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Preservation
of Paper-based Materials
The Susan H. Douglas collection includes paper-based items in every format
used to communicate political information including posters, prints, sheet
music, broadsides, cartoons, pamphlets, scrapbooks and bound materials. Some
paper items, such as posters, were in fair to good condition, requiring
only minor cleaning and mending, and rehousing. The prints, including
many Currier and Ives portraits of notable figures, exhibited disfiguring
and damaging surface dirt, water and mold staining, tears, and brittleness. The
broadsides and cartoons had numerous tears and serious damage from former
mounting methods including adhesive staining and attachment to poor quality
boards. Most sheet music had been reinforced heavily with pressure sensitive
tape that was restricting the opening of the folio. While
some paper items were stored in acidic folders, many had no primary protection
of a folder, allowing for more physical damage to occur.
Paper items were gently cleaned by brush, cleaning sponge, or erasers as needed to reduce dirt, improve appearance and to reduce contamination of housing supplies and other collection materials. Tears and small losses were stabilized with Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste. Pressure sensitive tape, especially prominent on sheet music, was mechanically removed. Creases and folds were reduced by humidification and flattening. The paper items were individually stored in a modular system of standard size boxes and folders.To date, over 450 posters, prints, broadsides, cartoons, and pamphlets have been cleaned, mended and rehoused. Work remains on bound materials and approximately 100 items requiring more complicated treatment to stabilize their condition.
Copyright
© 2002 Division of Rare & Manuscript
Collections
2B Carl A. Kroch Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853
Phone Number: (607) 255-3530. Fax Number: (607) 255-9524
For information regarding copyright issues and securing permission to publish digital reproductions of images from the Cornell University Collection of Political Americana, please consult our Copyright & Permissions Page.
For
reference questions, send mail to:
rareref@cornell.edu
For questions or comments about the site, send mail to: webmaster.
