Rouse Hill

The Rouse Hill wallpaper treatment project was undertaken over a period of months by the conservators at Preservation Australia. The project began in the sitting room of the house, and continued room by room.  The conservation successfully consolidated, repaired and generally improved the overall condition of the wallpapers at Rouse Hill House. The conservation undertaken was empathetic with the curatorial approach to Rouse Hill, with the papers stabilized without interfering with the appearance of the original look. Condition The wallpapers in each of the rooms, along with ceiling papers in some of the rooms, varied in their condition from poor to fair. Unfortunately none were considered in good condition. Fading, acid degradation, tears, losses, dirt, lifting, staining and discolouration were all evident in varying degrees. In some rooms, the deterioration of the plaster of the walls had exacerbated the deterioration of the paper through physical disruption. Leaks through some of these areas caused further deterioration and staining. Where the plaster (substrate) underneath the wallpaper had crumbled or fractured, the wallpapers were also damaged resulting in tears and losses. The most common area of plaster damage was along the Dado line. Many areas of the wallpapers were lifting and peeling, or fractured along areas of stress such as corners or shoulders of chimneys. The extent of damage to the wallpaper varied from small tears to large flaps lifting or missing, movement fractures with very small tears, to large fractures following the gaps and cracking in the plaster substrate. The original installation of the wallpapers was poorly executed in the corners of many of the rooms. This resulted in repeated sagging or bulging of the paper across the corner angle. Conservation Cleaning The wallpaper was gently brushed clean to remove surface dirt. The surface of the wallpaper was slightly dirty with loose surface dirt and dust. However considerable dirt and dust was lodged behind lifting flaps and loosened wallpaper. The lifted flaps provided a horizontal pocket for the dirt to collect over a period of time. This dirt and dust was removed with a selection of brushes from fine soft brushes to more coarse brushes, depending on the access to the affected area. In situations where there was considerable dirt this was brushed directly into a vacuum cleaner. Consolidation The plaster beneath the wallpaper in many places required consolidation to ensure that the wallpaper had a sufficiently strong substrate to adhere to. The plaster was cracked, friable and lifting away from the wall. In some places the plaster was merely resting in place with nothing holding it to the wall, or it had slipped from a higher place beneath the wallpaper and was caught in a flap pocket. The plaster was consolidated with 20% solution of Paraloid B72 in acetone. The Paraloid was applied with a brush to the crack and allowed to wick into the crevice. In some cases the Paraloid was applied behind and further into crevices with a syringe. The Paraloid provide enough strength to consolidate small pieces and friable plaster, it was not strong enough to repair the large loose pieces of plaster. Japanese paper repair In many places the wallpaper was so fragile that it was essential to provide a supporting repair tissue prior to attaching the wallpaper to the wall. This was considered necessary when the wallpaper flap was fragmented, that is with holes and tears within the flap and beneath the flap there was a loss of plaster creating a chasm that the existing wallpaper fragments could not cover. A Japanese paper support layer was also applied when the loss of plaster beneath the flap created a sharp crease in the wallpaper when re-attached. This sharp crease would over time, without the Japanese paper layer, cause a tear in the wallpaper. before treatment after treatment Laying down of flaps The laying down of wallpaper flaps was a large portion of the treatment conducted at Rouse Hill. The flaps were re-adhered to the wall using a 50/50 by weight starch paste/methyl cellulose. Several combinations were tested including starch paste and methyl cellulose in isolation, yet it was determined that the 50/50 provided the best adhesion, and the least probability of staining. The 50/50 was applied with brushes to either the surface of the plaster or the underside of the wallpaper and the flap secured in place with burnishing from a bone folder. This was then dried with a hair-dryer to reduce staining and ensure that a good bond was made between the wallpaper and the wall. In some rooms where the wallpaper was particularly brittle it was necessary to apply the 50/50 to the underside of the wallpaper and allow the moisture within the adhesive to soften the wallpaper. This softening eliminated the wallpaper fracturing when manipulated into position. before treatment after treatment The conservation of the Rouse Hill wallpapers has ensured that the fragments, flaps and areas of damage will not continue to deteriorate which would have ultimately resulted in loss of information. The conservation treatment has also greatly improved the overall appearance of the rooms.

Margaret Preston woodblock Case Study

Condition

This beautiful object – an undated Margaret Preston woodblock – came into the studio recently in a very sorry state.  As with many paper-based artworks, it had suffered badly from being framed with acidic materials. It was fully adhered to an acidic backboard, and the window mat (also of acidic board) was fully adhered to the front of the woodblock around all the edges. The print was on a Chinese laid paper, with little fibre strength left.

The print was now badly discoloured, and had several severe ‘foxing’ spots. Foxing is the brownish, circular discolouration often seen in paper objects, and is a result of old mould growth. The paper was also very acidic (pH 4.5).

Treatment

The backing board and the window mat were carefully removed without disturbing the paper of the print. It was then ‘blotter washed’ with deionised water until no further discolouration (soluble acidity) was released. Following this, a last wash included an alkaline buffering solution to deal with any further acidity (insoluble) that may arise in the future. After consultation with the owner, the print was lined with a fine Japanese paper (Tengujo, 13 gsm) using wheat starch paste to provide more strength to the fragile paper.

The print was then framed to conservation standards by Sophie Brown Conservation Framing (http://www.conservationframing.com.au/) and the object returned to a clearly delighted client:

‘ I was amazed and delighted at the result of this conservation treatment – it has brought the work back to life. I feel like I have a new artwork to hang on my wall.’ Paul Isherwood, AO, 2016.

1799 Celestial Globe

When this beautiful object came into the studio of Preservation Australia, it was clear the treatment would require a collaborative effort with several conservation specialists – so we called on our colleagues for some help….

 The treatment became a collaboration between paper conservators (Preservation Australia), object conservators (Sydney Artefacts Conservation) and furniture conservators (Granville Smith Restorations).

Condition

This spectacular globe (dated 1799) is made in the traditional manner – a pasteboard and plaster sphere covered with a printed and varnished paper shell in the form of gores showing the celestial hemispheres. It has metal yokes at both ‘poles’ (although one is missing), a metal meridian ring and sits in a wooden tripod stand with a wooden ‘equatorial’ ring.

The globe and stand were both severely damaged through being accidentally pulled over and falling onto the floor. One of the four arms in the wooden stand was completely broken off, while the others were quite loose. The wooden equatorial ring was broken in two places with many small pieces of wood splintering. Not all of these pieces were found. The brass yokes had also come off (one is still missing) and the screw holes were damaged.

The globe sustained a large crack around approximately two thirds of its circumference that compromised its structural integrity. As the globe had ‘sprung’ it was unlikely that it would return to its original shape. There were large areas of loss (of plaster and paper) around the crack, one 7 x 3 cm and another 6 x 2 cm, along with many smaller losses around the edges of the crack.

There was also a great deal of older, repaired damage evident on the surface of the globe including dents, cracks and infills. The surface of the globe was quite dirty particularly the upper hemisphere, and the varnish had darkened considerably with age and dirt.

Conservation Treatment

Globe

Sydney Artefacts Conservation   began the conservation with light surface cleaning, the old and discoloured adhesive was removed from the break edges and cardboard backing with a scalpel blade. Timber wedges were used to keep the joints open.

The break edges and cardboard backing were brush vacuumed to remove any debris that would interfere with a good join.

The break edges of the plaster and cardboard backing were then consolidated with 5‐10% w/v solution of Paraloid B72 in acetone.

A trial run to rejoin the two broken halves was conducted to test the best way to clamp the join closed. It was decided to use rubber inner tubes. Due to the new break and many previous repairs, the globe had sprung, so it was not possible to get a perfect join. Some areas joined well but other areas, especially around old repairs, finished with a step in the join.

The clamping bands were removed and the order of application was noted. A few timber wedges were inserted into the join to enable the adhesive to be applied. An epoxy resin was chosen for an adhesive, as a strong bond was required to hold the two halves and realign a twist that had occurred when the join had sprung open. Araldite Kit K106S was chosen as it has some flexibility to allow for possible movement within the globe. Some of the detached pieces were joined at this stage. The adhesive was applied to all break edges with spatulas and both sides of touching pieces including the cardboard backing.

The join was closed to allow for cleanup of excess adhesive with warm soapy water.

Eight clamping rubber bands were applied in the previous order to hold the join closed and individual pieces in place. In some areas additional pressure was required to push an area down to improve the final alignment. This pressure was applied with timber blocks and wedges, isolating them from the globe surface with silicone pads or silicone release paper if it was over an adhered join.

The clamping bands were left on for a total of 22 hours to allow the adhesive to cure. The bands were then carefully removed in reverse order of application.

Remaining fragments were adhered in place with Paraloid B72 in acetone.

Losses along the edge of the join were infilled with a gypsum based material, Nordsjo Fine Filler. For the deeper fills it was applied in layers to allow the lower layer to dry and avoid cracking. Once dry, the filler was sanded with various grades of sandpaper to match the globe’s finished level.

Preservation Australia conservators continued the conservation and began with a gentle surface clean with a soft cloth, dampened in 50:50 ethanol and deionised water.

After testing various solvents, the darkened varnish was removed with acetone. A non-woven bamboo felt was selected as the carrier for the solvent. Small patches of this material were soaked in acetone, placed on the area of the globe to be cleaned, covered with archival polyester to reduce evaporation, and weighted down. After a period of approximately 15 minutes, the patches were removed and discarded after having absorbed a great deal of the discoloured varnish. The remaining dirt and varnish was cleaned off with cotton wool swabs and acetone.

Some of the old adhesive from previous repairs was removed using a scalpel, but there were large areas of very hard, insoluble adhesive that could not be easily removed. These were left in place, with the more obvious repairs retouched to reduce visibility.

Toned Japanese paper was adhered to the larger areas of plaster infill.

This paper was then sized and re-touched with watercolour, ink or pencil according to the surface pattern. This re-touching did not attempt to replicate lost areas of information, but was simply making the losses less obvious.

The globe was then polished with several layers of shellac and allowed to harden.

Conservation of the Wooden Stand

Granville Smith Restorations undertook this portion of the conservation and began with the old adhesive which was mechanically cleaned off all four wooden arms, which were re-glued using animal glue.

The joints of the wooden arms and equatorial ring were secured with animal glue.

The fractures and areas of loss were consolidated with fish glue, and the losses filled with resin.

The losses in the equatorial ring were patched with timber to match the cross-banding and decorative stringing. The timber was then coloured to match.

The ring was then polished with shellac to match the globe, and all wooden components were waxed with beeswax.

The globe was then re-assembled with the metal components intact and positioned in the stand.

Preservation Australia – Kay Söderlund and Beate Yule

Granville Smith Restorations – Jeremy Granville Smith

Sydney Artefacts Conservation – Anne Cummins

Astrographic Glass Plate Project

Sydney Observatory Glass Plates

In 1887 Sydney Observatory joined 19 other observatories from around the world to map the stars. This was an extraordinary project established by the Astrographic Congress in Paris to map the stars using the newly developed dry plate photographic process.

Sydney Observatory created over 22,000 glass plate negatives of the stars during this project.

In 2012, these 22,000 glass plate negatives were in need of preservation.

The plates, in 2012, were housed in the library of the Macquarie University, they had been with the University since 1982 and were used for scientific research. However in the more recent past they had been left unattended and disused.

The move

Removal of collection from shelves

Early in 2013, Preservation Australia was engaged to assist with the transport and rehousing of the astrographic collection from the University to the Powerhouse Museum (now MAAS). Tegan Anthes worked with PowerHouse Museum staff and Australian Disaster Recovery (ADR) to undertake this project. Tegan was responsible for the safety, handling, packing and

specifications of the transport and ADR provided the people, transport and equipment.

Due to imminent building works in the University library, the packing and transport had to occur without a thorough understanding of the condition of the collection. We were very concerned about moving this collection prior to conducting a thorough condition survey of the glass plates. The risks associated with the movement of the collection prior to understanding the condition were –

• Fragility of the plates was unknown – can they withstand some vibration, how inherently stable are they. How many are currently broken, cracked, what state is the emulsion in.
• Fragility of the boxes containing the glass plates – would they be strong enough to support the weight of the glass plates during transport. Multiple types of boxes with multiple areas of concern.
• The paper envelopes appeared brittle and were flaking at edges and therefore the handling that would be required for transportation may result in some loss of information.

In addition the relocation of the collection was scheduled at the same time as a portion of the building was to be demolished. We raised concerns regarding dust, building vibration, airflow, access and security.

The relocation went ahead with some of the risks being reduced through our approach to packing and handling and some were reduced with rescheduling of building works by a few days and our team working on weekends.

The collection was stored in the ground floor of the old library at Macquarie University. The glass plates were in the back corner of a compactus. The glass plates were stacked tightly in the shelves to prevent them from falling over. The glass plates were either in card boxes, wooden boxes or loose on the shelf. In addition to the glass plate collection there was the document collection.

The technique devised for the transport of the collection was as follows:

Wrapped glass plates

• Large plastic tubs were lined with scrunched paper
• Each glass plate box was carefully removed from the shelf and gently laid on the bed of paper
• Up to 15 boxes were positioned in the tub
• ADR staff then wrapped each box with cellaire
• Around the set of boxes more scrunched paper was tightly packed to reduce any movement and reduce vibration

Loose plates were wrapped in bundles first and then in cellaire.

Melbourne Glass Plates and custom wooden box

The Melbourne plates were housed in custom made wooden boxes, with slots to hold each plate. These wooden boxes were lined with cellaire under the lid ensuring that the plates were cushioned with the cellaire and no movements occurred. Cellaire was then wrapped around the wooden box before being placed into the plastic tub as above. Each Melbourne plate box was inspected for condition prior to transport to locate any broken or damaged plates.

An air ride truck provided the transport to the climate control facility. The plastic tubs were secured within the truck and limited to a single layer. This resulted in more than five trips to complete the move.

The plates were unpacked at the ADR warehouse into a climate controlled store. We were happy to discover that not one plate broke during the transport process.

The transport to ADR and subsequent storage at ADR was to ensure that the plates did not carry live mould and to clean the plates prior to their final resting place in the Powerhouse Museum Collection store.

The Cleaning and Rehousing

Tegan developed and supervised the cleaning and rehousing of 22,000 glass plate negatives. With the exception of the Melbourne plates, all glass plates were enclosed in a paper envelope. This envelope had vital information essential in identifying the position of the negative within the sky and in some cases named the stars. It was therefore beneficial to capture this information in a spreadsheet during the cleaning and rehousing process. The steps below outline our procedures.

Data Capture and cleaning of plates

• Remove plate from box
• Data capture from information on envelope
• Brush clean on the down draft box – both plate and envelope
• Rehouse into custom made polypropylene sleeves – double pocket sleeve

The polypropylene sleeve was three sheets of polypropylene welded on three sides, providing the double pocket from the top edge. This allowed the envelope to be retained with the glass plate but separated by a polypropylene sheet. This was chosen by the Powerhouse as the most appropriate storage solution.

The exceptions to this process were the damaged plates, of which there were few. These plates were showing signs of glass deterioration, delamination and cracking of the plate. These plates were carefully packaged for transport by myself to ensure no further losses occurred.  The conservation of these plates will be undertaken by the conservators at the Powerhouse Museum.

Glass plates in polypropylene sleeve. One side is the glass plate and the other the original paper envelope.

We love developing new workshops for the heritage sector and this Hazardous Materials Workshop was developed to assist a regional museum with identifying and handling hazardous collection objects.

The workshop delved into what kinds of materials that a small museum may have that are hazardous – and there were lots. So we discussed asbestos, lead, arsenic, medicinal collections, cosmetics, mercury and more. The workshop covered

• identification of the hazardous materials
• handling guidelines
• protective clothing and the different level of masks
• what standards are in place across Australia
• labelling
• communication
• and disposal

During the workshop we examined some of the material within the collection that was identified as hazardous and applied the handling and protective measures.

The workshop provided the regional museum with the knowledge and confidence to handle their collection without concern for personal safety.