Cleaning globes

The following is posted on behalf of Irina Petrovna Baygulova,
conservator of the State Historical Museum, Moscow; she does not
have e-mail yet.

    The question concerns a Blaeu globe, 17th century, the layers
    are analysed and found to be: from conservator to centre of
    globe: protein, dirt, raisin, protein (cracked), dirt, print
    plus iron gall ink plus watercolour, paper, primary,
    construction. The surface cleaning is the problem. We tried
    already: enzymes and ferments, water, methylcellulose, paste,
    organic solvents after G. Torraca, G. Banik, G. Krist, surface
    active cleaning substances, bleaching with hydrogen peroxide and
    chlorine bleaches. In all these tests (working for 3 years now)
    we varied temperature and time, made poultices and baths and
    tried combinations of treatments. Important to know is also,
    that the paper is *very* weak, the print is destroyed partly and
    very delicate and *no* mechanical treatment is possible.

    Does anyone have suggestions how to surface clean this globe?

Patricia Engel
Head of conservation of books and paper
Fachhochschule Hildesheim
Bismarckplatz 10-11
D 31135 Hildesheim
Germany
+49 5121 881 392
Fax: +490 5121 881 386


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:21
                 Distributed: Thursday, October 5, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-14-21-014
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