By: Michele Hamill and Jill Iacchei

Opening on October 17, 2014, a new exhibit in the Hirshland Exhibit Gallery, Carl A. Kroch Library, celebrates Cornell University’s Sesquicentennial.

The original linen drawings for the University Library (now known as Uris Library) were treated in the Conservation Lab for the exhibit. The University Library, as well as several other campus buildings, was designed by Cornell’s first architecture student, William Henry Miller, and is known as his masterpiece.

The South Elevation of the University Library—the view when walking up Ho Plaza toward the Arts Quad.

The linen (or tracing cloth) drawings of the University Library are well over a hundred years old but remain remarkably beautiful and resilient. Tracing cloth was a strong, durable and translucent support, sturdier than tracing paper. It retained its strength and flexibility and could endure heavy handling and rolling, an important attribute for working drawings such as elevations and floor plans.

Commonly called linens, the tracing cloth was predominantly made from cotton which was free of lumps and imperfections. The plain woven cloth was heavily coated with starch, making the coated cloth more resistant to tearing than untreated cloth or paper. The coated cloth was then heavily calendared by pressing through hard rollers to compact the fabric and create a very smooth, glossy, drawing surface.

A detail of the clock face showing how the smooth surface provided an ideal coating to take ink and produce sharp, crisp lines. Notice anything different from clock drawing and the actual clock?

The University Library drawings have accent watercolor applied to the verso of the drawings, as seen in this detail of the spiral staircase of the clock tower, which results in subtle shading to select parts of the drawing. The color was applied to the back of the drawings to avoid disrupting the inked images which rest on the surface of the starch coating and were very sensitive to moisture.

Detail, main doors, East Elevation.

Working drawings were not elaborately colored, but were selectively tinted with flat, simple washes of color. A standard color code was used by architects to clarify structure and to indicate the construction materials —red indicates brick, ochre denotes wood, and blue indicates iron.

Drafting manuals from the late 19^th century specified that red ink should routinely be used to indicate distance marks, as seen in the left of this detail of the West Elevation. Notice how the word “IRON” is written to the left and right of the window, as well as the area tinted blue. Because the tinted color did not reproduce in the blueprints made from the linen drawings, the drafter also indicated the construction materials through words or symbols.

This detail shows the metal work for the A.D. White Library which is housed inside the University Library. Drawings on tracing cloth served as the master for making expendable blueprints for workmen to use on-site. Linen drawings can have an overall blue or blue-grey tint, as seen here, due to colorant added to increase their transparency to the actinic (photosensitive) light needed to produce blueprints.

This albumen photograph, cleaned and stabilized for the exhibit, shows the interior of the A.D. White Library with the magnificent metal work conceived in the drawings.

The drawing for the East Elevation and the 1891 albumen photograph showing the north and east elevations of the completed building.

The treatment of the University Library drawings included surface cleaning, removal of old, failing repairs, stabilization, and flattening. The linen drawings responded well to treatment and will continue to serve as a historical record, as A.D. White asserted, of ‘the best academic library built’.

Thank you to Rhea Garen, Lead Photographer DCAPS, for providing the elevation images seen above.

The Sesquicentennial exhibit showcases a wealth of photographs, memorabilia, and documents depicting the inspiring history of Cornell University.  For more information on the Sesquicentennial exhibit, see: http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/events/current_exhibitions.html

By Michele Hamill

As part of Cornell University’s 2014 Reunion Weekend 2014, Conservation Lab staff have installed Book and Paper Conservation at Cornell, a new exhibition in Uris Library that celebrates bookbinding techniques and materials, and the development of hand papermaking; two craft traditions that greatly inform and direct conservation treatment practices.

Beautiful books, expertly hand-made by Pat Fox, Assistant Book Conservator and Caitlin Moore, Conservation Technician, are featured in the exhibit to illustrate bookbinding techniques. Coptic Sewing focuses on stitch variations originated by the early Egyptian Christians that are similar to today’s machine sewn books.   Caitlin contributed her exquisite Nag Hammadi (an early codex binding) and a model of sewing structures made during her graduate studies at the University of Iowa Center for the Book.  Michele Brown, Book Conservator, consulted on the development and content of the bookbinding techniques and materials exhibit cases.

Carol Kinsley-McNamara, Conservation Technician, contributed skillful, technical models to the Anatomy of a Case Binding, which shows the parts of the most typical hard cover binding in our libraries and how those parts are assembled.  What’s In a Book? displays samples of a wide range of materials used in bookbinding through the centuries.  Stunning marbled papers are showcased both on books and as backdrops.

Jill Iacchei, Conservation Technician, has a deep interest in how raw materials, local conditions, and methods employed by Eastern and Western papermakers result in finished papers of distinct qualities and characteristics.  Eastern and Western Papermaking explores the differences in Eastern and Western sheet formation methods and highlights specialty papers used in library conservation. Jill contributed some fine papers she hand-made during her graduate work at the University of Iowa Center for the Book and a beautifully crafted papermaking mould she constructed from local materials.

 
The role of Eastern and Western papers in paper and photograph conservation are illustrated by treatment examples in a case developed by Michele Hamill, Paper and Photograph Conservator.

This exhibit was a wonderful opportunity for Conservation Lab staff to curate, design and install an exhibit highlighting the talent, skill and knowledge of our department.  Our work on this exhibit was made possible by the support and assistance of Barbara Berger Eden, Director, Department of Preservation and Conservation, and Susette Newberry, Assistant Director of Research and Learning Services.

J.M. Iacchei

We wanted to take the opportunity to both welcome and thank Sheniqua Young for her contribution to the continuation of the epigraphic squeeze project. Sheniqua is a freshman Chemistry major at Cornell University. She has a rigorous course load in preparation for her future aspirations to be a Pediatrician with a specific interest in Asthma and Immunology.

One of the few squeezes depicting figures

Sheniqua began working on the project in January when the second batch of squeezes arrived to the lab. The initial batch of squeezes  was collected from a specific monument in Ankara, the Res Gestae. This second set of approximately 100 squeezes was also collected from throughout the Assyro-Babylonian Orient as part of the 1907 Cornell expedition organized by Professor J.R.S. Sterrett. While the first batch was fairly consistent, these squeezes vary significantly in size and condition. Sheniqua comes to the lab four days a week and patiently cleans and carefully stabilizes the squeezes in preparation for storage. We are most grateful for her diligent work and commitment to this project.

Nested among the squeezes was a collection of printed pages similar to this one. Perhaps resources used by the expedition team or researchers studying the inscriptions.

By: J. M. Iacchei

 A Cornellian, Elsa Guerdrum Allen (1888-1969) was an ornithologist, lecturer, and writer. The Division of Rare and Manuscripts Collections at Cornell University holds a collection of her work: manuscripts, photographs, prints. Selected items from this collection have been brought to the conservation lab for treatment. This box contained 38 beautiful, but tightly rolled and heavily creased, ornithological photostat prints, and two color lithographs, the subject of this post.

Before treatment: The box containing tightly rolled negative photostats and lithographic prints from the Elsa Guerdrum Allen Papers

The lithograph prints had been rolled and subsequently crushed during storage, leaving them with sharp vertical creases. They were discolored, rather brittle, and contained excessive edge damage and areas of loss. These characteristics heightened the potential for further damage to occur, making the prints unsafe to handle, and therefore inaccessible to patrons and researchers.

Of the two litho prints, I will present you with this one:

Before treatment: The brittleness of the paper,  the mangled and torn edges, and large area of loss pictured above made handling precarious.

Before treatment: The print was carefully unrolled to assess the extent of damage and loss, and determine treatment needs.

The goal of the selected treatment was to prevent further deterioration and make these items accessible by repairing tears, filling areas of loss and stabilizing the paper support with a tissue lining. The basic treatment steps are discussed below:

Washing: During washing, soluble deterioration products that cause papers to become discolored and brittle are reduced. The process can improve the paper’s flexibility and reactivate fiber to fiber bonding, thereby improving strength. The inks were first tested for solubility to determine whether or not an aqueous treatment was advisable. They proved to be stable and we proceeded with washing the lithographs in three successive baths of filtered water at a pH of 8-8.5.

Washing: The print in a bath of filtered water at a pH of 8-8.5

The color of the water from one bath to the next shows the discoloration solubilized through washing; the first bath is shown on the left,  the second bath on the right.

Mending Tears, Filling Areas of Loss, and Lining

If you have ever let a wet piece of paper dry unrestrained, you have probably found that it did not dry flat. If that paper had a tear in it, you may also have found that some distortion occurred during drying-the edges of the tear are no longer in alignment. To reduce the potential for this unwanted distortion, significant tears were mended and areas of loss were filled directly after washing and prior to lining with Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste. The areas of loss were filled using toned Japanese tissue.

Mending tears and filling areas of loss on the light table

Applying the lining tissue

Once lined, the print was left to dry under weight between blotter and polyester web. Washing has a tendency to “grey” the support, bringing it closer to its original color. This can be anticipated to some degree, but the fills were a little lighter in color than anticipated. An additional fill was added to compensate. The item was then re-humidified using Gore-tex, and dried under weight. It now looks like this:

After treatment

In retrospect …

Overall, this treatment was very successful. However, it was not without its challenges and learning opportunities. Alternative methods to filling large areas of loss, choice of lining material, and the use of toned tissue were re-evaluated. After treatment, the larger areas of loss showed some cockling. This is a risk when applying a fully pasted out tissue fill to an area extending the entire width of the document, even when supported with a sheet of mylar. A thicker tissue lining may have helped to reduce the cockling that occurred. Another alternative would have been to fill the larger areas of loss after lining.

The tissue used for the fills and mends was toned with acrylic paints. Once dry, the larger filled areas showed some discoloration. This is possible due to 1)”movement” of the pigment with the application of paste in the lining process or 2) the result of an uneven distribution of paste.

Despite these setbacks, the lithographs, along with the other contents of the box have been stabilized and rehoused.  The beautiful imagery that was once too fragile and unstable to be unrolled is now accessible to patrons and researchers to view.

If you are interested in ornithology, or birding, and have not found it already, you may enjoy visiting The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

by J.M. Iacchei

In a library’s conservation lab, tightly rolled photographs, brittle newspapers, weathered maps, and heavily soiled and torn architectural drawings are fairly common items to come across a conservator’s workbench. Every so often though, an item arrives for treatment that is not so typical. The collection of epigraphic squeezes (paper cast impressions from inscribed surfaces) recently brought to Cornell Library’s conservation lab falls into this category.

“SQUEEZES” & “SQUEEZING”

“Squeezing” is a method used in the field by archeologists to collect inscriptions from ancient monuments. The “squeeze” is made by laying dampened paper over an incised surface which is then beat with a flat brush and let to dry. Care to remove air bubbles and to capture each area of incision results in a highly accurate reverse relief of the inscription and a negative right-reading impression of the inscription.

1907 Cornell expedition team taking a squeeze at Quru Bel, Arslan Tash

Brush used to beat the dampened paper into the incised surface

Cornell expedition: Paper squeeze drying on stone monument

THE VALUE OF A SQUEEZE

Squeezes are an incredibly valuable resource to scholars of epigraphy for a number of reasons:

1) Many monuments reside in distant locations; access often requires expensive and timely travel. Squeezes are lightweight and portable.

2) The squeeze allows for comparison to and revision of existing interpretations, as well as potential for fragmentary inscriptions to be pieced together. This is especially useful in reconstructing the topography of antiquity. The congruity of a text was often disrupted in times of conquest or political changes as it was common for monuments to be moved from their original locations and re-purposed for building materials.

3) Many monuments have become the casualties of time, man, and natural disasters. It is likely that they are in poorer condition today than they were at the time the squeeze was collected. Photographs are of value, yes, but, their accuracy depends heavily upon the light in which they were captured.  A squeeze often provides the most complete, accurate and accessible copy of the text available to date.

THE J.R.S. STERRETT SQUEEZES

These particular squeezes were collected as part of an archeological expedition to the Assyro-Babylonian orient organized by Cornell professor  J.R.S. Sterrett in 1907. Following their use by Professor Sterrett in the early 20^th century, these 200 or so items have been stored in an attic of the Goldwin Smith building in cardboard boxes. The roughly 90 that have been selected  for treatment at this time were collected from the Res Gestae in Ankara of the Roman Emperor Augustus. Inscribed in both Latin and Greek, they contain a text central to the study of Roman history.

CONSERVATION TREATMENT

The squeezes arrived to the lab heavily coated with surface soil – dust, and dirt; maybe even a little inactive mold. Due to the topographic nature of the squeezes the surface soil is heavily ingrained, especially in the curves and angles of the raised impressions. The squeezes are composed of multiple layers of paper which have begun to delaminate and have become creased with folds from previous storage and handling.

The objective of conservation treatment is to: 1) clean and stabilize the squeezes prior to scanning and digitization and 2) provide a permanent storage solution taking into consideration size, quantity, topographic nature, and spatial limitations.

During Treatment, cleaning: The right half of this image has been vacuumed, the left has been both vacuumed sponge cleaned

Cleaning: The squeezes were vacuumed with a NILFISK Hepa vacuum, and cleaned once with absorene sponge erasers and again with latex free cosmetic sponges. Each cleaning method contributed to reducing the buildup of dirt and dust on the surface.

Stabilization: Local humidification was used to reduce folds and creases that were not part of the inherent nature of the items topography. Areas that had begun to delaminate were generally left alone unless they were at risk of becoming torn or presented potential for loss. In these instances, Japanese tissue and/or wheat starch paste was used to stabilize the area.

The study of epigraphy takes into account not only the incised impressions, but also the surface of the monument on which it is inscribed. The squeezes capture these characteristics showing cracks and dents,  as well as areas where the stone was not carved or perhaps smoothed over for correction or reuse. They lend a great deal of information to the epigraphist looking to piece together the story of earlier times.

A puncture made during the beating stage, we believe.

This project is part of a larger initiative funded by the Grants Program for Digital Collection in Arts and Sciences to preserve and promote accessibility for research, study, and dissemination.  The scope extends beyond the lab and has called upon the collaboration of conservators, curators, faculty, and imaging specialists. Once cleaned and stabilized, the squeezes will be digitally imaged using different lighting at different angles. These images will then be given to a group at Florida State University where algorithms will be applied to render 3-D reconstructions that will in turn be studied by graduate students of the Cornell University’s Classics department.

Many thanks to Professors Eric Rebillard and Ben Anderson for their insights into the significance of these items,  and to Rhea Garen who will be capturing the images. It is the collaborative efforts that make projects such as this one possible.

More to come. Epigraphic Squeezes: Part II and III. Fiber Analysis and Exploration in Squeeze Making are in progress.

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References:

McLean, B. H. An introduction to Greek Epigraphy of the Hellenistic and Roman Periods from Alexander the Great down to the Reign if Constantine (323 B.C.-A.D. 337). Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2002.

Olmstead, A.T., B.B. Charter, and J.E. Wrench. The Cornell Expedition to Asia Minor and the Assyro-Babylonian Orient, Travels and Studies in the Nearer East,  Volume 1 Part II: Hittite Inscriptions. Ithaca, NY, 1911.