AICCM BulletinPub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10344233.2022.2135327
Chen Chau Chu, Caitlin Knight
{"title":"Everyday Books: an introduction to short run commercial bindings in early Twenty-First century Australia","authors":"Chen Chau Chu, Caitlin Knight","doi":"10.1080/10344233.2022.2135327","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2022.2135327","url":null,"abstract":"Since the turn of the nineteenth century, Australian binders have produced books to serve local publishers, businesses, and individual consumers. Over the past two centuries, the printing and binding industry has grown in response to changes in technology and customer demand to suit the present day Australian context. A consumer can now choose products ranging from traditional fine-binding styles to online instant print-and-bind services. Increasingly, collections of bound materials reflect the diversity of available binding styles and products. This paper aims to aid collection care professionals in the care and understanding of contemporary book bindings in early twenty-first century Australia. In contrast to existing literature on fine bindings and mass market book production, this paper examines short run commercial bindings. Drawing from historical sources and professional experience working in local binderies, the context of these cost-effective bindings is described. An outline of the materials and methods found in a selection of popular styles, namely perfect, case, and wire bindings, is provided, with reference to sources from manufacturers and suppliers. Conservation issues associated with contemporary commercial bindings are detailed, highlighting problems related to non-archival adhesives, plastics, and physical structures. Recommendations are made on how to best care for these increasingly prevalent bindings.","PeriodicalId":7847,"journal":{"name":"AICCM Bulletin","volume":"43 1","pages":"15 - 23"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46257132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AICCM BulletinPub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10344233.2022.2150488
Analiese Treacy, J. Dennis
{"title":"Iltja Ntjarra artists and the making of contemporary lumen prints: documentation, display and storage","authors":"Analiese Treacy, J. Dennis","doi":"10.1080/10344233.2022.2150488","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2022.2150488","url":null,"abstract":"Mparra Karrti—Us mob belong to the Country, is the collective title attributed to a series of twenty-two lumen prints on paper with watercolour media, produced by Central Desert region artists. The artists work out of the Iltja Ntjarra (Many Hands) Art Centre in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) with their practices inherited and learned through lineage traced back to Albert Namatjira and the Hermannsburg School of watercolour painting. The artists’ novel approach to painting in watercolour on photo-sensitised paper resulted in a unique visual aesthetic of cockling throughout the sheets, requiring that the works be presented ‘floating’ on the wall with no mounting visible. This technical paper details the innovative approaches used by the artists in making these distinctive works and the subsequent methodologies applied by the Art Gallery of NSW team in preparing them for display in The National 2019: new Australian Art. The paper highlights the importance of knowledge sharing amongst artists, facilitators, curators, conservators and wider teams to ensure both the physical and intrinsic values of such works are fully acknowledged and understood.","PeriodicalId":7847,"journal":{"name":"AICCM Bulletin","volume":"43 1","pages":"40 - 47"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46943876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AICCM BulletinPub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10344233.2022.2146037
Andrea Wise, Fiona Kemp
{"title":"Case Studies in the Treatment of Asian Scroll Paintings","authors":"Andrea Wise, Fiona Kemp","doi":"10.1080/10344233.2022.2146037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2022.2146037","url":null,"abstract":"Works of art in the diverse Asian collections at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) are regularly requested for display. These collections are routinely condition checked and, where appropriate, interventive treatments undertaken. Storage, in particular, has been continually improved. With the closure of the NGA during the initial Covid lockdown in March 2020, and the subsequent decreased demand to prepare works for exhibition, loan and travelling exhibitions, there was an opportunity to investigate Asian works in the NGA Study Collection, with the objective of identifying those excluded from display because of condition. The time available meant that the NGA Paper Conservation team could examine and treat a number of Asian scroll paintings in this collection. The focus of this paper is three Japanese paintings and two Chinese paintings, all on silk supports, with various degraded paper and fabric mounts and backings. After initially viewing the works with Curatorial colleagues, treatment expectations were discussed and established. Background research was undertaken, in terms of generic style and period, together with limited analysis on supports and pigments in order to inform treatment. While further Curatorial research is ongoing, it was possible to agree appropriate potential mounting styles and materials, allowing treatments to progress.","PeriodicalId":7847,"journal":{"name":"AICCM Bulletin","volume":"43 1","pages":"56 - 63"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41943443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AICCM BulletinPub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10344233.2022.2140268
Alice Cannon
{"title":"Metallic memorandum books—history, materials and conservation","authors":"Alice Cannon","doi":"10.1080/10344233.2022.2140268","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2022.2140268","url":null,"abstract":"Metallic memorandum books were a common stationery item in the nineteenth century—small notebooks of varying dimensions, sold with a special ‘metallic’ pencil. However, few extant examples survive in collections. Very little published information exists regarding their manufacture, distribution and use. Research sought to discover their likely prevalence in Australian collections, materials used in their manufacture, and the conservation implications of their construction. Data analysis of Australian newspapers held on the Trove website found evidence of their use between 1831 and 1915, primarily between 1850–1870, across Australia. Contemporary accounts suggest they were an everyday item used by workmen, artists and explorers, amongst others. This research technique shows potential for further art materials research. XRF analysis of a sample notebook found low or trace amounts of lead and tin within the metallic pencil and low or trace amounts of barium and strontium in the paper. FTIR analysis of the paper returned a spectrum that matched to barium sulphate. This corresponds to historical accounts and makes them materially similar to metalpoint drawings. They are therefore likely to experience similar condition issues, such as marking, staining and flaking of the prepared surface, and may not respond well to aqueous conservation treatments.","PeriodicalId":7847,"journal":{"name":"AICCM Bulletin","volume":"43 1","pages":"3 - 14"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47216187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AICCM BulletinPub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10344233.2022.2158573
D. Kahabka
{"title":"Old materials, new ideas: the use of concentrated solutions of hydroxypropyl cellulose to remove an aged glossy varnish on a Seventeenth Century Dutch map","authors":"D. Kahabka","doi":"10.1080/10344233.2022.2158573","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2022.2158573","url":null,"abstract":"The Bonaparte Tasman Map is a hand drawn map on paper in the collection of the State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW). Before treatment, crack, creases, and folds on the map’s surface formed a unique combination of deterioration features. The complex 3D shape created by differential paper drying and a glossy varnish produced a chaotic pattern of bright highlights that obscured the cartographic and graphic ornamentation and conspired to discourage any observers interested in the map. A safe method was developed to reduce the glossy varnish. Published experimental data informed the final treatment method by providing reference flow curves and a set of viscosity control variables. The dissolution of the glossy varnish was achieved by impeding the flow of solvent from the viscous hydroxypropyl cellulose solution into the varnish with applications of 7wt% to 10wt% (1 000 000 molecular weight) through a barrier layer of porous abaca tissue. The main findings were the need for a greater hydroxypropyl cellulose concentration and molecular weight, than those generally recommended in conservation. And the relationship between polymer entangled and non-entangled state, the flow movement generated by a shear force and the subsequent controlled release of solvent molecules.","PeriodicalId":7847,"journal":{"name":"AICCM Bulletin","volume":"43 1","pages":"33 - 39"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46539376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AICCM BulletinPub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10344233.2022.2146264
C. Fitzmaurice, Freya O'Connor
{"title":"#itwasboundtohappen. Reflections on the specialism of book conservation in Australia during the Covid-19 Pandemic","authors":"C. Fitzmaurice, Freya O'Connor","doi":"10.1080/10344233.2022.2146264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2022.2146264","url":null,"abstract":"The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we work, communicate, and transmit knowledge. Conservators, who work primarily with their hands, have had time to reflect on treatment practice, dissemination of information and siloing of knowledge in the Australian book conservation context. This paper presents a preliminary environmental survey examining the ways the conservation profession has adapted and developed our practices while working, learning, and networking from home. Case studies demonstrate that there is an increased appetite for learning and knowledge/skill sharing within the book conservation community where formal qualifications, reference material, and hands-on training are limited. Current avenues of book conservation training in Australia are assessed, and the risks to knowledge loss as a generation of bookbinders and conservators retire are considered. Through this exploration, the authors posit the need for a centralised hub for the book conservation specialism as a method of capturing published online content, using technology proactively to our advantage. This paper will address the questions of successful knowledge transmission during and post-Pandemic, the benefits and disadvantages of online learning, what we can do better and how isolation has enhanced communication and collaboration in a world where we are better connected, but further apart, than ever before.","PeriodicalId":7847,"journal":{"name":"AICCM Bulletin","volume":"43 1","pages":"24 - 32"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41562480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AICCM BulletinPub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10344233.2022.2157585
Analiese Treacy, J. Todd, Caitlin Knight
{"title":"Editorial – AICCM Book and Paper Special Edition Bulletin","authors":"Analiese Treacy, J. Todd, Caitlin Knight","doi":"10.1080/10344233.2022.2157585","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2022.2157585","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7847,"journal":{"name":"AICCM Bulletin","volume":"43 1","pages":"1 - 2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44883680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AICCM BulletinPub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10344233.2022.2135321
K. Hughes, Steven Bell
{"title":"Conserving an Endeavour Journal: paper and binding treatment in concert","authors":"K. Hughes, Steven Bell","doi":"10.1080/10344233.2022.2135321","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2022.2135321","url":null,"abstract":"The State Library NSW’s copy of Captain James Cook’s Endeavour Journal was prioritised for treatment in preparation for the 250th anniversary of Cook’s landing at Botany Bay. One of four known copies, it was hand-written on the voyage by Cook’s clerk Richard Orton and signed in Cook’s hand. Written in iron gall ink, the journal is made up of four sections of approximately 22 bifolios each, bound after the voyage into a full leather case binding. The deterioration of the ink, combined with the stress of the binding structure, caused extensive damage, including cracking and losses throughout the text. A risk assessment framework was used to select a paper treatment and binding method that worked in concert. The manuscript was washed, deacidified, resized and repaired to slow the deterioration of the iron gall ink and return strength to the paper. The existing case binding was inappropriate for rebinding the manuscript. A new custom conservation binding was designed. The sections are sewn onto four vellum concertina folded guards packed out with paper to compensate for the thickness of the sections. The guards are sewn onto vellum supports and laced into a limp vellum cover. The spine of the structure is strengthened by Japanese tissue.","PeriodicalId":7847,"journal":{"name":"AICCM Bulletin","volume":"43 1","pages":"48 - 55"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46189872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AICCM BulletinPub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/10344233.2021.1956124
I. MacLeod
{"title":"Analysis of poultice-based desalination of a nineteenth century brick and stone cathedral after the event; a longitudinal study of surface chloride readings","authors":"I. MacLeod","doi":"10.1080/10344233.2021.1956124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2021.1956124","url":null,"abstract":"St George’s Cathedral in Perth was consecrated in 1888 and constructed using hand-made bricks and limestone. After 120 years of exposure to salt-laden winds, rising salty water and leaky roofs significant deterioration due to salt efflorescence and water penetration necessitated an $18 million AUD restoration program in 2002. Before accepting the heritage architect’s proposal to replace all the worst damaged brick and stone elements, surface chloride activity mapping of the affected areas was conducted. The survey found that the worst decay was associated with high chloride ion concentrations, with a maximum value of 10,000 ppm on a brick buttress and 7,600 ppm on a stone colonnade on the west front. After four months of treatment, the Westox Cocoon papier-mâché pulp poultice had lowered the surface chloride readings to 10 ± 5 ppm on the bricks and stone. Ten years after the work, a series of tests were conducted on salt-damaged reference stone and bricks to find formulae for converting surface chloride readings into weight percent extractable chloride concentrations. This data was then retrospectively applied to the treated cathedral fabric to estimate how much chloride had been removed. Without the poultice treatment, large sections of the original fabric would have been lost.","PeriodicalId":7847,"journal":{"name":"AICCM Bulletin","volume":"42 1","pages":"82 - 90"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10344233.2021.1956124","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41929611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AICCM BulletinPub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/10344233.2022.2104548
M. Ewing, Anne Carter, Gillian Osmond
{"title":"Conservation of a Termite-Damaged Acrylic Painting: Treatment Solutions for Gordon Bennett’s Number three (2004)","authors":"M. Ewing, Anne Carter, Gillian Osmond","doi":"10.1080/10344233.2022.2104548","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2022.2104548","url":null,"abstract":"This paper details the conservation treatment of an acrylic painting on linen canvas which had suffered damage by termites. In response to the many challenges posed by such an unusual and extensive damage type, conservators at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) developed innovative solutions for structural treatment and loss compensation through problem solving and experimentation. The complexities of the treatment included finding appropriate conservation materials and techniques which were compatible with the specific sensitivities of an unvarnished contemporary acrylic emulsion painting. An innovative ‘back-filling’ technique using Evasol® was developed.","PeriodicalId":7847,"journal":{"name":"AICCM Bulletin","volume":"42 1","pages":"118 - 131"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48336572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}