Map on primed linen

I have been contacted by a paper conservator to help in the
treatment of a map of the Transvaal (South Africa) from the early
1900's. The map forms part of the collection of the Voortrekker
Museum. The museum wants to be able to display and store the map.
The map is on very fine, primed linen and had been attached to two
wooden battens.

The map has two major problems:

    The map suffered water damage at one point which seriously
    degraded the top edge to the point that the top batten is no
    longer attached. This damage has caused tearing and holes

    The tacks attaching the battens have degraded places along the
    edges as the map was rolled. The rusted tacks are still in place
    on the bottom batten. Apart from the damaged areas, the linen is
    still in good condition and still very strong.

I have asked around in South Africa and no-one has any experience
treating a map on linen and I seem to be about the closest match
(being a paintings conservator) to treat the object.

I was considering patching the reverse of the damaged areas with
BEVA 371 in sheet form, and stabiltex (polyester) and also attaching
a thicker polyester beyond the object on the top edge so that the
object could be displayed.  I am not sure if this is the right
approach and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this
type of map?

Secondly, I would like to remove the remaining batten at the bottom
and replace the batten with something inert for display purposes. I
am not sure what to use. I have considered a Perspex strip or
alternatively a polyethylene tube (I am not sure if such a thing
exists) for the top edge. A larger polyethylene tube would be great
for storage so that the map could be rolled around a tube as the
museum does not have space for flat storage.

Lucy Blumenthal
Private Paintings Conservator
Johannesburg
Lucy Blumenthal
MA Conservation of Fine Art (UK)
+44 11 783 0221
Cell. +44 834142260


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:38
                 Distributed: Sunday, February 13, 2011
                       Message Id: cdl-24-38-022
                                  ***