Paper Conservation: Decisions & Compromises

Fig. 2: Close-up of some of the losses found in heavily inked areas
of the manuscript.
Fig. 3: Pigment samples being pre-aged in LAC’s
humidification chamber
was evident that the deacidification treatment
of 1987, had been unable to completely protect
the paper from continued deterioration caused
by the iron gall ink and atacamite pigment. The
poor 2007 condition of the Haggadah prompted
discussions about the need for further conservation
treatment, required to effectively delay damage
caused by oxidation, catalyzed by copper and
iron in the inks and pigments.
Due to the water sensitivity of many elements
in the manuscript, only non-aqueous methods
could be considered for future treatment. Solvent
based antioxidant treatments were still at
the experimental stage at that time and required
further research before they could be applied to
originals.
Until an appropriate treatment could be
found, it was necessary to mechanically stabilize
the damaged and fragile areas of the manuscript.
Berlin tissue, one of the lightest tissues presently
available, was coated with gelatin and used as a
remoistenable tissue. Recent studies have shown
that type B gelatin with a high or medium
Bloom, is effective in preventing migration of
free iron (II) ions (Kolbe 2004). The coated tissue
was reactivated in situ on the suction table, using
an ethanol/water solution (Pataki, 2009).
At this point, a joint research project was developed
between Library and Archives Canada
and the Canadian Conservation Institute, to investigate
treatment options for the Haggadah.
Joint CCI / LAC Research Project Highlights
The paper, inks, pigments and experimental
conditions were selected based on a review of
recent studies and literature. We chose verdigris
and atacamite as the pigments, Iron gall ink and
iron gall ink with copper as the two types of ink.
The European co-founded InkCor project, identified
a number of antioxidants that can be used
in solvent based solutions. Halides were among
the most effective for treatment of both iron and
copper inks and pigments (Malesic et al. 2005
and 2006; Kolar et al. 2008). We chose Tetrabutyl
ammonium bromide (TBAB) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium
bromide (EMIMBr) as the two antioxidants
for the project. For deacidification,
we chose WeiT’o, to simulate the past treatment
of the Haggadah and Bookkeeper spray, as it is
widely used in conservation.
Sample preparation (Fig. 3), treatment methods
and detailed results of this project are available
in the 2012 AIC Book and Paper Group annual
(Tse et al. 2012).
Brief Summary of Results
Ink Samples:
Both WeiT’o and Bookkeeper improved the paper
strength with both types of ink samples. They
also increased the pH of the two inks, though
not all of the acids were neutralized, as the inks
remained acidic. This acidic pH means that deterioration
of paper will continue, but it will
be slower than without treatment. In the ink
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
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