Boxing Our Treasures
This video takes viewers inside the preservation lab at the National Archives where specialists construct custom boxes for items as varied as a Cold War-era pistol and a 1761 Indian treaty. The boxes can be simple, built to house a book — or extremely complex, holding multiple, related items in multi-chambered constructions.
Conservation technician Richard Hnat shows how items are digitally measured and conservation specialist Doug Mcrae shows how those measurements are translated into custom instructions for the Archives’ automated box-making machine. Gail Harriman explains that the materials used to construct housings meet rigid archival standards: acid free, lignin free, high cotton content, etc.
The Archives I Conservation lab is featured in a wonderful two-page spread in the May 2012 issue of Washingtonian magazine. On pages 26-27, the spread is in the “Capital Comment” section called “Behind the Scenes” and is titled”Treasure Trove.” Congratulations to Morgan Zinsmeister, Annie Wilker, and Daniel Dancis!
When Records Get Dirty
Over the past four years, Preservation Programs in St. Louis has been dealing with a few extremely nasty problems—namely, mold infestation and bird guano.
Some of the mold was related to the 1973 fire, at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). Other areas had leaks that developed after the 6th floor was demolished (because it had burned), and the fire suppression and pipe systems had to be re-adjusted.
But how did the bird guano get into the records? St. Louis is known for its extremely hot and humid summers, and in our old building many of the non-archival records storage areas weren’t climate controlled. The staff members frequently opened the windows (removing the screens, for some reason), and in flew the birds. You can guess the rest. We found nests. We found feathers. We even found eggs.
We didn’t want to bring these contaminated records to our clean, new, archivally climate-controlled building. We received funding to have most of them—12,372 boxes’ worth—sent away to be gamma radiated, at a cost of nearly $1.5 million.
But first we had to survey all of the boxes. We found 14,719 cubic feet of moldy records and 8,200 cubic feet of boxes with guano in them. The preservation technician in the above photo didn’t actually treat the records; the guano-infested boxes were hauled away for cleaning by movers in full hazmat suits. Techs weren’t even allowed to touch the guano boxes, so that we didn’t spread contaminated material during the survey.
Thankfully, the project is nearly over. And while there is still more work to be done, we were able to make the records safe to handle for future use.
D.C. Emancipation Act Anniversary
April 16th is the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln’s signing the District of Columbia Emancipation Act. This act provided for compensation of former owners loyal to the Union who freed slaves. Its model of compensation was not followed in the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, but it signaled the coming end of slavery. For many years, it was celebrated in Washington with parades and other events. If your income tax return is not done, this anniversary is why you have an extra day to do it.
D.C. Emancipation Act, Public Law 37-50, April 16, 1862 “An Act for the release of certain persons from service or labor in the District of Columbia” Record Group 11 is written on parchment in iron gall ink with some printed text. The first and signature pages are on view now at the Capitol Visitor Center to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The parchment sheets were encapsulated in polyester and mounted in a double window mat of archival board. The document was then covered with acrylic that blocks harmful ultraviolet radiation.
For those of you in the DC area, save the date to come see our very own Jana Dambrogio, Senior Paper Conservator here at the National Archives.
Eli Whitney (1765-1825) received a patent for his cotton gin on March 14, 1794. Whitney, who had recently graduated from Yale, invented the cotton gin while working at the Mulberry Grove Plantation near Savannah, Georgia. Using knowledge of textile machinery, Whitney came up with an engine (shortened to “gin”) that separated the cotton fibers from the seeds, transforming what had previously been a labor-intensive process.
The damaged patent drawing from 1794 was treated by a NARA conservator. A previous Western paper backing was removed mechanically and pressure sensitive tape was removed with heat and solvents. Tears were realigned and mended with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste. Paper losses along the edges were filled with Japanese paper laminates, that had been toned with acrylic paints and watercolors.
Conservation of the telephone patent
This week is the anniversary of the patent for the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell. On March 7, 1876, the US Patent Office approved patent 174,465 for the first apparatus capable of transmitting the human voice through sound vibration. One hundred and thirty plus years later, it’s not difficult to wonder what Bell would think of all the modes of communication that evolved from his design.
Recently, the patent drawings for the telephone came to the conservation lab. Conservation treatment included surface cleaning to remove dirt and grime, then overall flattening to eliminate planar distortions. Tears and losses along the edges were mended and filled with Japanese paper toned with acrylic paint. The patent drawings had been damaged by heavy use and handling. Treatment stabilized the drawings and removed old repairs. But they retain the evidence of handling and poor quality adhesives and old agency markings.
Pictured above are before and after shots of sheets one and two of the patent. ARC identifier 302052
How Handmade Paper Holds History Together
On Feb. 21st we linked to a New York Times Magazine article on Tim Barrett, a papermaker based in Iowa. Mr. Barrett is a leader in promoting and making papers to support paper conservation. In the 1980’s, he studied materials and techniques used to make Japanese papers that were tissue-thin but strong and long-lasting. His book on Japanese papermaking processes is a classic. He studied Western hand-made paper of the 15th-17th centuries to reveal characteristics of old papers that made them strong and age well, such as gelatin sizing. His dry tear paper is a great boon in large mending projects.
Tim Barrett’s MacArthur grant in 2009 was for ground breaking work promoting papers to preserve cultural artifacts. Applying a great understanding of papermaking, Tim and his co-worker Lynn Amlie crafted paper on which parchment documents rest in the encasements for the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the newly installed Magna Carta at the National Archives. The photo above shows the paper shaped to be invisible below the Magna Carta.
