India Album Wrap-up Weeks 4-8 Conserving the Boards: As can be seen from the before pictures, red rot was pervasive throughout the leather on the boards. The leather on the surface area, even in the middle, was lifting and required re-adhering to the board; this was performed using Lascaux 489. Lascaux 489 was chosen due to it being a slightly more rigid adhesive than Lascaux 300. Areas where a step formed in the leather (rather than a gradual deterioration which had petrified itself to the board) were at risk of catching on something and flaking off. These areas were reinforced with small pieces of Japanese paper, creating more surface area where it was connected to the board and a slightly more gradual topographic area to reduce catching. Most of the corners were in poor shape, certainly not the original shapes and required attention. Since there was either loss of material, delamination, or both of these problems, wheat starch paste was inserted between the layers along with Japanese paper, where appropriate. Additionally, where there were exposed board layers at risk of losing more material, these were covered with Japanese paper as well. Color matching is one of my favorite parts of book conservation. I chose Schminke Finest extra-soft artists’ pastels and coated them with SC6000 to ensure there wasn’t transfer and to provide a finish which better matched the leather. Binding Materials: The binding materials were cleaned using a small brush nozzle on the vacuum cleaner. Enclosures: By the end of treatment, it had been a while since all the parts of the album were aligned with one another. I had quite forgotten that the entire item weighed over 80lbs (36kg)! We had originally intended to house it all together. However, due to the weight and the end of the project approaching, three different enclosures were created, two for the book block and one for the boards with the binding materials. Book Block: The book block was divided into quarters and each quarter was placed into a phase box with a reinforced bottom. Two of the phase boxes filled one enclosure. The enclosures were given corner webbing with front, left, and right sides folding down. Velcro dots aligned those three sides. This was allows easy access and handling while still providing support and protection to the items. Boards and Binding Materials: The boards were placed into their own box with an interior lining to catch any other pieces of leather which may detach in the future. The binding materials were given their own box with an additional sub-enclosure in the lid for smaller related pieces. Training a Volunteer: During the majority of the page repair stage of the treatment, I learned how to train and work with a volunteer. At first, I was hesitant to do this since I have never trained someone before in this type of project, and did not know how I would do teaching conservation techniques. However, she came in with previous object handling skills, some conservation experience, and a museum/archive background. Additionally, I too was not without some teaching experience as well. I have a background in tutoring chemistry, physics, and math. Unfortunately, all of those things were tutored using boards, papers, and textbooks. Teaching someone through an action is much different. It requires talking through what I was analyzing, why I was looking at it, techniques, assessing, etc.; all the little thoughts that go through one’s mind. I feel blessed to have had so many wonderful supervisors; remembering how they mentored me and the different ways things were explained, I was able to draw from these experiences. After this internship, I feel better prepared to take on the challenge of training other volunteers in the future. Final Thoughts: This project has been one of the best experiences. This is the biggest project I have worked on thus far in three ways. 1) Largest and heaviest book 2) 250 hours from the assessment and treatment proposal through the encapsulation and final report. This was much more intensive than any of my previous projects. 3) Managing space, resources, and a volunteer. I further learned to anticipate necessary tools and resources for an entire project and manage a lab area utilizing surfaces and finding solutions in order to treat the item. As mentioned previously, this first time working with a volunteer was a definite highlight. I would like to thank the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center for allowing me this opportunity, especially Jordan Ferraro, who was my main supervisor while performing this project, and Cynthia Blechl, who supported and advised me on various aspects.
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