Monday, April 6, 2009 This letter, besides being filthy, had a severe crease across the center. It was a manuscript rather than printed so I couldn’t wash it. I dry cleaned the three pages of the letter and placed it in a humidification chamber to relax the paper. I then put it between slightly mistedContinue reading “Czech letter 2”
Author Archives: Caitlin A. Moore
Czech letter
Friday, April 3, 2009 This document was stuck to a small leather notebook. I dry cleaned the letter and removed the piece that was attached to the notebook. I then used filmoplast to put the missing piece back and then photocopied the reassembled sheet. This saves the original while providing a working copy for reference.
Cleaning the Rust
Thursday, March 19, 2009 The pictured objects were actively corroding after the flood. To slow that process we put the objects in sealed containers with silica gel packets. The dessicant pulls in moisture so it doesn’t permeate the objects. Now we are trying to clean up the effects of the corrosion and stabilize the metalContinue reading “Cleaning the Rust”
Sewing a Booklet Back Together
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Some of the records we cleaned were accompanied by pamphlets like the one pictured here. They were mostly coated paper with rusting staples. The pamphlet pictured was held together with rusting staples and the middle folio had pulled almost completely free. I removed the staples. Dry cleaned the pages and guardedContinue reading “Sewing a Booklet Back Together”
Volunteer Begins Working File Project
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 Our publicity has been paying off! Marilyn Maynard, a local Iowa Citian, read about our recovery efforts in the Press Citizen and thought she might be able to contribute. She is currently working on a project designed to clean and copy the working files for the African American Museum. The filesContinue reading “Volunteer Begins Working File Project”
Soaking LP Covers Works Sometimes
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 The covers of the LP records in the Czech Slovak Collection come in different formats and conditions of which some are worse than others. Then there are those few that are exceptionally awful. This is an example of a double disc set in which the inner images fused together in theContinue reading “Soaking LP Covers Works Sometimes”
Making progress with LP covers
Monday, February 2, 2009 The process we have been using to clean and prepare the LP covers to be rehoused with their respective 33 1/3s has turned out to have a lot more steps than we thought. We have been removing the image from flood saturated cardboard which is warped, discolored, and in some casesContinue reading “Making progress with LP covers”
African American Objects Ready to Go Home
Friday, January 30, 2009 On Tuesday February 3, 2009, we will be returning the first finished round of artifacts to the African American Museum. This will include baskets, gourds, feathered fans, sandals, a beaded necklace, a syrup tin, a box of buttons from a local dry cleaner and many other objects. It will be aContinue reading “African American Objects Ready to Go Home”
Good Preservation Practices Save Photos
Monday, January 12, 2009 These photographs were found among the documents from the African American Museum that were returned from the freeze dryer. This is one example of many envelopes full of photographs. These photographs were interleaved with sheets of archival paper which were adhered to the photographs when they were immersed by the flood.Continue reading “Good Preservation Practices Save Photos”
Leigh Ann Inspects Proposed Conservation Work
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Our close proximity to the museums we are working with gives us the advantage of easy communication with their curators. Leigh Ann Randak of the Johnson County Historical Society was able to come down to see how our Head Conservator, Gary Frost, was coming along with the ledgers and county registers heContinue reading “Leigh Ann Inspects Proposed Conservation Work”