Editorial

Abstract

Dear colleagues, The history of paper conservation has rarely been addressed in research until recent. While conservators are more often than not confronted with previously treated objects, investigations have generally been confined to case studies focusing on the conservation history of single objects. A systematic approach to the development of methods and materials is certainly a rewarding, yet challenging undertaking. For one part, conservators are typically busy facing daily challenges of their institution’s or studio’s operations with little time left to reflect on the past. Furthermore, written or photographic documentation from the early days of conservation is often fragmentary or nonexistent. Knowledge and experience have been passed on orally, and writing, let alone publishing has not been the main form of communication, even within formal University based training programs. Consequently, rather unconventional sources have to be explored when researching conservation practices, including studio journals, notes, accounts of senior colleagues and, last but not least, the objects themselves. This special issue of the RESTAURATOR will broach the subject from different angles. The contributions of Eva Maria Loh and Katarzyna Garczewska-Semka on the history of mounts at the Albertina respectively the National Library of Poland are mainly based on observations of the actual mounted prints and drawings. Conducting interviews with senior conservators who have been working in these collections for many years has proven an immensely valuable source in this regard. Interviews with both employees and contracted conservators were also included in Elina Eder’s study which investigates bleaching practices as documented in conservation protocols at the Wien Museum. It is also interesting to trace the roots of today’s paper conservation in literature published by prints collectors in previous centuries. Eva Hummert focuses her paper on the history of resizing as outlined in conservation literature from the seventeenth century onwards. From its first mentioning in books for collectors of prints on paper to its current application in modern paper conservation, the meaning and frequency of application of resizing have changed