Aeronautical cloth charts

Barbara Feldman <bfeldma [at] exchange1__mlb__ilstu__edu> writes

>I am preparing a collection of World War II aeronautical charts for
>flat storage in our university archives.  The cloth on which the
>charts are printed is believed to be silk, although it has more of a
>nylon, parachute-like feel to it.  All of the charts in this
>collection are extremely wrinkled and creased from being crumpled up
>in a small box for many years. Any suggestions for alleviating the
>severe creases would be greatly appreciated.

The size of the charts was not noted in your query, but as a first
course of action I would be inclined to roll them onto a tube.  The
tube should be a slight bit longer than the chart and at least 2
inches in diameter but could be as large as 6 inches diameter
(depending on the size of the charts).  The tube should be inert--ie
first covered with mylar to stop the acidic migration of the
cardboard, and then covered with surgical cotton stockinette
(available at medical supply or home care stores).  The charts could
then be laid on onto a sheet of acid free tissue paper and gently
rolled up onto the roll.  If they are nylon, they are susceptible to
"box wrinkling" and will eventually smooth out.  If they are silk,
the rolling will also help to remove the wrinkles but may not occur
as quickly as the nylon fabric.  After a period of time, they could
be unrolled or rerolled a little tighter as the creases gently are
removed, then they could be placed in a flat storage and interleaved
with acid free tissue paper or reemay (spun bonded polyester) for
long term storage.

Gail Niinimaa
Textile Conservator, Calgary AB.


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:54
                 Distributed: Tuesday, February 5, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-54-002
                                  ***