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Re: Ink on Leather



Kathleen,
 
I passed along your question to a professional leather restorer I know in Canada, and his response was
 
"Most ink removers that I have used have not worked very well if at all and often make things worse.  I would suggest referring this one to Roger Koh info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx who claims to have developed a good ink remover and more importantly specializes in leather clothing which I do very little of. The other option is to find a local leather book restorer (see http://www.hewit.com/booklink.htm) as these people not only have leather skills but also have experience with antique leather and inks." -Tony Wheelwright
 
Another thought:  is the waistband something you could turn inside-out?  Perhaps you could read the impression from the writing implement from the reverse side, maybe holding it up to a light source.
 
Also, some inks phosphoresce under different black lights... if the writing was done in a different ink than the scribbling, then it might stand out under different wavelengths of light.  Might be worth a try anyway.
 
Hope that helps!
 
Regards,
Debbie
 
__________________
Deborah Lema
Research and Education
Racine Industries, Inc.


From: Textile Conservators [mailto:TEXCONS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Kathleen Daly
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 4:14 PM
To: TEXCONS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Ink on Leather

I would like to know if anyone has tried removing ink from leather. I have an inscription on a leather waistband that has been written in ink and then scribbled out in very similar, if not the same, ink. I would like to know how I can go about deciphering the inscription. Can anyone help? The object dates from the early to mid-nineteenth century.
 
Thank you,
Kathleen Daly
 


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