• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ransom Center Magazine

  • Articles
  • Sections
    • Art
    • Books + Manuscripts
    • Conservation
    • Exhibitions + Events
    • Film
    • Literature
    • Photography
    • Research + Teaching
    • Theatre + Performing Arts
  • Print Edition

Conservators painstakingly remove glue that binds

March 4, 2020 - Emily Farek

Conservators painstakingly remove glue that binds

Kress Paper Conservation Fellow Emily Farek, working with paper conservators Ken Grant and Jane Boyd, describes the painstaking work of removing modern adhesive from the back of this very large (10′ x 7′) 1648 Dutch map titled, Nova totius terrarum orbis tabula, commonly known as the Blaeu World Map. 

Paper Conservator Jane Boyd and I have completed the removal of a modern adhesive used to attach fabric strips and a hanging rod to the top edge of the Blaeu World Map. These strips had constricted the map along the top and bottom edges, creating and cementing creases and undulations that are concealing some information on the map and causing paper fractures and tears.

In order to reach the adhesive, the hanging rod was removed from the modern fabric pocket, and the fabric strips were carefully pulled away, leaving a layer of the adhesive. Upon closer examination and after conducting solubility tests on the adhesive, I found that it was not soluble in water, and only slightly soluble in ethanol.

A rod was removed from the rod pocket on the back of the map. The pocket was secured to the fabric with a modern adhesive.

To begin removal, heat was applied to see if the glue would soften under higher temperatures. Luckily, it did, and we were able to use small hot tools in the shape of tiny spatulas to carefully separate, lift, and remove the adhesive from the back of the map. This treatment step was incredibly painstaking and detailed.

Close-up showing removal of the fabric strip on the back of the Blaeu Map.

A 3-inch strip along the entire length of the top and bottom edges, the adhesive covered 720 square inches of the map. In total, the removal of the fabric strips and adhesive took approximately 165 hours to complete.

Now, we are moving on to the next treatment step – the relaxation of the deep creases released from constriction caused by that adhesive. This is done by using a controlled amount of deionized water, brush-applied to the crease, which is then gently pressed open and placed under weight. Once the sharp creases are relaxed in this manner, we will humidify the map overall to re-allocate the stresses caused by the creases.

Removing the modern adhesive from the fabric was a painstaking process that took more than 165 hours to complete.
Multiple conservators worked to remove the adhesive.
Detail of the heated tool that was used.

Another aspect of this project is planning for a frame in which the map will be stored and exhibited. Ken Grant, Head of the Paper Lab, is spearheading the effort to devise proper housing for both the map’s continued preservation and its exhibition in the galleries sometime next year.

Efforts to stabilize and conserve a rare 17th-century Dutch map housed at the Ransom Center are ongoing. To follow the entire story, read previous articles about this project. Members, donors, and visitors are helping set the course of this amazing project as conservators preserve the one-of-a-kind map, revealing new discoveries about its production and significance. Learn more at https://40for40.utexas.edu/giving-day/19787/department/29215.

Filed Under: Books + Manuscripts, Conservation, Featured1 Tagged With: Blaeu World Map, Blaeu-Map-19, conservation lab, Joan Blaeu, tycho brahe, Willem Blaeu

About Emily Farek

Emily Farek is the 2019-2020 Kress Paper Conservation Fellow.

Primary Sidebar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4_kazYMjNM

Recent Posts

  • Celebrate with us in 2023
  • Photographer Laura Wilson delves into the lives of writers with stunning portraits
  • A childhood gift inspires a lifelong passion for India and map-collecting
  • “Dog” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
  • A Greek fragment is the first-known New Testament papyrus written on the front side of a scroll

Tags

acquisition Alice's Adventures in Wonderland archive archives Art Books Cataloging Conservation Council on Library and Information Resources David Foster Wallace David O. Selznick digitization exhibition Exhibitions Fellows Find Fellowships Film Frank Reaugh Frank Reaugh: Landscapes of Texas and the American West Gabriel Garcia Marquez Gabriel Garcia Marquez archive Gone with the Wind I have seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America Lewis Carroll literature Magnum Photos Manuscripts Meet the Staff Nobel Prize Norman Bel Geddes Norman Mailer Performing Arts Photography poetry preservation Publishing Research Robert De Niro Shakespeare theater The King James Bible: Its History and Influence The Making of Gone With The Wind Undergraduate What is Research? World War I

Archives

Before Footer

Sign up for eNews

Our monthly newsletter highlights news, exhibitions, and programs.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About

Ransom Center Magazine is an online and print publication sharing stories and news about the Harry Ransom Center, its collections, and the creative community surrounding it.

Copyright © 2023 Harry Ransom Center

Web Accessibility · Web Privacy