9/21/2023 0 Comments Vellum parchmentDust and other particles can accumulate on the surface of these materials, and then become imbedded over time in the surface of the skin, creating permanent discoloration and surface grime, and often obscuring media as well. Keywords: cleaning parchment, cleaning vellum, surface grime, discoloration, dust particles, friable media, vellum care)Īnother important aspect of caring for vellum and parchment documents is to keep them clean. If you must handle these documents, be sure to do so wearing gloves. Light can cause fading and discoloration, while heat and humidity can cause the skin to warp, crack, or even become moldy and deteriorate. One of the most important things to keep in mind when caring for vellum and parchment documents is to avoid exposing them to excessive light, heat, and fluctuations in humidity. These materials, which are made from animal hides, are delicate and can easily be damaged if not handled properly. Vellum and parchment documents are important historical artifacts that require special care and preservation to ensure their longevity. Keywords: vellum document storage, parchment document handling, care of historical artifacts, preservation, fading) I'm writing an article for DECOR on this topic and you can read a bit more about Rebecca.What is the Best Way to Store & Handle Vellum & Parchment Documents? I've never lost a job because I sent a customer to a conservator, in fact, the customer thinks more of you if you speak with authority and tell them this item needs a conservator and then refer the customer on. If a customer would not pay a conservator, why would you do it for free? Doesn't sound like good business to me and nothing is worse than the sinking feeling you get when you realize you have done harm, irreversible harm. It takes years and lots of training to be a conservator, so I doubt you would qulaify. I had ruined the thing and was heartsick.īetter to call a conservator unless you are qualified to be one. The ink plus water had burned a hole right through the skin. When I took it out of the chamber, every where a large amount of ink was on the document, it no longer was. Read about the humidity chamber and it seemed simple to try, so I followed the instructions very carefully. This topic recently came up on HH and I shared a story about trying to flatten a double music sheet, hundreds of years old and beautiful. Listen to Rebecca and call a conservator. In my opinion, unless you really know what you are doing, and are set up with the right equipment etc, it makes more sense to go to a paper conservator. etc.Īnd, depending on how the humidified parchment behaves, it may need to be stretch dried, or it may need to be pressed flat between soft blotters. But remember, you're not just dealing with the parchment - there are inks (some of which are very water sensitive, and 3D seals (some of which are very brittle), possibly gouache paint and gold leaf etc. Sooo, the way to flatten parchment is to relax it with a very small amount of water - either through vapor, or by putting a tiny bit of water into another solvent, like ethanol and wetting it with that. High quality animal glue was made from parchment clippings, soaked and heated in water. Really waterdamaged parchment starts to turn into glue. Waterdamaged parchment is typically deformed, and hard. If it gets wet, it will start to change irreversibly. The important thing to know about parchment or vellum is that it is untanned. So there are always unknowns when dealing with it. Vellum will behave very diffently depending on the specifics of its manufacturing process the kind of animal it came from, the part of the animal a particular sheet was cut from etc. There are all sorts of variation on this general theme. It is then rubbed with chalk or whiting and burnished to make smooth surface. Sheepskin (or goat skin.)is stretched on a frame and all the hair/wool and flesh scraped away. Parchment is a special kind of untanned leather.
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