Publication on paper conservation

The Library of Congress National Digital Library Program announces
the release of a paper discussing conservation treatment of the
Jamestown Records.  The paper is a special presentation for the
Papers of Thomas Jefferson at
<URL:http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mtjhtml/mtjhome.html>

"The Jamestown Records of the Virginia Company of London: A
Conservator's Perspective" by Sylvia R. Albro and Holly H. Krueger
at <URL:http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mtjhtml/mtjessay2.html>

The Jamestown Records of the Virginia Company of London, part of the
Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress, uniquely
illuminate a critical era of early American history.  The story told
by the Jamestown Records, presented to the general public for the
first time through The Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of
Congress, is an important one.  Jefferson incorporated them into his
own papers because he recognized their great historic value.  This
essay by Sylvia R. Albro and Holly H. Krueger, Senior Paper
Conservators in the Conservation Division at the Library of
Congress, tells the remarkable story of how these records were
rescued from disintegration and suggests some of the many ways in
which the physical conservation of historic documents is vital to
the acquisition and preservation of historical knowledge. The
presentation includes photographs of the original collection and its
treatment.

Table of contents for the paper

    Introduction
    Physical Condition of the Jamestown Records in 1994
    History of the Jamestown Records
    Paper Used in the Records
    Ink Used in the Records
    Discoloration Patterns in the Records
    Treatment of Silked Documents: Weighing the Options
    Mylar Treatment and Other Alternatives to De-Silking
    The De-silking Option
    De-silking the Jamestown Records
    Repairing the De-silked Documents by Leafcasting
    Treatment of Unsilked Pages
    Future Treatment of the Jamestown Records

Please send questions and comments about this essay and all American
Memory content and collections to:  ndlpcoll [at] loc__gov

Danna C. Bell-Russel
National Digital Library Learning Center
202-707-4159


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:52
                  Distributed: Friday, April 21, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-13-52-013
                                  ***