Subject: 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 ***Received on Wednesday, 19 April, 2006