Survey on toning with tea

    **** Moderator's comments: Please respond directly to the
    author at southworthgeorgia [at] hotmail__com

I am presently a graduate book and paper conservation student,
conducting research into the practice and longevity of using tea
toned repair papers and sewing threads. Though tea toning, to blend
with older materials or to reduce the starkness of new repairs, is
certainly practised, very little documentation, and even less
literature, seems to exist surrounding its use. My interests lie in
determining the level of use, and measuring the long-term strength
of papers and sewing threads treated with standard tea. This
research will include the advanced ageing and strength testing of
samples from a variety of papers and threads, in hopes of gaining a
better understanding of the effects of time and environment on
materials thus treated.

I would be most grateful if those who find it relevant, would be
willing to spend a couple of minutes to fill out the brief survey
form below. I'd very much appreciate your help in gathering a
general idea of whether, and in what manner, tea is used for toning
within the realms of bookbinding, restoration, and conservation.
Having had very little luck finding anything published about the
topic, I'd welcome literature references, should you be familiar
with any.

Please return this survey directly to MY email address, and not to
the List, to avoid any unnecessary congestion. Many thanks in
advance,

Tea Toning Survey

    1.  Have you used or encountered standard tea as a toning agent
        for repair papers?  Y__   N__

    2.  Have you used or encountered standard tea as a toning agent
        for sewing threads?  Y__  N__

    IF NO, SKIP TO QUESTION 7

    3.  Was the use of tea as a toning agent documented in anyway?
        Y__  N__

    4.  Was the brand of tea recorded?  Y__  N__

    5.  Though difficult to quantify, was the concentration of tea
        strength recorded?  Y__  N__

    6.  Was the use of tea as a toning agent chosen consciously over
        the use of other toning methods?
        Y__  N__  Why?

    7.  What properties about tea toning attract its use?

    8.  Would you find further research into the subject useful?
        Y__  N__

Georgia Southworth
68c East Dulwich Grove
London SE22 8PS


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:59
               Distributed: Wednesday, February 27, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-59-022
                                  ***