Submitted by: Andrea Arnold Why is this item important to you?: Civil War diary of my great, great grandfather Jefferson Whitcomb from Townsend, MA Expert Advice: (Provided by Todd Pattison) Your Civil War diary is covered in quarter sheep leather and marbled paper. The accompanying letters are machine-made, wove paper with manuscript ink notations. Condition: The cover of the diary has a lot of wear, especially the marbled paper and binder’s board underneath, and the leather looks to be deteriorating with some damage to the hinge areas; they may be starting to break. There are no images that show the page attachment or the manuscript ink notations. The paper the letters are written on has darkened but there does not seem tom be any tears or damage from the inks. Recommendations: I would encourage you get high-quality scans made of the pages of the diary and the letters. This will provide use copies that will limit handling of the originals and will also allow you to share this information with other interested parties. It will also preserve the information in case the originals are damaged or lost. The diary may need to be imaged one-up, or one page at a time, with an overhead camera to protect the fragile binding. This would allow for quality capture of the information without opening the volume more than 90 degrees, preventing stress of the sewing or page attachment. You should have the diary boxed in a custom enclosure with folders for the letters. This will keep the information together. There are several styles of custom enclosures, including cloth-covered, drop-spine boxes and phase boxes (there are several styles of phase boxes). The key to any enclosure is that it fit the volume exactly. If you measure this yourself you need to make sure that you find the largest square dimension, as the box will be square even if the volume is not, and include the thickness of the folders, which should be cut down to the size of the volume (assuming they will still be large enough to house the letters). A cloth-covered box can be made by a conservator or bookbinder while phase boxes are usually ordered from a vendor. The folders should be made from acid-free Bristol or other cardstock material that is lignin free. If the manuscript inks are damaging the paper of the diary (bleeding through the paper to the opposite side, burning the paper, or causing tears) the diary should be looked at by a conservator to determine if any treatment is necessary. There is a Find a Conservator page on the AIC website that allows you to search for a conservator by specialty and location. Handling and storage: Handling of these objects should be limited. When handling the volume or the letters, you should wash your hands with soap and water but not wear gloves. Gloves will lower the feeling in your fingers so it would be more likely that you would damage the object; cotton gloves, especially, will catch on the worn surface of the leather and boards causing further damage. You should always place volumes in a cradle so as not to stress them when handling, but particular attention needs to be paid to the handling of this volume given the condition; the boards should be opened as little as possible so as not to stress the joints. There are foam supports that are available to cradle the volume, but you can also just use clean towels or pillows. You mention that the diary is currently stored wrapped in plastic. Plastics can break down over time, which could damage the volume, and wrapping in plastic will not let the diary “breath” which can also cause it to break down more quickly. The diary and letters should be stored out of the light in an area that has temperature and humidity controls. Higher temperatures and swings in relative humidity will speed up the chemical processes that are breaking down this object. A protective enclosure is strongly suggested as this will protect these items from light damage as well as from dust and further wear.
Submitted by: Janet Why is this item important to you?: Subject is my great great grandmother. The photo was in the collection of a 4th cousin with whom I connected during my genealogy journey. The cousin did not recognize the subject of the photo. We made the connection after recognizing the resemblance to the attached paper photo that was definitely identified as my great great grandmother by my grandmother. The cousin gifted the tin photo to me. Expert Advice: (Provided by Kelsey Sawyer) From the photo you provided the tintype appears to be in relatively good condition, there is some bending that has occurred which you point out. Here is what I recommend: Handling: Before handling your photographs make sure your hands have been washed with soap and water, and are free of any lotion or hand sanitizer. When holding the tintype you should hold it by its edges, this way you are not touching the image itself which reduces risk of damage. You mention that the tintype has some warping, no attempts should be made to flatten or correct it. Doing so can lead to cracks appearing in the emulsion which can then flake, with the image itself flaking off. Tintypes are also often prone to flaking near the edges of the metal plate. Storage: It is best to store tintypes away from light, and preferably someplace that has temperature and humidity control. Large temperature fluctuations and high humidity can cause rust of the metal and cracking of the emulsion, as well other forms of deterioration. For tintypes that are in good condition paper or plastic sleeves, close to the size of the photograph, are appropriate storage enclosures. Plastic sleeves should be made of polyester, polypropylene, or polyethylene. Tintypes with flaking should not be put in plastic sleeves as they can generate static and pull the flakes of emulsion off the metal plate. Instead, use paper enclosures which should be acid-free and lignin-free. The sleeves should then be placed in an archival box where no pressure is exerted on it and where it cannot slide around. To find appropriate archival enclosures for your tintype and any other materials you may have I recommend Gaylord Archival and Hollinger Metal Edge. Display: I recommend you make a high-resolution digital copy of your tintype. This will allow you to limit the amount of time the tintype spends exposed to light. This way you have a readily available copy to look at instead. You can also print out a physical copy to display in its frame. Once the tintype is stored in archival enclosures it is recommended to check on it every now and then to monitor any deterioration that might be occurring. Should the tintype begin to display signs of deterioration you may want have a photo conservator assess the photograph. The American Institute for Conservation (AIC) has a helpful "Find a Conservator" resource: https://www.culturalheritage.org/about-conservation/find-a-conservator .
Submitted by: Rhonda Why is this item important to you?: Passed from grandparents to myself Expert Advice: (Provided by Todd Pattison) Your Bible is covered in embossed leather (either sheep leather or patent leather); the decoration and title have been stamped into the leather. This would appear to be a case binding with false raised bands on the spine. Condition: The Bible is in poor condition with the front board detached and the sewing broken; the text block is now in at least two pieces and there may be loose pages. Recommendations: You will need to limit handling as much as possible with the Bible in this condition. A book conservator or bookbinder could treat the Bible, resewing the loose pages and then repairing the binding. They should be able to keep the present binding, putting new material underneath the original covering so the Bible will look the same but will be structurally sound. There is a Find a Conservator page on the AIC website that allows you to search for a conservator by specialty and location; if you find a bookbinder to do the work make sure they have treated similar items and can communicate the treatment plan for this volume. If you don’t have the Bible treated, you should have a custom enclosure created to protect the Bible. There are several styles of custom enclosures, including cloth-covered, drop-spine boxes and phase boxes (there are several styles of phase boxes). The key to any enclosure is that it fit the volume exactly. If you measure this yourself you need to make sure that you find the largest square dimension, as the box will be square even if the volume is not. The cloth-covered box can be made by a conservator or bookbinder while phase boxes are usually ordered from a vendor. You do not mention any manuscript material within the volume, some Bibles had printed pages for vital records, often located between the Old and New Testaments. If there are any manuscript records you should get high-quality scan made of those pages. This will allow you to make copies that can be shared with other interested people and having additional copies will preserve the information in case anything happens to the original. You may also want to consider adding a folder to the boxed volume for genealogical information or even the provenance of the volume for future generations. Handling and storage: When handling the volume, you should wash your hands with soap and water but not wear gloves. Gloves will lower the feeling in your fingers so it would be more likely that you would damage the object; cotton gloves, especially, will catch on the worn surface of the leather causing further damage. You should always place volumes in a cradle so as not to stress them when handling, but particular attention needs to be paid to the handling of this volume given the condition; it should be handled as little as possible. There are foam supports that are available to cradle the split text block so as not to stress the remaining sewing, but you can also just use clean towels or pillows. You mention that the Bible is currently stored flat and that is the best way to store it given the age and condition, even if you do have it conserved and boxed. The Bible should be stored out of the light in an area that has temperature and humidity controls. Higher temperatures and swings in relative humidity will speed up the chemical processes that are breaking down this object.
