Faded signatures

I have had inquiries lately from two different people with similar
problems.  One has a baseball, the other a football.  Both balls
have been signed (presumably before felt-tipped pens), and both of
the owners say that the signatures are faded, even though neither
ball has had much light exposure.  I have tested the baseball,
hoping to lighten the color of the background surrounding the
signatures and increase the contrast, but it appears that the color
of the surface is a discolored coating and not dirt. Another
possibility is that the dirt is simply ingrained in the coating and
the two come off together.

I don't think there is much I can do, but I am curious as to what
might be happening to the ink, as there is no sign that the ink is
spreading into the surface.  Any ideas?

B. Appelbaum


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:50
                 Distributed: Wednesday, April 5, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-13-50-013
                                  ***