I’ve just come across this really good article by the Library of Congress, which describes the conservation treatment of a marriage document.
It describes really well some of the thought processes that must be applied to even the most simple of conservation treatments.
http://www.loc.gov/preservation/conservators/ketubbah/index.html
Well apparently, the Queen’s annual speech delivered today which sets out the priorities for Parliament for the coming year is traditionally written on goat skin parchment. However, due to cutbacks, the speech is now written on goatskin parchment paper.
Paper has long been adapted in this way to imitate parchment and the results can be difficult to distinguish. With the use of certain oils applied to the paper as well as particular techniques used during paper production such over-beating of the paper fibers before the sheet is formed, the process has long provided a cheaper but durable alternative material.
If you have family indentures which date from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, they may well be written on this paper. Look carefully for any hair follicles, a give-away of genuine parchment. But be careful; parchment paper is very vulnerable to moisture fluctuations and is best stored in a cool, dry environment.
Any speculation that this years’ speech was written in response to the recent local election results has been quashed by the confirmation from Downing Street that the ink took three days to dry!
For the BBC news report, go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22441280
I turned vegetarian when I was 9 years old, (yes, you read that right, 9)! As a child, giving up many of my favourite sweets and cakes was definitely the hardest part. Fruit pastilles and Cadbury’s Swiss Gateaux Cake, they all had to go.
So, it isn’t without a certain amount of trepidation that I use gelatine in the studio, however, when a document requiring repair contains writing in iron gall ink, needs must.
Introducing moisture into a repair, such as happens when using Japanese wheat starch paste or methyl cellulose, (two commonly used adhesives in conservation), can be extremely detrimental for the ink, causing it to deteriorate more rapidly and spreading the effects to the surrounding otherwise healthy paper.
Gelatine not only reduces the amount of moisture but it actually helps to prevent the spread of the detrimental iron ions, the culprits for spreading the damage. I use a method where the heated gelatin is left to set and when cool, it is sieved several times to a workable texture. The repairs not only physically stabilise the paper but it’s great to know that any potential damage to the ink has been avoided.
For more information on iron gall ink, take a look at an article on the front page of my April 2013 newsletter.
Polly Bird, a local bookbinder, and I had a great day yesterday sharing our stall at Tynemouth station for the Antiquarian and Second Hand book fair.
Meeting lots of current and previous clients as well as catching up with the many book stall owners always turns into a great social occasion as well as a work one.
It was a chilly day though, I hope the next event on June 23rd is a lot warmer!
Zoe and Polly at Tynemouth, bundled up against the cold!
The latest newsletter from Zoe Finlay Paper Conservation is now available either by clicking the below link or by accessing via my ‘Newsletter’ page, where archived issues can be found; Newsletter – April 2013
This seventh issue focuses on illuminated manuscripts as well as an article about iron gall ink, the presence and preservation of which is integral to an understanding of our history.
If you’d like to be added to future newsletter email lists and be sent the quarterly issues direct to your inbox, please email me at zoe.finlay@gmail.com. Your details will never be passed to anyone else.
“Libraries are the means by which the present learns from the past, and leaves its own intellectual legacy to the future. We are the heirs of five thousand years of learning…”
Libraries through the Ages, Fred Lerner, (1999) Continuum Publishing Company, New York, p12
I’ve just reached the end of this great book which I can highly recommend. Whilst I already had some knowledge on the evolution of libraries, the book has somehow linked up those isolated fragments and in its seamless, well-written presentation of the history of the library, it has answered many questions for me and taught me a great deal of new facts.
For me, it was also permeated with a romance with its tales of distant lands, forgotten eras, dynasties and architectural and intellectual wonders which as hard I as I tried I still struggled to visualise.
Ironically, I initially borrowed the book from my local library however as I know it will be a book I will want to return to in the future, I’ve since bought my own copy. An invaluable book that I hope you will also enjoy.
For those reading this blog who are based in the North East and planning to visit the Lindisfarne Gospels in Durham shortly, you may be interested in this British Library brief explanation of the illuminated manuscript which I’ve just found courtesy of local bookseller, Cardmons‘ website:
http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2011/01/anglo-saxon-treasures-online.html
Wow, what a great line up for the 8th Hexham Book Festival, I’m really impressed. It kicked off on Wednesday 27th March and ends with Dan Snow on Friday 21st June, (*blush*)!
Alistair Moffat, Andy Kershaw, Lionel Shriver, Michal Frayn, Clare Tomalin…if you haven’t already seen the line up, take a look here:
http://www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk/programme
Just leave me one ticket for Dan, please.
My latest newsletter is almost ready and will be available on the ‘Newsletter’ page of this site on Friday 26th April.
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Thank you
If you haven’t yet visited the ‘Tales of Antiquarian Adventure, 1813-2013’ exhibition at the Great North Museum, Newcastle, you still have a few weeks to go before it closes on the 30th April.
This is a really good exhibition, beautifully presented and well worth a visit to see the variety of artifacts collected by these Newcastle visionaries.
Without the formation of this group in 1813 over a few pints in the Turks Head, we would no longer have the city’s Castle Keep and there would be a gaping hole of a quarry in the middle of Hadrian’s wall, to mention just a few of the narrowly averted atrocities.
A personal favourite of mine was the map of Newcastle’s fortifications, painted on silk in 1638. Other treasures are on loan to museums in Oxford and London. Hopefully we’ll see more of this collection displayed in the future.
Zoe Finlay Paper Conservation 