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What's in Your Heirloom Closet? Part 2!

rhuse — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:00:00 -0500

Our first encounter with an object is usually with our eyes, closely followed by that fifth human sense called touch. As we carefully consider what an object is made of, how it is assembled and its inherent weaknesses, we can pick it up and handle with care.

This hand-colored framed salt print was moved by the original silk cord used for handing, which gave way. The print dropped to the floor and broke the glass in the frame, causing damage to the piece. Careful handling will prevent this type of irreversible damage to artifacts. Let's take a look at how to handle artifacts.

Gloves are worn when lifting artifacts that are metal, gilded, varnished or have coating that are vulnerable to corrosive hand oils.

For other materials that could slip from a gloved hand, such as ceramics or glass, or where dexterity is required – as with some paper items – washed items are suitable.

One rule of thumb is to resist the reflexive action to pick up an item by the handle. Areas of attachment are often the weakest points and can be the sire of previous repairs. Repairs can be difficult to see. If a failure in the repair occurs it can be vulnerable to pulling away from the body of the piece.

When moving ceramic and glass objects, always carry one object or one part of an object at a time. It is best to place your hands around the body of the object rather than using an existing handle, rim or spout for support.

Carry objects from room to room or up and down stairs in a box with soft padding; or move the box on a cart stabilized with soft weights.

Before moving a piece of furniture, examine it closely for any loose or damaged joinery. Secure doors after removing drawers and move by the base.

Move tables by positioning hands and lifting at the apron rather than the top.

Chairs are lifted by the seat rails and not by the arms or back.

To carry or remove a painting from the wall, one side and the bottom rail are held. This will help prevent damage to the painting should joints of the frame be split and give way.

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Ramona Duncan-Huse is senior director of Conservation at IHS. She enjoys all the "stuff" of life – family, gardening, art and the family dog, Daisy. Despite being labeled by her middle-school son as "born in the 1860s" (instead of 1960s), they share a favorite song: "Time of the Season’" by the Zombies.

What's in Your Heirloom Closet?

rhuse — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 09:55:00 -0400

The intrinsic nature of things makes objects vulnerable to damage as they age. All objects have special physical needs based on what they are made of and how they were made. When we look at different objects, we realize that many are the sum of many parts. A book is an example – an assembly of folded sheets of paper printed with text and sewn or bound together to keep the pages in order. It is protected by covers that help reduce wear and tear on the pages. Books are meant to be used over and over, yet the materials from which this book was made, and the handling that it has received has caused damage through the years. I’d like to look at a variety of objects with you. For the most part, we’ll look up close (at details) so we can concentrate not on the form or design of the piece, but the materials from which the objects are made. By doing this, we’ll see certain characteristics that make objects prone to deterioration and can become more knowledgeable about how to gently handle, move and use our objects with care.

Ceramics are composed of minerals – clay and earth that are coated with mineral slips and pigment slurries or glazes, which are either high- or low-fired. This results in either hard, fine porcelain or porous pottery and earthenware. Beyond the obvious care needed in handling any breakable object, we need to refrain from treating it like an ordinary household good. The use of dish washing liquids in water to wash pottery, for example, can damage delicate glazes.

Silver and gold are very stable mineral ores that are smelted to produce precious metallic objects.

But most metals encountered are almost always mixtures of a variety of mineral ores called alloys, such as copper, brass or bronze, that undergo a process of annealing.

Some metals are layered together, as in the case of silver plate on top of a base meta or plated onto an iron substrate. The surfaces of all metals are prone to pitting in humid environments, with corrosion and rust as obvious points of damage. All metals with the exception of gold will readily tarnish when exposed to oxygen in the air. Metals should be handled with cotton gloves to avoid transfer of hand oils to the surface, which can attract dust and cause long-term corrosion to the surface.

Wooden objects are often coated with natural resins, oils or varnishes. Pieces of wood are hand carved or milled and joined with a variety of glues. Often furniture components can include inlay of metal, shell and bone that all react to temperature and humidity at differing rates. As the wood expands across an inlaid surface, the small pieces of inlay can pop away from the glue and be lost.

The components related to upholstered furniture include not only wood, but metal, horsehair, textile fabrics, metal (tacks) and leather.

Textiles can be made of cellulose, protein or man-made fibers. Each undergo a variety of handling procedures prior to weaving, with most undergoing a variety of measures that include dyeing and sizing of the fabric. Sizing is part of the ‘finishing’ process for most textiles that provide the qualities of drape.

In addition to sizing, silk fabrics were often artificially “weighted” with a solution of metallic salts. This resulted in added weight to the fabric, sometimes up to 22 times the original weight, and helped obtain a more substantial drape needed for designs of fashion. Upon aging, the metallic salts breakdown the silk protein fiber and cause splits within areas of the weave.

Early papers can be made of pure cellulose rag pulp sized with gelatin.

Later papers were made of acidic wood pulp sized with alum. They can be coated with clay, dyed and printed with liquid or oil based inks. This example shows degraded paper that is severely yellowed and brittle. There is no flexibility or strength, and manipulation of any sort leads to complete fracture.

Pigments are mineral compounds that undergo grinding and are bound to paper and canvas by a variety of oils and gums.

Water is also used as a common vehicle to deposit pigments on the surface of paper, like in this detail of a watercolor. While the ground pigments are very stable, it is often the vehicle of gum, oil or water that determine whether pigments remain permanently attached to the paper or canvas. If the gum or oil become brittle, paint layers can start to crack and peel from the surface. Watercolors can remain soluble in water for many years.

Other coloring agents such as dyes can be derived from natural substances like plants indigo, woad and (beetle) cochineal, which are set to fabric with mordants of metal salts during the dye process.

Later, synthetic, chemical dyes were made in the laboratory. Most older dyes are prone to quickly fade in varying degrees when exposed to light energy. The dress in the middle was as dark as the dress to the left. Years of exposure to light has caused severe fading of the dye.

So we have examined some common characteristics of objects you may have in your heirloom closet. Next time, I’ll talk about how to gently handle, move and use our objects with care.

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Let's Talk About Paper IV

rhuse — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:10:00 -0400

Ok, storage seems simple, but beyond handling with care, how and where our valuables are stored will actually affect long-term preservation. Materials should be guarded from light, excess heat and humidity, harmful pollutants and pests as well as human error.

Light can actually initiate and accelerate damage. Ultraviolet light is the most harmful, causing paper to darken and inks and dyes to fade. Both fluorescent lamps and daylight contain very high levels of UV light. Now here is the confusing part ... most people are switching their indoor lamps to compact fluorescent bulbs, and are unaware of actually introducing a source of UV light in their home environment. This can lengthen the exposure of sensitive materials like paper and textiles to UV light when lamps are turned on. Some compact fluorescent bulbs are made with a second layer of glass that filters out the UV. The curly bulbs do not have these filters, so you might wish to do some investigating at your local hardware store if you have Aunt Betty's diploma framed and placed on a dark wall by day, but near a lamp by night!

Extremes in heat and humidity are not good for our family books and documents and probably occur most often in basements, attics and out-buildings like garages and barns. High temperatures will make paper and leather brittle, increase stress on the fragile structure, and result in overall weakening and tears. At the other extreme, dampness will encourage the creepy things ... like mold and insect infestation.

Cellulose in paper and proteins in leather and glue used during bookbinding provide a great source of food for insects. Providing a stable or moderate temperature and relative humidity helps insure against damage that results from mildew, mold and insects. So let's talk about how we physically store things.

Acid-free is a term given to modern manufactured paper products that contain a safe substance called an alkali to help counteract the formation of acids. These agents protect cellulose against future acid attack from pollutants that can break down the fiber and cause harm inside the storage environment. The acid in acidic boxes and folders will transfer overtime to the original documents they are meant to protect. Acid free folders and papers used to store cellulose materials (like paper documents) contributes greatly to their long-term preservation.

Support paper collections in acid-free folders and interleave items with acidic inks or tapes with acid-free bond.

Individual items that are fragile and need support are provided with sleeves of Mylar. Mylar and polyethylene are clear films made of polyester that are chemically inert. That means they will not breakdown and emit harmful solvents like plastics do; causing them to get sticky or oily as they age. Avoiding foams and plastics in the storage environment is important so pollutants do not build up inside the storage container.

Support fragile manuscripts and other paper materials that may have tears or areas of loss inside Mylar sleeves.

Place the acid-free folders upright inside acid-free document cases. These come in legal and letter size. Choose the size that is right for the dimensions of your largest item.

Fill any voids that may be in the back of your document case with a good quality paper or foam so files stay upright. Otherwise the files will slump and so will the contents! There are also flat boxes that can be used, too.

Any paper objects that are larger than usual, like this broadside, are provided with a larger acid-free folder.

The item is stabilized in the folder with a sheet of Mylar held into place on the back of the folder by double-sided Mylar-based tape. This tape is made especially for the conservation field by 3M.

The oversized folder goes into an oversized acid-free box. The archival companies have lots of sizes all figured out, and their folders fit their boxes perfectly. It's all good!

So there you have it. Now is the time to look at your schedule, clear a work area, get that box out of the closet, and get your notes going as you go through bundles or little hankies wrapped with a bow. Make some measurements, order your supplies and handle with care. If you find that you have questions about your family documents and how to best preserve them, please do not hesitate to contact our conservators in the Conservation Department at IHS. We take time out to meet with members of the public to discuss your concerns and make recommendations about their care. So give us a call ... we can talk about when to use white gloves.

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Let's Talk About Paper III

rhuse — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:20:00 -0400

I’d like to talk a little about books now. Books are complex objects. They’re made from a variety of materials that behave in varying ways as they age. Paper or parchment can be used for the pages (or leaves). Wood or pressed cardboard can be used for the book boards. Cloth, thread, glue and leather all come together to make an integrated three dimensional artifact (with moving parts!) that are subject to use for many years. I mean, you pick up a book and you want it to be a book, and move like a book - you expect it to.

I made this little book. It’s never been used but for these slides, but the parts of a book include the top edge, the book block (pages or leaves) the head, tail, spine and joint (where the book boards join the binding)

There’s more ...

The fore edge, boards, hinge (inner place were the book board meets the binding) headband at the top and the flyleaf. Called the flyleaf because that’s where the pages move or ‘fly’. Nice.

Most book structures rely on sheets of paper that are folded together. These are called various things – signatures or quires. These are nested and stacked. The nested pages are sewn through the center fold with thread.

Stacked signatures are sewn vertically along the folded edge with thread. This sewn structure is the binding. The binding is usually lined with a fabric or paper, and the lining is then attached to the book boards.

The nature of composite objects like books makes them vulnerable to damage as they are used. Everything has different strengths – and that will affect your ability to use the book and preserve it.

Just so you think about this a little bit more – wood book boards are subject to warping with high humidity.

Linen and cotton used for sewing is strong when new, but fibers weaken with age. Breaks in the sewing result in pages no longer in perfect alignment with other pages in the book.

Some books are tightly bound and just don’t open well. Resist the urge to ‘crack’ the spine – gee, the nuns taught us that! – which can break binding threads, misalign signatures and cause pages to fall out. Provide support – hey, a pillow will do! – to help prevent damage. You can gently prop the pages back with soft weights …hmm – where to get? Try this – buy some infant socks and fill them lightly with dry beans; sew them up and you’ve got cute weights. If you like frogs you can get the froggie ones ... no really, they’ll work!

While books are complex, the single element that most affects the long life of any book or paper artifact is the quality of the paper used. Acidic paper makes future repairs to pages and binding difficult. Because the paper is so brittle, simple mends to tears in paper are likely to tear along the mended edge. Good quality paper is very robust and will withstand the rigors of time and use very well. Still, I’d like to talk about how to protect any object from harm in the next discussion.

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Let's Talk About Paper II

rhuse — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:20:00 -0400

Paper was invented in China where they had their own methods, but most historic papers in North America come from the tradition of hand papermaking that was present in Europe. Large vats of cotton and linen fibers suspended in water were stirred up, and a frame called a mould was dipped in the slurry. The frame was leveled, drained, pressed, and the resulting sheet was allowed to dry.

This is example is from the IHS collection:

This is a detail of an advertisement printed in a newspaper from the 1700s. Cloth rags were shredded and beaten to create a slurry that was used to make the paper. This example is in really great condition because cotton and linen handmade papers are very stable.

This is another example of paper:

With the industrial revolution of the mid 1800s came the introduction of machine made papers. But this technology could not handle cotton or linen fibers because they were too long. They had to rely on fiber of a different kind - short fibered wood cellulose from trees. Trouble is, wood cellulose contains highly reactive acids called lignin. This sample shows how the acids have degraded the paper. It is brittle, yellow and has no flexibility or strength. Any movement can lead to tatters or complete fracture. What kinds of paper in your family collection most closely resemble these? Somewhere in between? Wait, there's more.

Clay-coated papers are coated with a layer of clay to improve the appearance of poor quality papers and make a nice printing surface. The above example exhibits typical cracking of the fragile clay layer and abrasion. Clay gets slippery when wet, so these coatings are soluble in water, and whatever is printed on them can actually just dissolve away!

Many early inks were made at home, and the recipes vary in how they were made. Iron gall ink used shavings of iron combined with vitriol or ferrous sulfate. The ink is actually very pale when freshly made, so if someone needed to use it right away, they’d mix in berry juice or a dye, like woad, to color it. The ink eventually turns brown when exposed for a while to oxygen, so the brown shades of ink you see in early manuscripts are oxidized iron gall ink. Too much iron used in the recipe produces a very acidic ink though and often causes the paper to split right where the ink is laid on the paper. This is referred to as ‘lacing’ because entire sheets of paper can look like lace once the acidic reaction is complete.

All collections present their own set of problems, but basic to most family collections is the previous use of tape to mend splits and tears in the paper. Tape is really unstable, meaning it will breakdown in time. The adhesives get yellow, stickier and flow through the paper (leaving a disastrous mess) and actually weaken and stain the paper it was meant to help save. For this reason, tapes are like the plague for conservators because we have to use some pretty toxic solvents to safely remove it. So play nice, and don’t use tape to mend paper. Instead, come to the Indiana Historical Society and learn how conservators mend paper with lightweight Japanese tissue paper and wheat starch paste. You can try it in the History Lab, and if you like saving history, you will like this – I promise!

Whenever you start an important project, like saving your family history, it’s best to just set aside an adequate, clean workspace without any clutter. Music is fine, but keep your hands clean and avoid food and drink in the area to prevent accidental spills. (Just when you put your cup down on your worktable your cat will want to be your center of attention. Connect the dots.)

If your hands feel grit or soot on the surface of things, just vacuum them very carefully before surfaces are disturbed. This will prevent soil from being transferred from one item or bundle to the next. Wiping surfaces with a cloth will probably drive the dirt into the paper, so be careful if you try it. Look at the picture where the brush is attached to the vacuum hose. This is a six-inch cut square of nylon window screening placed over the hose opening before the brush is attached. The screen is there to catch any particle that might be loose on the surface, like a seal or a bit of leather. If your vacuum is too strong, use a wide soft bristled paint brush to gently brush fragile surfaces.

If you have a LOT of stuff (and some people do) take time to determine if there is an order of some sort. This will help you organize a large collection, and maybe you can use that order or decide on one of your own. Little tags or slips of paper can be important too, so be aware of any that might have some important information like names, places or dates. Take the time to examine the entire collection to determine the condition, the size of items and anything of special significance. It will come in handy later.

If you have things that should be stored together do not submit to the stapler! Staples rust eventually. Just put them inside a fold of a good-quality paper or an acid-free archival paper. These papers (called Perma-Life) are available at archival supply houses like Conservation Resources Ltd. or University Products. They’re on the web.

Little bundles like these or letters inside envelopes that retain sharp creases need to be gently unfolded so they can be stored flat.

If the paper is so brittle that it does not unfold with ease or causes splitting you may have to humidify the papers a bit. It’s easy. Lay the papers out on nice clean toweling the next time you take a steamy shower and let the papers naturally absorb the moisture. Cover with another clean towel and a sheet of plastic to help the paper relax. Check it after a few hours in this spa and the paper should be a bit more relaxed. Never give in to the temptation to spray water on the paper. If the inks are soluble, you will have ruined the item. If you find the papers need another gentle spa, follow the directions like the first time and check again. Once they are fully relaxed, place a dry towel on top until perfectly dry.

If you really want to go all out you can create an inventory and classify items. This can be helpful when you pass these along to another family member. Just think of it – in 100 years someone will say ,“Thank goodness Aunt Melissa or Uncle Jason did that inventory or we’d be sunk!” So be a hero if you want! Things can be classified as handwritten manuscripts, printed certificates, receipts, account books, diaries, etc. They can be distinguished by including the name on the document and/or the date. This list can supply logical titles for the folders that will eventually contain each type of item.

At the end of the inventory, you can sum up the info to describe the collection. “James Madison Whatnot lived with his family in Bean Blossom in 1875. This collection documents his family and business.” Recollections from older family members can be used to help round out details, of course, but if anyone can positively identify people, places and things with proof that is great. That’s called "provenance," and an example of this may be a receipt from a family member’s attic that connects a name to a particular artifact or book.

During the inventory, take note about the size and condition of things – just so you know how big a box or series of boxes you’ll need to store all the collection. You’ll have to order some good-quality archival supplies at some point, and knowing the dimensions of the oddly sized things will be useful and help you budget a bit for your project.

A little reminder here – as you go through, take time to notice the condition of things and handle them with care. Whatever you do, don’t apply tape to tears. Do I have to show you the tape image again? OK – I will:

ALL tapes (even those they call “archival”) will eventually change and damage the paper. We are starting to receive collections from those who have used archival tape – they leave an oily stain after as little as 10 years. Not so good.

When you find an item in poor condition, provide support for it with a Mylar or polyethylene sleeve. This will help keep fingerprints off the paper but will reduce the chances of further damage as well. Now the pitch: If the item is significant, consider contacting a conservator and getting some advice. Tapes, for instance, need to be removed or the paper will eventually turn transparent from the adhesive. Only a professional working safely with a selection of solvents can really do this, so kids, don’t try this at home and stay away from tape.

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Let's Talk About Paper

rhuse — Wed, 04 May 2011 09:30:00 -0400

I’ve overseen the preservation of thousands of the historic maps, manuscripts and other works on paper in our collection for many years, and I thought it might be good to let others know about how to preserve some of their family treasures. You know, the kinds of things that everyone has in a box up in a closet somewhere.

Letters, prints, ticket stubs – they’re all made of paper and it can be tempting to just jam them all in a box, but that really isn’t going to help them last now, is it? So let’s take a look together. I’m going to start at the beginning – and talk about paper.

Ooooooo – how Interesting ... yeah. But if you don’t start there then you might as well not get the box down out of the closet! You’ll eventually be very disappointed and start kicking yourself when you remember you stopped reading about a sentence up. So let’s go!

Yeah, you feel it – the discovery of a collection of family documents usually brings about a sensation of wonder and anticipation (!) quickly followed by a concern (OK – what now?). You promise yourself to make this wonderful thing last for-EVer but you say to yourself, “You really don’t know what you’re doing, now do you?”

Well, it’s simple really. Remember when you were over at your Gramma’s house and she had that vase or that doily out and your mom said, ‘Just don’t TOUCH it!” Well, I’m not going to tell you that, because we all want to have these things in our lives ... we just need to know how.

Paper is the primary thing. It supports whatever is on top of it – inks, watercolor, pencil (or graphite), chalk, charcoal, all that stuff that tells you what a thing is. Like Gramma and Grandpa’s wedding certificate might be printed with oil-based printing inks, a bit of gold leaf around the edges and inscribed with an early ink called iron gall ink. Did you know that they used to buy a special powder at the drug store and mix it with water, beer, wine, potato water – anything – to make ink? So there’s a lot of stuff that’s on top of that wedding certificate, and it can all be damaged if you’re not careful.

Just thinking about other kinds of papers you might have in your family collection – all of these materials that come together to make a thing are different and actually have special needs, like this manuscript …

Or this map …

This map is printed on a thin linen tissue paper that was once folded up and placed inside a vest pocket. The paper supports oil-based inks and watercolor pigments (which are made with a vegetable gum as a binder. Cool, huh?)

Or this broadside, printed on paper that is handmade of cotton fibers which act very differently from the linen tissue map …

Or ephemra … those assemblies of paper that might be folded and printed and maybe incorporate stitching or staples or glue to hold it together.

… and then there are books. Those three-dimensional powerhouses of paper that are supposed to operate just like a book for all eternity. Don’t even start with me about Kindle … (I have to admit, even I would like to own one!)

What I’m trying to point out is the intrinsic nature of materials – especially things of paper – make them vulnerable to damage from changes in the environment that they are stored in.

Becoming familiar with the materials used to create paper artifacts and the hazards that effect them will allow you to better handle and care for them. Tune in next week when I discuss these issues in more detail and offer tips about your own family treasures!

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Changing Times

rhuse — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:25:00 -0400

“For the times, they are a changin’.“ So goes the Dylan tune of a while ago and so it goes with our work here at IHS. Conservators get to look at time in a in a different way – examining the things of history; how and when a paper was made, the ink and such on it, the tools used to get it there, and how it all reacts to time. Our particular department has always taken a very long-term view about "things" and "time," mostly because we preserve the mainly paper-based things in our collection – maps, manuscripts, photographs. People do the weirdest things to paper with the hope of making it last a long time ... anyway, that’s another blog.

IHS looks at history just about the way it always has in my estimation, but the Indiana Experience puts a whole new twist on ... "things" and "time" for YOU. Every day, we get to touch, smell and peer into the things of history; and some say we have the best jobs because of it. I think we’d like a lot of people to get here and see time and things like we do ... dig in, and get all the way into it! Come to the Indiana Experience and the History Center … 'cause the times they are a changin'!

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