Dating paper of violin label

Katerina Douka <katerina.douka [at] rlaha__ox__ac__uk> writes

>Susan Lunas <bookbinder [at] preserveyourtreasures__com> writes
>
>>I have a client who has a violin, and he needs the paper of the
>>violin label dated.  Who or what organization/institution does this
>>type of testing/dating?
>
> The way to do this is by radiocarbon dating, so the best thing is
>to search for radiocarbon facilities in your area. ...

With respect, this will tell you the date that the cellulose
molecules in the paper were formed rather than when the paper was
made. If the paper is rag, say cotton, then there will first be a
short interval (maybe 1-2 years) before the cotton has been
harvested, transported and converted via several stages into cloth.
It could then be in use or stored for decades or even centuries
before being made into paper, many rags were won out. If the label
is more modern, the paper could be made from wood pulp but the trees
in it could be decades or probably centuries old. In addition the
papermaking process will have completely blended fibres from a wide
variety of original sources so you will need to analyse a large
number of samples.  After the paper is made it could be in stock a
long time before it was printed and even then the labels could be in
stock printed for some years before being attached to the label.

This seems to me to be analogous to using watermarks to date
anything. At best either will give you a minimum age of the object
but it could be much older.

Simon Barcham Green
1 Snapgate Cottage
Five Oak Lane, Staplehurst
Kent TN12 0HU, UK
+44 1580 891924


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:36
                Distributed: Saturday, January 29, 2011
                       Message Id: cdl-24-36-002
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