The following article was contributed to this
website by the author.
DOCUMENT
PRESERVATION By Diane Nichols This
lesson was
reproduced by Roots web in 1998 with the author’s permission. Old
documents are often rolled or folded and stuck in drawers and old
cedar chests for years before someone moves them to another
drawer! They are
aged into their storage shape and can crack apart with handling.
They are dry
and brittle. They need help. Look
around your home for a container with a tight fitting lid, but not
so tight that the container needs to be tipped for a grip to take off
the lid.
New galvanized garbage cans work well for large documents.
Plastic bins work
well for several smaller documents. Inside
the clean container, place a heavy bowl with a flat bottom.
Inside of THIS bowl, place a glass or bowl of water. Your
documents can be
placed, several at a time, around the outside of the larger bowl.
Do NOT place
them in the water or in a position where they can fall into the water. Place
the lid on the container and leave it alone for several hours
– no peeking. This whole apparatus should be in a closed room,
out of
the way of playing children, playing dogs and your mother who is intent
to dust
everything in the house. The paper will absorb water molecules
from the
trapped air inside the container. After
several hours, check the paper for flexibility. Does it unroll
well without forcing it? Can you unfold it without any
resistance? Telling
when the paper is ready is like making bread dough. There is a
time when it
just feels right. Some papers hydrate very quickly within 6 hours
or so. A
large Victorian certificate made of very heavy paper can take up to 24
hours to
hydrate. Purchased
before you start this operation will be two large sheets of
white blotter paper, still available at art supply stores. Lay
one sheet of
blotter paper on a table and spread the hydrated document as flat as
possible
on the paper. Make sure that folded edges are flat and that any
torn edges lie
as close together as possible without overlapping. A set of stamp
collector’s tweezers are the perfect tool to help you accomplish this. Place a
second sheet of blotter paper on top of this stack, being
careful to cover every inch of document without creating folds in the
document. Carefully weigh the whole surface down with heavy books
(this is one
use for a set of encyclopedias). The
blotter paper will absorb any excess moisture. Leave the document
pressed for 24 hours. If you take the stack apart and your
document rolls up
by itself, it’s probably not hydrated enough or pressed long
enough.
Repeat the process of hydration for another 4 to 6 hours and press
again for
another 24 hours. After
uncovering your pressed paper, you can begin restoration. Small
smudges of dirt and pencil can be encouraged off with a Pink Pearl
eraser. Do
not use a pencil eraser or another kind of eraser, and be very gentle
with the
Pink Pearl application. Decide if the risk of damage is worth the
effort.
Trying to clean a dirty document also puts the printed and written
words at
risk. There are liquid solutions for cleaning documents, but I
know librarians
who will not try these methods, so I don’t either. Several
companies available on the Internet offer encapsulation
materials. I have used Light Impressions in the past, as they
will sell small
lots of materials. You will need to buy repair tape, Mylar sheets
and
double-sided tape. All must be of archival quality. Rips in
the documents do not have to be repaired, but sometimes the
printed words are more readable if the paper is reinforced. A pH
neutral
repair tape can be torn into small sections and applied to the back
of
the document for this purpose. I use Filmoplast P tape, which is
milky, but
appears transparent after application. Do NOT use Scotch tape
EVER! Old tape
can often be removed with little effort, but the paper underneath is
usually
permanently stained and printed and written words sometimes come off
with the
tape. Mylar
top-loader envelopes are fine for storing small 8 X 11 papers.
Archival companies offer them at top prices. The one very popular
discount
store usually carries good quality top-loaders for about $4 for 50
sheets.
These can be stored in notebooks, but protect them from dust falling
onto the
top surface by covering the notebook or storing it in a container. Many
documents are larger than the average piece of paper and need a
bigger storage sleeve. Mylar can be bought from archival
companies in pre-cut
sheets. Very large documents require the purchase of a Mylar
roll. The Mylar
will come in clear or frosted surfaces. You will also need to
purchase
double-sided tape with a neutral pH. Lay
your hydrated, pressed document on a Mylar sheet cut about one inch
larger than the document measures. Center the document on it,
leaving at least
½ inch of Mylar extending beyond the document on every
side. You will need to
have cut a second Mylar sheet the same size. Unroll
a length of double-sided tape that is ½ inch longer than the
side of the document you are working with first. (You can do this
without
measuring if you are careful). Place the sticky side of the tape
onto the Mylar
about ¼ inch away from the edge of your paper document. Do
not have it extend
to the edge of the Mylar. The tape will have a paper cover on the
second sticky
side. Leave it in place for now. Continue
with 3 other pieces of tape, framing the document near, but
not touching its edges – about ¼ inch away from it on all four
sides.
You will need to leave an air pocket space between the tapes at the
corners. I
was told to leave a 1/8 inch gap for air flow. After
checking to make sure your document is lying flat, with no folds,
lay the second piece of Mylar on top of the first, sandwiching your
document in
a clean environment. Check to make sure you are not also
preserving bits of
dirt, strands of hair from you or your pet, or insects that wiggled
into the
field. Set a
clean weight on top to this stack – reuse one of those
encyclopedias. This will hold the stack still so that the Mylar
and document
will not move as you continue to work. With
your tweezers, work one edge of paper lining loose from one length
of double-sided tape at a corner. Gently holding the top sheet of
Mylar away
from pressuring your work spot, strip the entire length of paper
covering off
the one piece of tape. Allow the Mylar to lie on the tape and
gently press the
two pieces of Mylar together on that side. Repeat
this process on all four sides, being careful to not make a
ripple in the tape, document or Mylar. This can be very
frightening the first
time you try it! However, realizing that people get nervous, the
manufacturers
made the tape removable for a while. After
checking the stack for mistakes, seal the tape better with your
clean fingers, or a clean cloth (I use an old squeegee roller).
Trim the
outside edges of the Mylar if you need to. Store the document
flat in an
archival box or an artist’s portfolio for the best preservation.
Diana Nichols is a local genealogist and Greenwood Cemetery Historian. She may be contacted by email, or by writing or phoning the cemetery at: Greenwood Cemetery, 321 Kittanning Pike, Pittsburgh, PA 15215-1117, (412) 963-7060 |