision making. When it is undertaken by non-conservators it often leads to disastrous results (check out all the botched amateur art restorations, including a video I've made about it: czcams.com/video/cvs8wwNd3_8/video.html). I don't think it's worth the risk to your collection! Also conservation treatments often involve specialised equipment, specially formulated solvents, sharp tools and even heavy machinery. There is a lot of risk to the person undertaking the treatment too. Conservators undertake treatments in conservation laboratories set up very much like scientific laboratories. The space is set up with safety in mind, with a lot of safety protocols in place. I hope you understand!
If your collection is significant to you and there are certain items in very poor or fragile condition, I recommend getting it treated by a professional conservator. This is the safest way to ensure your collections' long term preservation. Each country has a professional body and register where you can find a conservator. If you're in the US you can find one here: www.culturalheritage.org/about-conservation/find-a-conservator
If you're in the UK you can find one here: www.conservationregister.com/
That is costly though so I understand if this is not an option. The preventive conservation measures that I recommend above would be the best thing.
Good luck with preserving your collection!
Wonderful video. Thank you so much for going over the entire process in such a detailed way. In regards to the different testing you must do on the object before it undergoes any kind of treatment. How do you test the ph of the paper? How do you test that it is safe to put those particular inks and lithographs into water/ethanol? Thanks very much for making this video.
Thank you - I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
I use solubility testing to ensure it is safe to wash the paper items. There is risk involved in this testing, just as there is risk in a washing treatment. As I say in the video, I don't recommend trying this treatment at home. Paper conservation treatments always present some risk to the item and conservators train for years to gain the knowledge, skills and experience to undertake the testing (including pH and solubility test), evaluate and select a method of treatment, cater it specifically for each item and have the ability to carry it out in a way that is safe for the object AND the person.
I'm afraid I'm not comfortable giving detailed step by step instructions- that's not the purpose of my videos. I hope that is ok. I am, however, very happy to share some preventive conservation measures you can use to protect your treasures through good handling and storage if you're interested?
If you think you're items should be washed I recommend going to a professional paper conservator. The American Institute for Conservation has a find a conservator page: www.culturalheritage.org/about-conservation/find-a-conservator
As does the Institute for Conservation in the UK: www.conservationregister.com/
All the best!
Thank you very much for showing the whole process. It is very interesting to see it all happen! As a conservation and restoration student from the Netherlands, I am wondering why you decided not to wash the yellowed papers. Thank you!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Hello from Australia!
Great question - the yellow coloured paper was a folio cover used to house the engravings, lithographs and detailed text pages on normal paper. There were a few reasons that I didn't wash it: it had an original attached paper label likely adhered with a water soluble adhesive (didn't want to risk lifting it), it had lots of ingrained dirt (didn't want the dirt to move further in to the fibre structure), and it was a low priority for washing treatment compared to the other items I had to treat for the exhibition (balancing other deadlines and exhibition requirements). It could be washed in the future if there was a safe way not to remove the original paper label. I hope that answers your question!
Good luck with your conservation and restoration studies!
@@TheConservationStarter great, thank you for the extensive answer! I totally understand your decisions then.
I am also wondering how you then can remove the ingrained dirt (before doing a washing). Are there certain local treatments you would normally recommend? Although O am fully aware this depends on the object you are working with :)
You're very welcome.
Ingrained dirt isn't really a barrier to washing, it was just another consideration that helped me to decide to not wash it. Some things I could try:
- another surface clean before washing using other dry cleaning methods. I used a smoke sponge and Japanese hake brush originally. I could also try grated Mars Staedler eraser crumbs and a soft Akapad sponge. It is unlikely to remove all the ingrained dirt but worth a try.
- use washing to lift the dirt. Using surfactants to do overall or local washing can lift ingrained dirt (for example local washing with methyl cellulose solutions).
@@TheConservationStarter so interesting! Thank you!
really nice! I collect ukiyo-e prints (duh) and do some restoring work of my own like filling in wormholes and removing prints from cardboard backings and so on. maybe you got some tips on removing backings from meiji era prints... cause you cant use water. because the pigments in meiji era prints have instable pigments that bleed wen they get moist.
I'm not too familiar with ukiyo-e prints but they are incredible and I love to find people that are passionate about collecting and conserving paper!
In terms of recommending or detailing a conservation treatment I am very careful with what I show/explain. A quick CZcams video or writing a quick explanation for people is very risky for the object and the person doing the treatment. I would feel terrible if someone tried to do what I said and something went wrong. I hope you understand. I fully believe conservation should be done by trained conservators but I know people want to work on and care for their own items.
It sounds like you have some experience doing it yourself on your own objects and I can provide some general advice. I avoid directly applying water when doing backing removals as much as I can. With water you have limited control over how it will move through the layers of backing board, adhesive and the original item (which potentially has water soluble media). I do as much as I can mechanically thinning down the backing board before I use any moisture or solvent. When I get close to the adhesive layer/original item I then think about introducing water or a solvent. Things to consider: what will you introduce (water, solvent), how you will introduce it (method of application), then how you will control it and how you will ensure the item then dries safely. You can introduce moisture in many ways including gentle humidification or a poultice/gel from the back that will hold moisture to the backing board surface and not progress through to your print and affect the water soluble media.
As I mentioned above, conservation treatments are risky. You already know the media is vulnerable to moisture and with prints/artworks this is the most important part of an object! My recommendation is sometimes doing nothing is best - instead focus on good handling, storage and display of your print (preventive conservation methods). If the print is special to you find a professional conservator to undertake the treatment to ensure its long term preservation. Alternatively, if you don't value the print and it is yours, you can always take the risk (but I wouldn't recommend it)!
I love this.
I suppose the rice paste is applied thinly (what even is the right consistency for the stuff to make sure the japanese tissue paper lies as flat as possible)? And what brand of watercolors do you use?
It is actually a very purified wheat starch paste that paper conservators use. We make it fresh every week in the lab using deionised water and specially sourced wheat starch. We use different recipes and make it to different consistencies depending on the item we are working on and the type of treatment we are doing.
I've used a few different watercolours but I never directly apply them to items, just use them on the tissue. I've used Winsor & Newton watercolours in what is called 'pan' form - dried blocks of the watercolour pigment that you activate with water.
I've also used Winsor & Newton "Artists' water colour" in tubes and know other conservators use Schmincke "Finest artists' water-colours" in pan form too. I hope that helps!
Hi, awesome videos. I have a question: How is coated paper treated/handles differently from uncoated paper??? There is very little to no infomation about on the net. As a collector movie posters from Thailand, Japan and Germany. I'm confronted with a wild mix of paper qualities.
Edit: Let me add before the backlash...I work together with a professional paper conservator here, but sometimes it's neither practical nor economical to her when I want to mat a poster or repair a tear especially when it's $10 poster.
Hi Andreas, I’m glad to hear you enjoy my videos!
You understand that treatments should be done by professionals. Ethically I have to say that conservation treatments are inherently risky to yourself and the object. Treatments often involve solvents, sharp tools and heavy equipment, as well as risking you do more damage to the item. Less is more and preventing damage is always preferable! Good storage, handling and display techniques is what I recommend the most.
Now that that is out of the way - I can only provide general advice so I hope that is ok. Movie posters are typically created to have good visual qualities and impact, to be somewhat hardy if they are for outdoor use, but ultimately are not made form good quality materials that will last (often their ‘life’ is only meant to be for a certain advertising period).
With coated papers the main concern is to not change the properties of the coating - that includes not changing its gloss, texture, visual characteristics or way it behaves. I would recommend limiting moisture as much as possible as I think this will impact the coating and distort the paper. Repairs usually involve moisture and I do not recommend using tape. Alternatives to repairs are to place the poster in a conservation grade polyester pocket called ‘Melinex’ or ‘Mylar’. You can get them in many different shapes and sizes, with two side openings or one. It is transparent so you can see the poster completely and has static properties that can hold torn or separated bits together without the need for repairs. It also means you are not handling the poster directly so you limit the risk of making the tear worse.
In terms of ‘hinging’ and matting the posters, instead of applying hinges which require moisture you can create ‘photo corners’ out of conservation grade materials. You can find out more here: www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/BPG_Matting_and_Framing
If you already work with a paper conservator I recommend asking the same question of them.
Good luck!
@@TheConservationStarter Thank you soo much for the detailed answer.
I'm a chemist so chemicals are not foreign to me, but I would never do any harsh or aqueous treatments myself. I only do dry cleaning, maybe erasing a pencil mark and matting using a paper rail method I saw on CZcams similar to photo corners.
I'm fortunate to have a map cabinet at my disposal and store them interleaved with buffered paper.
You’re very welcome! I’m glad to hear my disclaimer was unnecessary in regards to chemicals but thought it was better to say it.
Its excellent that you believe less is more too and it sounds like you have a great system in place to look after your posters. All the best!
Are the yellow watercolor patches somehow treated to fixate the color?
Hi Alex, after I tone the paper infills with watercolours I then rinse them to remove any soluble parts of the watercolour. The item and the infill after this shouldn't be getting wet other than some moisture from the paste so I'm not worried about solubility.
If you're referring to light fastness, if that is a concern you can choose your toning media based on this. However, any paper item (and therefore it's infills) shouldn't be over exposed to light and its resulting damage! I hope this helps.
Lowkey work! Did you study any kind of conservation work in school?
I didn't find out about conservation until after I graduated from high school. I did study conservation at university and became qualified as a professional conservator. You can find out more about in this video I made about how to become an art conservator: czcams.com/video/r07b32d2AC8/video.html
Also below are some resources where you can find out more about how to become a conservator.
📝 AUSTRALIA Become a Conservator (by the Australian Institute for Conservation): aiccm.org.au/conservation/become-a-conservator/
📝 CANADA Become a Conservator (by the Canadian Association for Conservation of Cultural Property): www.cac-accr.ca/conservation/#become-a-conservator
📝 EUROPE List of Conservation Courses taught in English (by the Institute of Conservators-Restorers in Ireland): www.icriconservation.ie/images/documents/Conservation_Courses_2017.pdf
📝 EUROPE Which Institutes Offer Which Specialisations (by the European Network for Conservation-Restoration Education): www.encore-edu.org/specialisations.htm
📝 UNITED KINGDOM Conservation Training (by the Institute of Conservation): www.icon.org.uk/training.html
📝 UNITED STATES Become a Conservator (by the American Institute for Conservation): www.culturalheritage.org/about-conservation/become-a-conservator
📝 Quick Stater Guide - A Career in Art Conservation (by the American Institute for Conservation): drive.google.com/file/d/1asmrkymE-t8unBnVj3W7KxyuSQx_SF49/view
📝 Getting Started in Your Career (AIC): www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Getting_Started_in_Your_Career
📝 Education and Training (AIC): www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Education_and_Training
@@TheConservationStarter Amazing! I actually meant to write Love your work! Lol… Ive been working for Donald Heald Rare Books for over a year now, and am considering getting licensed. I’d love to talk more about this with you if possible.
Thank you - I'm glad you like the video.
I've never heard of a conservation license, but in most countries you can become a professional conservator usually through a formal education program. Do you have questions about that?
Can you please recommend some books/ textbooks on Paper Conservation. I'm very interested in all this. I collect comic books and some old newspapers. Thank you .. Jim
Hello Jim,
I can definitely recommend resources for you - they are a combination of books and online resources. The main thing to keep in mind is that preventive conservation measures (good storage, handling and display of your treasures) is the best thing to make them last. I can provide more specific resources on that too.
|| Introduction to conservation ||
Historical and Philosophical Issues in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage - Getty Conservation Institute
Conservation Treatment Methodology by Barbara Applebaum
Science for Conservators vol. 1, vol. 2 & vol. 3
Historical Perspectives in the Conservation of Works of Art on Paper - edited by Margaret Holben Ellis
|| Identification ||
How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Inkjet Paperback by Bamber Gascoigne
Paper chronology: paper.naa.gov.au/chronology/
Photographs of the Past: Process and Preservation by Bertrand Lavédrine, Michel Frizot, Jean-Paul Gandolfo, Sibylle Monod
|| Deterioration ||
Visual Glossary of Deterioration: aiccm.org.au/conservation/visual-glossary/
|| Treatment || (please note I do not recommend undertaking treatment on items without proper training - there are risks to you and the object): www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Paper_Conservation_Wiki
I hope that helps!
Thank you for your amazing reply. That is a big help. If you will allow me to pester you one more time I'd like your opinion on how I store my comics.
I currently store them in mylar ( polyester) bags with a clear PET backing board. Sellers of this product say that off gassing escapes through natural openings in the bag. Wonderful. Looks beautiful.
But a second option is a mylar bag with a calcium carbonate backing board inside. This I think may provide an alkaline environment for the comics naturally acidic paper??
Which do you think is the better option? One other idea I have had is to put microchamber paper inside the comics in the mylar bags with the PET backing board hoping this adds alkalinity and is a good middle of the road solution.
Thank you for your time. Jim
I'm glad the information was useful.
It's a bit tricky for me to provide advice without investigating the objects in question myself, but I can give you more information that might help you decide.
The calcium carbonate backing board you mention creates what we call an alkaline buffer for materials. There is a pH scale of 0 to 14 with 0 being the most acidic, 7 being neutral and 14 being the most alkaline. When talking about pH we have the pH of the objects (your comics) and the materials you store it in (boards, Mylar etc.). If an object when it is made tends towards acidic (for example silk items, photographs etc.) then conservators recommend storing the material in pH neutral (pH 7), acid free, conservation grade material so the original object isn't "shocked" by alkaline storage materials. However, if your item when it is made has a neutral or alkaline pH and over time due to chemical deterioration becomes acidic, conservators recommend storing with acid free, alkaline buffered conservation grade material.
Another consideration for storage materials is does the object (comic) need to be protected from an uncontrolled environment (temperature and humidity)? If so, plastics aren't the best material to protect against fluctuating temperature and humidity. Plastics can create a micro environment where moisture can get trapped. Having conservation board or card materials stored with you item (eg. as a backing board) can help to protect against those fluctuations.
A final consideration for storage materials is - what do you need the storage materials to do? Do you need to be able to see the front and/or the back of the comic at all times? If so, that limits your options and perhaps a Mylar pocket is best. If that is not a concern there is a whole world of conservation grade board and card options available to you.
An option is to: keep the comics in Mylar pockets (if there is no flaking or friable inks or media); have a conservation grade mount board as a backing board (such as Rising Museum Mount board- buffered or Photomount - unbuffered) to provide rigidity, support if it is taken in and out of the Mylar and to add protection against environmental fluctuations. Then to protect from light, pests and further protect from environmental fluctuations you can store them flat in a conservation grade blue corrugated board box.
Good luck!
Do you have videos how to remove foxing from drawings?
Foxing can be caused by a few different things that are generally part of the item. There isn't a way to 'remove' it as a result. You can do some invasive treatments that can hide the foxing but the cause is still there and they can come back. It is not a typical treatment and I do not recommend it (therefore don't have any videos about it nor will I in the future). You can find out more about foxing here: www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/BPG_Foxing