Re: [ARSCLIST] shellac and acidity

[David Seubert <seubert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have a different theory for what might be happening. The portions of the 
sleeves that don't touch the discs are exposed to the atmosphere and over 
time the atmospheric pollutants have discolored the sleeves. The portions 
of the sleeves in contact with the record are pressed tightly together, 
keeping out the air. Therefore you don't see the color change and 
deterioration here. This is similar to the way that the edges of the text 
block of a book will deteriorate more quickly that the inner portion that 
is exposed to less air.

David Seubert
UCSB

At 03:19 PM 5/23/2003 +0200, you wrote:
> Dear ARSC Folks,
>
> I have recently inspected several shellac discs albums and observed that 
> in some
> cases, the discs seem to have absorbed the acidity of sleeves. In the 
> corners of
> the sleeves, colors have fainted, which is generally considered as a sign of
> acidification, whereas the part of the sleeves which is directly in 
> contact with
> the disc keeps its original color. Does anyone know why, because I wonder if
> this could be a sign of chemical interaction between discs and acid paper ?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Alain Carou
> Bibliothèque nationale de France
> Bib

David Seubert, Curator
Performing Arts Collection
Davidson Library Special Collections
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA  93106
(805) 893-5444 Fax (805) 893-5749
mailto:seubert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/pa/