AIC’s Annual Meeting – Page 7 – AIC Blog Archives: Conservators Converse

45th Annual Meeting – Objects Session, Wednesday 31 May 2017, “So Delicate, yet So Strong and Versatile: The Use of Paper in Objects Conservation” presented by Paula Artal-Isbrand

Paula Artal-Isbrand, Objects Conservator at the Worcester Art Museum, presented the various ways in which she uses paper in her objects treatments. She shared some background on paper types. Asian papers typically come from the paper mulberry tree and produce long fibers (kozo) and strong paper or from the gampi tree, producing shorter fibers to make crisp and translucent papers. Mitsumata shrubs are a third source, but not part of this presentation. Western papers are more often made from cotton, linen, flax, or hemp. Paper in conservation is strong, inert, compatible with conservation materials, has excellent long-term stability, and does not pose health risks. It can also be manipulated to mimic a wide range of materials through inpainting and coating. By choosing the right coating materials, the translucency and texture can be adjusted to fit the application. These papers can also be inpainted with standard inpainting materials to match color and texture.

Beaker, Roman, 3-5th century CE, glass, 15.5 x 7.0 x 6.5 cm. Sardis archaeological site (Turkey), Inv. # AhT67.IV.130N3,before and during treatment using kozo paper saturated with B-72 acrylic consolidant (Courtesy of Sardis Archaeological Excavation, photo: Paula Artal-Isbrand)

Artal-Isbrand outlined two ways for thinking about how to use paper. First, it can be used as a restoration material. Artal-Isbrand offered several examples of how she’s used paper in this way. For example, she used acid-free matboard cut into shape for a loss repair in a fan. For archaeological glass, she toned paper kozo paper with watercolors (not with acrylics since they would create too much opacity) and impregnated the paper with Paraloid B-72, acrylic co-polymer. The toned and resin soaked fill was a perfect match for the glass and was attached with Paraloid B-72. She has made paper fills to reconstruct chain mail, for joining heavy elements of an iron helmet, for reinforcing failing solder joins for bronze armor, and for backing a Roman lead curse tablet that needed to be unrolled. These repairs were carried out using a combination of kozo paper with Paraloid B-72, and are a testament to the paper’s strength. Artal-Isbrand also described that paper can be an interlayer between an artifact and fill material to ensure reversibility and how cellulose powder can be a bulking additive for fills, and if toasted, can also impart pigment to fills.

Missyurka turban helmet, Ottoman Empire or Caucasus, 16th century, iron, 29 x 18 x 18 cm. Worcester Art Museum, 2014.102. Bequest of John A. Higgins, during and after treatment with kozo paper strips. (Courtesy of Paula Artal-Isbrand)

Missyurka turban helmet, Ottoman Empire or Caucasus, 16th century, iron, 29 x 18 x 18 cm. Worcester Art Museum, 2014.102. Bequest of John A. Higgins, before, during (using kozo paper band-aids) and after treatment. (Courtesy of Paula Artal-Isbrand)

Second, paper can also be used as a tool. It can work well as a facing for an intermediate phase of treatment. It can also serve as a barrier layer. For example, thin papers are a great barrier film for gels. Here, Artal-Isbrand mentioned that thin gampi paper can be good for this. The paper is placed between the surface and the gel, allowing for easier clean up in gel removal. Paper can be a poultice material. Artal-Isbrand uses Whatman cellulose powder, which will cling well and hold the poultice solvent. For these same reasons, shredded filter paper soaked and blended in water can be used to create a mold of another artifact. The mold should be sealed with resin (for example, Paraloid B-72) to keep it from getting damaged by water applications. If using the mold for creating a plaster fill, this step is critical.

During the question / answer period, there was a brief discussion on how shredded paper serves well for poulticing, and is better than cellulose powder or other very fine materials, because those become difficult to remove and can leave a hazy residue. So, it is important to distinguish between powder and pulp or shredded and/or ground paper. An interleaving layer can be helpful if powder is used. Also during the discussion, another example was mentioned that paper can be rolled into “worms,” impregnated with Paraloid B-72, and inserted it into losses to provide filling that is more easily removed than putties or other fillers.

45th Annual Meeting – Research & Technical Studies, June 1, “Stability of Polyvinyl Butyral Polymers with Light Exposure” by David Thomas, Matthew Clarke, and Blythe McCarthy

Art from the Kizil Caves at the Smithsonian Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

David Thomas and I could be career siblings. We both have technical backgrounds in materials and polymer science. We both spent time in industry. And this the first time for both of us at an annual AIC meeting. Add in my pre-conservation R&D work on adhesives and the photochemical reactions of polymers, and it’s not surprising that I was chomping at the bit to hear his talk “Stability of Polyvinyl Butyral Polymers with Light Exposure”.

David explained how he, Matthew Clarke, and Blythe McCarthy were looking at the possibility of using polyvinyl butyral (PVB) as an adhesive material for use in consolidating fragments of wall paintings from the Kizil Cave Complex in Xinjiang Province, China. These wall paintings are generally matte in appearance and are comprised of gypsum on mud plaster support. More specifically, sixteen fragile fragments had been leant to the Freer Gallery from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

PVB was identified as a potential match to the consolidation needs of the wall painting fragments for a few reasons. It darkens to a matte surface comparable or better than similar materials, it is easily applied and removed using ethanol, and it has been shown to be an effective consolidant for wood and bone materials. This left the question: how does PVB age under light exposure?

Photo-aging of PVB might sound familiar. David pointed out that Robert Feller published results on the photodegradation of PVB materials in 2007 (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141391005005057), digging into the chemical mechanisms of PVB degradation. The goal here, David emphasized, was not to look at the degradation mechanism itself but to investigate a more practical comparison of similar consolidation materials in actual use.

I found David at his most compelling when digging into the compositions and manufacturers of various grades of PVB. The types of PVB available vary primarily in their relative amounts of butyral, alcohol, and acetate content, a consequence of the polymer manufacturing process. He had a clear wealth of knowledge to offer here, and I wish he had presented even more (but that might just be the polymer scientist in me, your mileage may vary).

David and coworkers cast test films of a number of these grades of PVB, as well as control films of pure polyvinyl acetate (the industrial PVB precursor) and the ubiquitous Acryloid B-72 acrylic polymer, which were all then exposed to UVA (long wavelength UV) irradiation. At the same time, coworkers aged the same films by exposure to a weatherometer’s Xe lamp at the National Gallery of Art. They then tracked changes in color, mass loss, and IR spectra.

Trends in weight loss during aging of the films seemed to correspond with the polyvinyl alcohol content of the PVB: more alcohol led to more weight loss (ie, Mowital B30H degraded more quickly than Butvar B-98). The controls of B-72 and polyvinyl acetate showed no weight loss, and no appreciable discoloration. And by using a fiber optic-coupled FTIR to track the C=O carbonyl signal, an indicator of light-induced oxidative degradation, David showed that indeed the most rapidly degrading B30H showed increased C=O during aging compared to B-98, while the stable B-72 showed comparatively little C=O change and thus less degradation. In all cases, light-exposed PVB could be easily removed with ethanol, showing that no cross-linking reactions were occurring.

Comparison of chemistry induced by light sources as different as a weatherometer’s Xe arc lamp and comparatively narrow-band UVA lamp is a delicate affair. So I was disappointed that the talk did not include how the team evaluated light irradiance and dosage. It begs the question of how much photo-chemical energy was actually imparted to each sample. This also begged the question of heat. A Xe arc lamp in a small weatherometer chamber could reasonably be expected to induce a significant amount of heating compared to UVA bulbs. As David highlighted the comparatively high temperatures of Feller’s prior PVB work compared to the work presented here, it makes it difficult to determine how similar or different these varied results might be.

The data showing PVB applied and aged on Plaster of Paris mock-up materials looked promising. David offered some reasonable guesses as to why PVB might be more promising in real object application than on thin films. For example, more opaque materials would shield PVB from full light exposure by acting as a competitive absorber. And the color changes in PVB could be relatively minor compared to the colors of the treated object.

I still would have loved to have seen more about how closely the thin films and mock-ups behaved and had time to ask some of my more nagging questions about light and heat levels.

There are a few broader take-aways from David’s talk that I know I will be keeping in mind for myself:

It never hurts to take an extra look at the sourcing and composition of “trade name” products. As vague as they might be, a product’s MSDS/SDS could provide a useful starting point to sleuth out the components in new products or find changes in existing ones.
Mindfulness in equipment specs are crucial for useful comparisons of test cases. Perhaps even more crucial is carefully reporting those specs to simplify and aid others in their own comparisons.
Don’t take old studies at simple face value. David made a good case for trying them again closer to home and closer to your specific application of interest. You never know what you might find.

45th Annual Meeting – Textile Session, June 1, “Agarose, Two Ways: Successes and Challenges in Large Scale Gel Application” by Dana Goodin

The Textile Specialty Group audience got a real treat with Dana Goodin’s talk on using agarose gels on tapestries. Dana, who works at the Textile Conservation Laboratory at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC, used agarose gel on two tapestries in two different ways.

The first was a Baumgarten tapestry dating to the 1910s. It, and many others, were discovered on the walls of a townhouse on the Upper West Side of Manhattan after a developer purchased the property. In previous years, the room the tapestries were in had been rented out as a studio apartment. (As an NYC resident myself, you can only imagine the envy this inspired in me!) The tapestries were attached to the wall around the perimeter with nails. Stains from leeching plaster were prevalent and the lining had fallen down behind one tapestry, resulting in ballooning and a large slit at the bottom. A square had even been cut out of a tapestry to access a utility box! The tapestries were de-installed in 2013 and brought to the Lab, where there were laid flat in a humidity tent. The humidity was maintained between 52% – 58% for many months. This was not enough, however, to restore flexibility to the desiccated silk elements of the tapestry. Since the silk in the tapestry was in such poor shape, it was feared it would disintegrate during wet cleaning. It was therefore decided to clean, and of course humidify, the tapestries through agarose gel. Dana told us that the Textile Conservation Lab would usually use a 1% density gel if the material were smooth and could later be rinsed under suction. Because this was not an option with the silk, it was decided to also rinse the cleaned tapestry with agarose gel and deionized water. For cleaning, 3.4% density gel, ¼” in thickness, was cast with Orvus. The Orvus solution was 5ml to 300ml water. The entire Baumgarten tapestry was cleaned with gel, although the wool elements received thicker gels and were rinsed under suction, rather than with gel. The treatment was a great success: the appearance was incredibly improved and the tapestry regained enough moisture that it could afterwards be rolled without worry.

Clearly, this treatment required a lot of agarose gel, the cost of which escalated quickly. Not to mention the time spent casting it. Therefore, Dana and the other conservators at the Lab tried out reusing the gels. Tests were performed on white China silk and it was found that after three rinses/soaks of the gels in Orvus, no soiling was redeposited on the test silk. This was a great find, although it was concurrently found that the gels could only be reused three times before disintegrating.

The second tapestry Dana spoke about was an Agam tapestry from the 1970s. It was made from white wool yarn and a variety of wool/synthetic colored yarns. It suffered from hard glue residue on the top and bottom 2” of the tapestry, which previously attached a lining. Complications arose from the fact that the red and black yarns bled. The face of the tapestry was cleaned via dry surface sponging, but obviously that did nothing to address the glue, which was so hard it couldn’t be sewn through. Tests showed that amyl acetate removed most of the glue. Application methods tested were with blotters, cotton linters, and agarose gel. The agarose gel proved the most effective. Gauze was placed below the tapestry, then the gel was draped over the glue, before being weighted. Although effective, this proved very time consuming. To speed things up, Dana and the other conservators decided to apply the amyl acetate directly to the glue and then drape the gel over these sections with weights on top. 2% gel was used for this, and left on for one hour. This process was repeated until as much glue was removed as possible. The treated areas were rinsed with deionized water, and the tapestry received a new lining and a Velcro hanging mechanism.

I don’t think I’m overstating things by saying these were two awesome treatments. Thanks for sharing them with us, Dana!

45th Annual Meeting, Book and Paper + RATS Session, May 31: “Contacts that Leave Traces: Investigations into the Contamination of Paper Surfaces from Handling,” by Karen van der Pal

In libraries, archives, and museums around the world, those in charge of protecting cultural heritage struggle with the topic: Gloves or No Gloves? Karin van der Pal’s talk on the contamination of paper surfaces from handling gives measurable data pertaining to the debate.

Van der Pal’s studies in forensic analysis are being conducted at Curtin University in Western Australia. She is currently collaborating with the Indianapolis Museum of Art on the chemistry of latent fingerprints and with Flinders University, in South Australia.

Van der Pal received paper samples from an Australian paper mill to conduct her research. She first solidified her own approach on how to not contaminate the papers she was testing: wearing cotton gloves underneath nitrile gloves she could take off the top layer and replace with a new set of gloves during the process without any of her marks coming through.

Historically, we know that dark fingerprints appear on paper. The edges of leaves in books become discolored as well. But is this a result of dirt, or could it be because of fingerprint oils? Van der Pal explained that the residue left by fingermarks include aqueous deposits, lipids, and dead skin. The proportion varies based on a person’s age, gender, and diet. Another variable on the kind of mark that is left is environmental exposure. If the pages with the contamination are left in the dark, there is little discoloration, but exposure to light causes the marks to darken.

Fingerprint deposits can be a combination of sebaceous oils and sweat from ecrine and apocrine glands. Typically, van der Pal explains that when a finger print is left, the oily sebaceous residue is on top, while amino acids sink into the paper, and the oil residue evaporates. In van der Pal’s experiments, the fingerprints are not visible to the naked eye, so it was necessary to apply an indicator agent that could show the intensity/saturation of the print left on her test papers. Ninhydrin has historically been used, that develops a fingerprint into a pink-purple. 1,2-Indandione/Zn Chloride exhibits color and luminescence and can show marks left up to 150 years old, so van der Pal selected this to use as an indicator.

The goal of the speaker’s most current experiments was to determine how effective hand washing is, if contaminants pass through gloves, and what effect hand gels and sanitizers have on papers. Using the 1,2 Indandione/Zn Chloride, van der Pal was able to determine that no contaminants come through nitrile gloves up to 2 hours. She cautioned that fingerprints and oils can still be picked up onto the outside of the nitrile gloves if one handles doorknobs and keyboards, for example. One also has to be mindful that wearing nitrile gloves for an extended amount of time is very unpleasant, so an option could be to wear cotton gloves underneath.

Van der Pal’s experiments show that 5 minutes after handwashing, the oils in the skin come back, and that 15 minutes after washing, there is more oil than prior to washing because the body is working to redevelop the oil lost.

Hand creams are left on the surface of the paper.

Antibacterial gels also do not prevent oils from being left on paper.

In the future van der Pal expects to study how drying/aging affects a wider range of paper, how long the fingermarks last on the paper, and what effects whether the marks darken.

Questions from the Floor:

Q1: Can you still detect marks on paper that have been washed? A1: Yes, you can still detect marks on paper that has been subsequently washed up to 3 months.

Q2: Regarding gels, how long did you wait until you tried to detect the oils? A2: we tested at different intervals of time.

Q3: Was there a transfer of the materials/paper to the gloves? A1: Reusing gloves can cause a transfer. Some gilding can attach to cotton gloves. Nitrile shouldn’t pick much up.

45th Annual Meeting – Textile Session, May 31, “Learning From Treatments That Did Not Go As Planned” by Suzan Meijer and Marjolein Koek

Involving a beautiful dress from the late 1860s and stunning before and after photos, Suzan Meijer’s talk was a definite crowd pleaser. Her talk focused on a silk moire dress in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. (Now on my Top Ten list of places to visit, as it has over 10,000 textiles, the largest collection in the Netherlands!) Treatment of the dress was spurred on by the museum’s launch of an expanded website that would allow digital access to select objects in the collection. This dress was selected because it is one of the few examples of the late 1860s pre-bustle period remaining unaltered. However, its selection meant that it would have to be dressed on a mannequin for extensive photography. The dress had been kept in hanging storage, covered, for decades, and Suzan spoke of the truly delicate condition it was in: the silk was split throughout the skirt, and shattered in many places across the bodice. These damages far exceeded those outlined in the last condition report from 1950 (which may have been partially caused by the dress having been worn to a party at the museum in the early 20^th century!). Although wear and long-term hanging storage undoubtedly contributed to the poor condition of the dress, Suzan noted how the moire production process would also have contributed to the degradation of the silk. Moire is produced through calendering, which involves heat and a lot of pressure. Tests showed that the silk may further have been weighted slightly, as small amounts of aluminum and iron were found in the fibers. But despite structural issues, the silk was phenomenally un-faded! The dye came back from the lab as 50% barberry and 49% unknown purple, red, and violet components. One could easily see why the museum was eager to have this dress appear on their website!

However, to make this possible, it was determined that the skirt had to receive a full lining, and that the full lining would have to be adhesive since the silk was so delicate. Unusual for the period, the bodice and skirt of the dress were attached. Suzan said they hoped to apply the adhesive lining without clipping any of the original stitches but that attempts soon proved this impossible, due to the tight cartridge pleating at the waist. Therefore, the decision was made to remove the skirt from the waistband so it could be laid flat. Evacon R, an EVA adhesive, was applied to silk crepeline. The adhesive coated silk crepeline was then attached to the interior of the skirt using heat reactivation, between 65-75 degrees Celsius. When this was completed and the skirt began to be re-pleated, it was noticed that some of the slits were popping. To fix this, nylon net was used as an overlay along the top few inches, sewn down to the underlying silk crepeline.

As for the bodice, it lacked both boning and lining, which proved fortuitous when repairing the shattered silk. As with the skirt, adhesive-coated crepeline was used, but rather than a full lining, patches were applied. Again, net was used as an overlay and stitched through to the crepeline. However, unlike the skirt, small areas of the silk were missing, rather than just split. Toned Japanese paper was used to fill in these losses. After the stunning photograph was taken, available here, it was time for the dress to go back into storage. Obviously, hanging storage was no longer an option, so a large custom box was made in which the dress could be stored flat. A small “shelf” and tray was built into the box to accommodate the separate belt. Suzan says that how surprising the condition of the dress was when treatment commenced led them to re-think their hanging storage. Covers were removed and the garments moved farther apart so that any downturn in their condition would be noticed immediately. I wish I had before photos to truly illustrate the amazing transformation this dress underwent. Good job, Suzan!

45th Annual Meeting- BPG Session, May 31, “The Codex Eyckensis (8th century). Re-evaluation of the 20th century restoration & conservation treatments by Lieve Watteeuw

Professor Lieve Watteeuw introduces her presentation with a description of the Codex Eyckensis, the subject of her talk. The Codex is comprised of two distinct gospels bound as one, most likely made at the scriptorium of Echternach in Luxembourg in the 8th century. A study in 1994 showed that both of the gospel manuscripts were made in the same scriptorium, and most likely by the same scribe. The manuscripts were held in the treasury of the Abbey of Aldeneik until they were transferred to the treasury of St. Catherine’s church in Maaseik in 1571 during a period of religious unrest. In 1596, a pilgrimage feast was arranged to honor the pilgrimage of the Codex and the other treasures from the Abbey of Aldeneik. Every 7 years thereafter, in tandem with the holy feasts of Aachen, the Codex would be on view, processed to its former home at Aldeneik. The manuscripts were turned over to private ownership in the years following the French Revolution, until they were returned to Maaseik in 1871. From that date, the manuscripts were again part of processions, but only every 25 years.

from http://www.codexeyckensis.be/codex-eyckensis-the-unique-codex-of-eyke

It was observed in 1957 that the manuscripts were in very poor condition, so an attempt was made to preserve them. At the time, bookbinder Karl Sievers of Dusseldorf laminated the pages of the manuscript with Mipofolie, a polyvinyl chloride (PVC). In the late 1980s, Professor Watteeuw noticed that the leaves had suffered from this treatment. The PVC had turned yellow and had hardened, and it was decided to remove this damaging material.

The conservation treatment spanned from 1989-93. The removal of the mipofolie was accomplished using a technique developed in Budapest, which involved suction and a light table. Once the mipofolie had been removed, losses in the leaves were filled with parchment pulp. In removing the plastic foil, some pigment was removed as well. All of the mipofolie sheets were kept that had been removed from the Codex Eyckensis with the idea that they might be able to be used one day. At the time of this intervention, the curators decided to rebind the two distinct manuscripts separately using glue free bindings with deer skin covers over oak boards. The manuscripts were put on permanent display.

After years on permanent display, Professor Watteeuw was asked to perform a condition report of the Codex in 2008, and in 2016-17 she began the process of analyzing the manuscripts. Her studies showed that there was still residue of the PVC within the pores of the parchment. With the Hirox 3D microscope, parchment fibers from the leafcasting treatment could be seen overlapping into the pigment on the leaves as could Japanese paper fibers from paper mends. MA-XRF (macro x-ray fluorescence ) analysis demonstrated the presence of Cu, Fe, Pb, and Iron Gall Ink, suggesting important similarities to the pigments used in the Book of Kells. The MA-XRF also showed that the same palette was used for both of the manuscripts of the Codex Eyckensis. Watteeuw used photometric stereo to document the thickness of the paint layers along with their texture. Using the pigments peeled away from the manuscript leaves on the mipofolie foils, Watteeuw could analyze the pigments using Raman, essentially making the best of a bad situation set in motion when the mipofolie was applied in 1957.

All of this analysis gives information on the possibly very close connections between the manuscripts of the Low Countries to Anglo Saxon lands. During this analysis, Professor Watteeuw also played a crucial role in digitizing the Codex, which is now available online.

Questions from the floor following the talk:

Q1: Were you able to ID the green pigments? Can you see corrosion? A1: yes we were able to see corrosion, but undetermined green pigment, since some green not corroded.

Q2: Was there treatment strategy of stabilizing copper green? A2: no consolidation in the 90s, but parchment pulp might not have been the best choice of fill material (could have made worse?) Watteeuw notes she is afraid to turn the pages because she can hear the PVC within the leaves.

Q3: Any underdrawing? A1: yes, underdrawing or “mise en place” of canon tables is visible

Q4: Is it on permanent display? A4: yes, was on permanent display at fixed page. Now it’s in the lab, but will eventually be on permanent display again, for which we are developing lighting scenarios.

What a great, informative talk! Thanks to Professor Watteeuw, and I look forward to seeing what more they discover about these incredibly important manuscripts!

Bibliography

https://www.arts.kuleuven.be/english/news/codex_eyckensis

http://codexeyckensis.blogspot.com/

http://www.codexeyckensis.be/codex-eyckensis-the-unique-codex-of-eyke

45th Annual Meeting – General Session, May 31, “Not a Known Carcinogen: Health and Safety Considerations of New and Innovative Treatments” by Kerith Koss Schrager, Anne Kingery Schwartz, and Julie Sobelman

As conservators, we routinely use a host of chemicals, sometimes in ways that are unusual. As a result, it is important for us to take proper precautions at all times. However, as objects conservator Kerith Koss Schrager and industrial hygienist Julie Sobelman pointed out at this year’s annual meeting, we may not always do so. Since we are used to solving complex problems, we do not always seek out health and safety experts to interpret for us, even though they may be required. Much of our behavior around health and safety is learned by example, and we may make judgments based on personal experience. While we are always taught to prioritize the safety of the objects we treat, we may not always prioritize our own safety in the same way.

Kerith and Julie illustrated these issues using the example of cyclododecane. Cyclododecane is used in multiple areas of conservation, and while there are over 100 conservation publications mentioning it, few of these mention health and safety concerns. Most of conservators’ information about the chemical comes from the safety data sheet (SDS), which suggests that it is not hazardous. A survey of conservators found that roughly half of those surveyed did not believe it was safe, while 18% believed it was. The respondents based their answers on either the SDS or on hearing of other conservators using it. However, the SDS for cyclododecane is based on industrial use of the chemical, which is very different from the way conservators use it. In the case of cyclododecane, research is conflicting as to whether it is hazardous.

Rather than looking at just the SDS for a chemical before using it, Julie suggested consulting additional resources such as EPA Chemview and CDC/NIOSH International Chemical Safety Cards. If we have to use chemicals about which we are uncertain, using proper environmental controls and other protective equipment is important: using a fume hood does reduce exposure.

Julie and Kerith ended their presentation with a plea for conservators to create a culture where health and safety matters. As a newly fledged conservator who does oversee interns and volunteers, I left the room committed to making sure that those who share my lab have no reason to regret doing so.

45th Annual Meeting – Book and Paper Session, June 1, “The Challenge of Scale Revisited: Lessons learned from treatment and mounting an exhibition of 160 illuminated manuscripts” by Alan Puglia and Debora Mayer

At last year’s annual meeting, Debora Mayer described the approach of Harvard University’s Weissman Preservation Center to the treatment of 160 illuminated manuscripts for the exhibition “Beyond Words: Illuminated Manuscripts in Boston Collections.” That talk had focused on the challenges of undertaking a massive amount of media consolidation, which they had done by forming two teams of conservators, each following the same procedure in treating the manuscripts. This year, her colleague Alan Puglia followed up on that talk with a reflection of what they learned in the effort.

It is rare that a conservation lab can review a large body of conservation work that was, at least theoretically, conducted in the same way. This is particularly true when one considers media consolidation. Likewise, few labs are large enough to have so many conservators collaborate in trying to create consistent treatments. As such, the two teams decided to review a segment of their consolidation treatment to evaluate its efficacy.

One of the main goals of the treatment protocol had been uniformity; that is, it should be impossible to identify which conservator had treated which items. Another goal was open communication. Over the course of the review, it became clear that there had been some degree of departure in treatment procedures due to a lack of communication between the two teams of conservators. The teams were efficient in themselves, but communication tended to occur within the teams. As such, when a team tweaked procedures in response to the needs of specific manuscripts, these changes were not communicated to the other team. Alan identified this as one of the major pitfalls of undertaking large-scale treatments of this type – communication between teams as well as that within teams needs to be prioritized.

A selection of treated manuscripts was reviewed, and this review process was also conducted in two teams. The review was conducted blind, without looking at pre-exhibit documentation. Where there were questions raised, the other team was asked to review the pre-exhibit documentation. Pre-exhibit treatment documentation had been conducted in Photoshop with specific colors depending on the type of consolidant used; post-exhibit treatment was conducted on the same files using different colors to show the extent of the need for additional treatment. The result of the review process was that, while most manuscripts did not require much further work, there were some that clearly required a more complete treatment. The reasons for this are complex. As Alan said, the best treatment is not proof against handling, and perhaps the stress of travel and handling was too much for the fragile media in some manuscripts. In one manuscript, the three leaves that had suffered the most damage were clearly by a different artist, and perhaps there was something relating to the quality of his materials that made the media more vulnerable. Other red flags included cockling and creases, and the presence of glazes or overpainting.

The review also raised additional questions. When should the conservators stop treatment? Is their handling causing damage even as they seek to preserve the manuscript? Ultimately, Alan acknowledged, updating consolidation protocols is an ongoing process.

45th Annual Meeting – General Session, May 30, “When An Airplane Acts Like A Painting” by Lauren Horelick

The subject of this talk was the treatment of “Flak Bait”, a World War II B26 Marauder at the National Air and Space Museum with an impressive track record – 207 missions with no crew loss, the only remaining B26 from the Normandy landings, with its original paint intact, though a green and grey overpaint had been added when it originally was put on display. The aim of the treatment was to make the aircraft look exactly as it did at the end of the war. This included not only the painted surfaces, but the doped fabric elevators, rudders, and ailerons, which were the main focus of this talk.

The doped fabric sections had historic patches, from repairs made while the aircraft was in use, as well as post-historic tears. Traditionally, doped fabric parts of aircraft are re-covered, rather than repaired, and the art of doing so is maintained by the aircraft maintenance restorers at the NASM. In order to preserve the “patina of use” of the object, this standard approach would not be an option. Lauren opted to explore different treatment options, and opted to look at how known methods from paintings conservation could be applied to this project, as the doped fabric had a lot in common with a painting on canvas. The eventual treatment involved careful facing of the material and removal from the frame, followed by cleaning thoroughly to remove ingrained dirt and mold. This worked largely according to plan, with one issuee when the stabilized fabric was returned to the frame – the repair of a major tear had allowed 0.5% shrinkage over the length of the object, causing significant registration issues. Eventually it was possible to relax the fabric and return the object to an acceptable position on the frame. A resin coating applied over the surface successfully shifted the color from chalky yellow back to the original olive green, addressing another overarching issue of the treatment, maintaining uniformity of appearance over the entire object.

The part of this talk that resonated the most with me was the discussion of conservation versus restoration, especially when restoration practices such as re-covering doped fabric aircraft are “celebrated practices”. Another presenter also made this connection – Davina Jakobi, in her talk on conservation of ship model riggings, quoted Lauren and expressed that she had found the same challenges in deciding to repair rather than re-rig. Navigating these ethical questions can be tricky territory, but when handled with grace as both Lauren and Davina did, can provide great results. Lauren counted the improved collaborative relationship between conservation and restoration as one of the main benefits of this treatment, along with the development of new methods to save an ephemeral material, and I would have to agree.

45th Annual Meeting – Workshop, May 29, “Building Emergency Response Skills”

Three veteran National Heritage Responders delivered an emotional and highly persuasive workshop (abstract) during this year’s AIC Annual Meeting. Susan Duhl, Bob Herskovitz and Ann Frellsen, having spent many hours of hard labor together in the field during disaster response, spoke seamlessly as a complementary team, not completing each other’s sentences, but oftentimes each other’s thoughts. They mentioned having lived together in an RV in Louisiana, smelly and tired…and clearly they have cleaned up their act and can take this show on the road.

As an active collections emergency responder for a large academic library institution, here are my key takeaways:

When responding to a disaster, we need to get to know local government agents, whose word is law and yet whose language is foreign to most conservators. We can prepare for this by taking the FEMA Incident Command training, which introduces the vocabulary and the hierarchy of the world of the First Responders. What we’ll get out of it is the ability to communicate with others and to understand our roles. By the way, conservators are NOT First Responders…that term is reserved for the fire, police, National Guard and other official personnel whose priority is human safety.

Personal health has to be our #1 priority, because we’re no good to anyone if we’re injured or sick. When there’s no electricity, there’s no Nilfisk, no fume hood, no suction disk, no light table…so we are going to McGyver our way through this thing with all our appropriate PPE on at all times. Fresh air and sunlight go a long way when the alternative is standing in the dark, knee-deep in “mud.” (I put that in quotes because the components of disaster area mud should be assumed to be everything you don’t ever want to ingest.)

Mental health of those around you is going to be a bigger concern than you expect or, indeed, want. You can provide the sympathetic shoulder, the gentle persuasion to take a break, or even the diplomatic persuasion to a leader to move sideways and let someone else shoulder that burden for a while. It can be hard to wrap one’s mind around saving cultural heritage when people around you have lost homes and loved ones, but in fact our role in rescuing their patrimony contributes to their healing.

Conservators with a bit of grit can survive and, in fact, thrive, in the extreme environment of disaster response. We have to “think outside the lab,” and get creative to make the best use of what is available. To take on leadership roles in a disaster response we have to stay calm and focused, and accept that we are surrounded by confusion. We may be the only ones on site who know how to assess what is possible and what is practical. But we also tend to become superheroes and work to long and too hard. I am really grateful for the specific language the instructors modeled for how to remove an Incident Commander (let’s get used to that ICS term for team leader) whose energy if not competence is flagging. “How are you doing? You’re doing such a great job! I notice you’re looking a little tired. You’ve been working really hard. What we really need right now is someone to sit down over here and fill out this inventory…can you help out with that? One of us can hold the radio for a little while.” You can’t just kick them out…instead, move them sideways, and then they’ll see that everything is going to be ok, and they can take a real break without feeling like they’ve abandoned their responsibility.

Our fearless leaders gave a lot of good tips and tricks. Here is a sampling:

A Uhaul makes a decent workspace during the day and secure storage at night.
Don’t touch sooty things…any contact embeds the soot.
Fire extinguisher powder is corrosive and in a damp environment (i.e. from putting out the fire) it can become intractable.
Got earthquake?…Bring Ziplocs to keep the parts together.
Just say no to the “natural oils” used by some vendors for deodorizing; zeolytes work well, and charcoal is ok. Ozone oxidizes collections as well as odors, and should be avoided.
Also say no to vacuum thermal drying.
Don’t pump out a basement until the floodwaters have receded, or the hydrostatic pressure from the outside water could collapse the foundation.
Need weights? Try double-Ziplock-bagged water, which conforms well to 3D surfaces.
Document anything that is being discarded so insurance will pay for it.
The answer to the question “How much mold is there?” is: “Yes.”

Want to be a part of this action? Well, some of the National Heritage Responders are nearing retirement, so new recruits will be needed. You need training first, and experience second. Take FEMA’s ICS 100.b online training. Watch Tara Kennedy’s Facebook Live recording on working with disaster recovery vendors. Go to your regional Alliance For Response group (might be under a different name…ask the AIC Office) to join up with a local training opportunity. And get to know the National Heritage Responders in your area…let them know you’re willing and able to respond.

Thank you to this team of veterans who have saved so many collections, and are now sharing what they know to give us all the tools to respond effectively.

P. S. I also attended the National Heritage Responders meeting after the workshop, and witnessed the official retirement announcement for Bob Herskovitz. He’s retiring to his boat, so the group gave him a life preserver emblazoned with the name of his boat, “Ça Va Encore Bien.”