Interventive Conservation

Treatments are carried out to address the physical and chemical effects of damage to the collection.

Treatments can include:

• Surface cleaning

  • We surface clean our collections to remove accumulated dirt that can be harmful to collection items
• Tear repair and infill of losses
  • Tears and losses are repaired using Japanese papers and reversible adhesives such as wheat starch paste and gelatine, to prevent further damage occurring
• Humidification and flattening
  • Documents with severe creasing and warping are humidified in a chamber and pressed to increase the legibility and accessibility of the items
• Washing
  • Paper items are washed to reduce discolouration and improve the flexibility of the sheet