April Showers…

As the English proverb goes, “April showers bring May flowers”. This was definitely the case here in the Works on Paper conservation studio.

The treatment on these posters was completed and the collection was returned to the client. Raven and I were sad to see them go.

Harper's April 1896 cover by Edward Penfield (bull's head monogram instead of signature).

Harper's 1897 April poster by Edward Penfield.

Lippincott's April 1897 poster by J.J. Gould.

But, these two incredibly fascinating c. 1830s “flowers” just came in yesterday:

When to Marry

Flower of Fate

These two folk art pieces were made by Sarah Stow Ely at the age of 13. The petals of the flowers can be unfolded to reveal when you are going to marry, your ruling passions, character, fate and wish. I will  be writing a more in-depth post on this piece once treatment begins.

But in the meantime, does it remind anyone else of this game you might have played as a kid?

Child's paper chatterbox game

And, yep, as I just discovered, they do make an iPhone app for that!

Stay tuned for more on the 183os version…

Happy Easter from Works on Paper!

We have just finished working on a truly amazing collection of late 19th-century posters here at Works on Paper, and we will be sharing some of our favorites with you over the next several posts. Since Easter is nearly upon us, I thought it would be nice to start with these three posters. I hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend!

The New York Herald Easter Edition

Truth's Easter Edition - they make quite a couple!

The Woman that Saved the Union

March is nearly over and since it is Women’s History Month, I thought it would be interesting to share something I recently learned about due to two very different objects that we treated here in the Works on Paper conservation studio.

Several months ago, I treated an engraving by A.H. Richie based on a painting by Francis Carpenter  titled “The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation”.

Before Treatment

After Treatment

See that empty chair in the right corner? I thought this was a little strange, especially since there is an open book, a portfolio and a map surrounding it. But, I didn’t really think any more about it.

Then, a few months later this poster came into the studio:

Now, I had never heard of this woman and I actually wondered if this might be a fictional story, so I did a little research to find out more about her. Anna Ellen Carroll was born in 1815 in Maryland and entered the male-dominated world of American politics at the age of 35 and became well-respected for the political pamphlets she wrote and distributed. During the Civil War, she became a “secret” member of President Lincolns cabinet. She was sent with an army officer to observe and report on the War on the Western front and was considered by some to be a secret agent acting on behalf of the President. The reports and the military strategies she recommended had a major influence on the demise of the Confederate Army and most notably ended the intervention of European nations on behalf of the Confederacy.

However, her roll in the cabinet and as a military advisor was kept secret. After Lincoln’s assassination, Carroll appealed to Congress to recognize and compensate her for her efforts to the war effort for many years. Finally, in 1881 a bill was introduced to do this and to compensate her at a rate given to major generals. However, the bill mysteriously disappeared and instead, Congress passed a bill placing her name on pension rolls and paying her $50.00 a month for the “important military service rendered by her during the late Civil War”.

But, her roll was alluded to much earlier than this when the artist, Francis B. Carpenter, painted the original oil painting that was later reproduced as an engraving in 1866. That empty chair surrounded by books and maps was his way of acknowledging the “unrecognized member of the cabinet”.

Love is in the air

So today is Valentine’s Day, and despite not being much of an observer of this holiday, I thought it would be fun to post a few images of recent projects we’ve been working on in the Works on Paper conservation studio that directly relate to the topic of love.

Scherenschnitte Valentine

Scherenschnitte is the German word for the art of paper cutting or, more literally, scissor snipping. This traditional folk art form has been around for centuries and continues to be popular today. This scherenschnitte most likely dates to the mid 19th century and was presumably presented as a token of love.

Folded Puzzle Valentine (closed)

Folded Puzzle Valentine (partially open)

This second valentine was very fun to work on as part of the challenge was figuring out how to safely open and then refold the paper. My assistant and I documented each step with a photograph and also made a copy of the valentine so we could practice refolding before completing the treatment on the actual object.

early 19th-century valentine

This last valentine is my personal favorite. I love the geometric pattern and the the text is so sweet. You may notice the dark staining at the top of the paper – this is because the name of the giver of the valentine was aggressively scratched out with brown ink. I especially like this added bit of intrigue.

A Surprisingly Satisfying Treatment

Happy New Year! You can probably guess one of my new year’s resolutions for 2012 – regular blog posts, of course.

I thought I would start off by sharing some images of a project from 2011 that ended up being a pleasant surprise.

A friend discovered this lovely but very damaged watercolor landscape in the cellar of his Arts & Crafts bungalow in Swampscott, Mass. He and his partner are the second owners of this amazing home and have been lovingly restoring it to its original beauty. The house was built in 1910 and the family who lived there were avid art collectors and friends with a number of local artists.

The watercolor bears the signature “E. H. Snow” in the lower right corner, and initial research suggests the artist may be Eben H. Snow (1870-1945). Snow lived and worked in Massachusetts, and a graphite inscription on the reverse of this watercolor identifies the scene as the Neponset River. Snow was known for his impressionist style landscapes and maritime scenes and primarily worked in oil on canvas. Perhaps this small watercolor is a plein air study for a larger painting? The haystacks depicted in the distance certainly were a popular subject with Monet.

This watercolor was discovered in the cellar on a work bench amongst glass that had been removed from other picture frames. Years of being stored in the basement resulted in severe local stains (perhaps oil from the furnace?), rust deposits, and a heavy layer of soot. The watercolor also had the more typical mat burn and overall discoloration caused by exposure to light when it was framed and displayed on a wall.

When I initially examined the watercolor, I  was somewhat skeptical about how much the largest stain might actually reduce during treatment. However, this little painting really responded well to conservation treatment, especially controlled exposure to artificial light.

after washing and controlled exposure to artificial light

As you can see, the overall discoloration and the disfiguring large stain really lightened up a lot. I continued with a little bit of local stain reducing, and finished the treatment by lightly retouching the remaining stains with dry pastel pigments. The pastel can be safely removed from the surface of the paper in the future if necessary, meeting the conservation requirement that the treatment be reversible.

after conservation treatment

Quite an improvement! I am looking forward to seeing this painting again once it is framed and on the wall in my friend’s home.

New Life for Old Cartes de Visites

I am trying to spend some of my vacation time catching up on the blogs I read, partially in the hopes that this will inspire me to post more often here. I subscribe to Anthology Magazine (the print version and their blog) and if you haven’t heard of this great publication, I suggest you check out their website at the very least. Lots of inspirational articles about design, art, and craft-related topics.

Their post today about the creative company Treatzone—a couple that creates cards, artwork, notebooks, and other handmade paper goods, struck me as particularly interesting.

The focus of this article is their modern adaption of cartes de visites by overpainting the backgrounds with colorful, bold, geometric patterns.

A selection of Treatzone's altered portraits

My first reaction as a conservator was to shake my head in dismay at these dramatically altered photographic portraits from the mid to late 19th centrury. But then I thought, actually, this is a great reuse for the hundreds of thousands of these objects that otherwise would be overlooked by many of us as old-fashioned and unwanted. They turn up in about every antique shop, flea market, and junk store I have ever visited.

Cartes de visites photographs, which translates to “visiting cards”, are small albumen prints mounted on cards measuring 2-1/2 by 4 inches. They were patented in Paris, France by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854 and were wildly popular and made for decades in countries around the world. For the first time, relatives and friends could exchange standard-sized and inexpensive portraits, both in person and through the mail.

Be sure to check out Anthology magazine’s Issue No. 3 and Treatzone for more information and an opportunity to add these to your own collection.

A late post in honor of Women’s History Month

Detail - Amelia Earhart, silver gelatin photograph, c. 1930s

March ended up being quite a busy month here at Works on Paper and April is shaping up to be the same. This week, I am working on a collection of historic photographs and one of them happens to be a great image of Amelia Earhart. So, in belated honor of Women’s History Month (March) I am making her the topic of this posting.

Amelia Earhart, silver gelatin photograph, c. 1930s

I must confess that I do not know a whole lot about Amelia Earhart, other than what I was taught as part of a presumably typical elementary and high school education. I have been meaning to find a good biography on Amelia Earhart for some time, and now I feel especially motivated to do so.

If anyone has a book recommendation, please let me know.

Amelia Earhart is also the subject of a song by one of my favorite bands, The Handsome Family. In fact, usually whenever I think about learning more about her, it is because I have just listened to this song.

Amelia Earhart by The Handsome Family

Presidents Day / President’s Day / Presidents’ Day

In honor of today’s holiday, I thought it would be nice to post a few images of George Washington from various objects I have worked on in the past. Washington’s birthday is tomorrow, February 22nd, and there has been a federal holiday in is honor since 1880.

Image of Washington from an 1812 engraving.

A somewhat stylized depiction of Washington from a Masonic lithograph.

Another more realistic portrayal of Washington on a Masonic lithograph from 1857.

In other presidential news, an exciting discovery was recently made in the special collections at Washington University in Saint Louis. 74 books from Jefferson’s personal library at Monticello had been presumed lost for more than a century, but were found due to collaboration between several researchers. For more information, including some excellent images of the books themselves, check out the link to the video below.

http://www.monticello.org/site/multimedia/video-jefferson-books-find-lifetime

the new works on paper website

A short post today. Just to let you all know that the new and improved Works on Paper website is officially finished!

Here is the link – http://www.worksonpaperconservation.com/

And a sneak preview.

Sneak peak of the new Works on Paper website

Or you can click on the link in the upper right corner of this blog.

Woo hoo! No more late nights at the studio, at least for this week anyways!

Semiquincentennial Celebration (that’s 250 years)

Over the next four years, more than 100 of Vermont’s towns will celebrate their 250th anniversaries. In honor of this momentous occasion, Works on Paper is offering special rates to the Historical Societies and Town Clerks Offices within these towns to help preserve documents, town charters, maps and other paper-based items from their collections. These organizations often serve as the repository for large collections of documents chronicling local history and culture. In many cases, decades if not centuries, of improper storage have caused damage to the paper. Simple steps, such as basic stabilization and rehousing in archival storage enclosures, can dramatically improve the condition of these irreplaceable treasures  and ensure they will last for generations to come.

Documents were often folded and tied in small bundles to minimize the amount of storage space they require – confirming that adequate storage space is not a modern issue.

Folded and tied documents from the early to mid-19th century

Decades or centuries of being stored folded can make it unsafe to open documents without first bringing them to a conservator. The paper can become very brittle and resistance to opening can result in tears and breaks along the folds. A conservator can help by placing the documents in a carefully monitored humidity chamber which causes the paper fibers to relax so they can be safely opened.

Documents after humidification and flattening

Tears and minor losses to the edges of the paper are also common problems found in collections of historic documents.

Folds and tears to the edges of a document from 1777

A conservator can make the documents safe to handle and reduce the risk of further damage by mending the tears and infilling the losses. Various weights of Japanese mulberry paper are available and a conservator makes a choice for each document based on a number of factors, including the weight of the original document. Wheat starch paste is the most commonly used adhesive because it is strong, easy to reverse, and is chemically stable.

Mending tears on an 18th-century document

Rehousing is a very important component of treating historical collections. Replacing inappropriate enclosures such as acidic folders and boxes with acid- and lignin-free, materials can be a cost-effective way of improving the condition of a collection. However, there is no single storage solution for all paper-based objects – different types of objects have different storage needs. Works on Paper can provide rehousing guidelines for documents, maps, photographs, and other paper-based objects in a collection.

Archival enclosure and box for a glass plate negative

Please contact us if you would like more information about how we can help preserve your collection or if you have any questions about rehousing guidelines.

The Vermont Historical Society has also created a list of suggestions for ways to celebrate these important town birthdays. Please visit their website for more information:

http://www.vermonthistory.org/