Paper Conservation: Decisions & Compromises

A 1763 Illuminated Haggadah Manuscript:
How Ineffective Past Treatments Resulted in an Antioxidant Research
Project, Impacting Current Treatment Decisions
Doris St-Jacques | Maria Bedynski | Lynn Curry | Season Tse
Library and Archives Canada; Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, Canada
This 1763 Altona Haggadah (Fig. 1 ) is a mid-eighteenth-century
illuminated manuscript from the
Lowy Collection of Library and Archives Canada
(LAC). The manuscript is particularly important
as it does not represent high book art, but gives
testimony to the way a middle class Ashkenazi
family of the 18th century would have celebrated
Passover. The text is accompanied by 97 illuminated
miniatures and a fully illuminated frontispiece.
Analysis of paper, ink, pigments and coatings
from the manuscript was undertaken using
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR),
energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning
electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction
(XRD) and/or polarized light microscopy (PLM) at
Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) (Helwig,
Corbeil: 2009).
The text is written in iron gall ink and the pigments
used in illuminations are predominantly
red, blue and green. They were identified as dry
process vermilion or cinnabar, Prussian blue,
and atacamite/paratacamite (copper chloride
hydroxides). Unidentified yellow, glaze-like paint
is very thinly applied. Gold toned colours were
found to be composed of brass flakes. The colours
are transparent and the pigment vehicle is hard
and glossy. Lighter colours are also present although
these are less concentrated dispersions
of the same red, blue and green pigments. Gum
was identified as the only binding media present.
The paper support is in fragile condition due
to iron gall ink and copper containing atacamite
corrosion. On several pages, ink had penetrated
to the verso of the page, making the text difficult
or impossible to read. It is unevenly discoloured
and stained throughout. Handling and use is the
cause of much of the grime around the edges of
the folios. There are large brown liquid stains on
several pages caused by splashed red wine, most
probably during the ceremonial Passover meal.
Fig. 1: Frontispiece of the 1763 Altona Haggadah, from the
Jacob M. Lowy Judaica Collection, Library and Archives
Canada, (BM674.6 A3 1763 xxfol. LOWY)
Past Conservation Treatment Highlights
1987 examination revealed that deterioration
of the paper was further advanced in areas of
densely applied iron gall ink (Fig. 2) The green
copper pigment had also caused similar deterioration
of the paper. Treatment in 1987 included
dismantling the manuscript and deacidifying
the pages with solvent based Wei T’o #2 solution
(methyl/ethyl magnesium carbonates in 1,1
Dichloro-1-Fluoroethane (HCFC-141B) and methanol).
This was followed by tissue repairs using
carboxy-methyl-cellulose as an adhesive.
Examination In 2007 revealed many new
cracks and losses throughout the manuscript. It
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
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