Preservation

Here are the steps we go through when preserving documents that have been damaged.

  • Conservation and repair one 1. This 16thcentury parchment deed has a large hole in it, probably caused by a rodent. If this hole is left untreated, the surrounding area could start tearing.
  • Conservation and repair two 2. A repair is carefully traced out on repair parchment.
  • Conservation and repair three 3. The overlap of the repair is pared down until it is transparent and flexible.
  • Conservation and repair four 4. The repair is stuck down with gelatine. The gelatine must be used at a temperature of 50 to 60° C; too cold and it isn’t tacky enough, too hot and it will stain the parchment.
  • Conservation and repair five 5. The repair is left under a weight to ensure good adhesion.
  • Conservation and repair six 6. The repaired document, front…
  • Conservation and repair seven 7. …and back. 

Related documents

The following document is in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download the PDF software for free from the Adobe website (opens in a new window)

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