Papyrus

I am an intern at the World Heritage Museum at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where we have a collection of thirty papyri
fragments. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri were conserved using the "passe
partout" technique which was popular in the 1940's.  I realize that
previous generations considered this to be the very latest in
technology, but is it still valid today?  I am researching what is the
best method available today to conserve and properly store papyri.  How
does one handle a scholar's request to look at the back of papyri?  Is
the passe partout method considered damaging today because the papyri
cannot breathe?  I would appreciate journal citations, research reports,
relevant institutions and conservators to contact, as well as, any
comments or discussion regarding this query.

Cheri A. Vitez
World Heritage Museum Intern
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 7:75
                  Distributed: Monday, April 18, 1994
                        Message Id: cdl-7-75-011
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