Laminated documents

We have been offered a pair of diplomas belonging to a local doctor
who graduated from medical school in 1919. His family had them
laminated to wooden boards, probably around 30-40 years ago. The
covering has begun to deteriorate in some places, forming a crackle
pattern similar to that seen in ceramic glazes. It is also pretty
filthy, and I am reluctant to try cleaning it because of my fears
that any moisture or solvent would seep through onto the paper in
the cracked areas.

I know this is a problem for a conservator; my question is whether
there is any hope of freeing these documents from plastic hell
without mortgaging our museum to a conservation lab.

Or, alternatively, should we keep them in their present form knowing
that they will probably continue to destroy themselves, or should we
turn them down as unredeemably compromised?

Anne T. Lane, Collections Manager
Charlotte Museum of History
3500 Shamrock Drive
Charlotte NC 28215
704-568-1774, ext 110


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:51
                  Distributed: Friday, April 21, 2006
                       Message Id: cdl-19-51-027
                                  ***