I have used Wei-To on my personal collection of 18th century prints,
maps and engravings, both printed and hand-colored - linen and rag. It
was about 10 years ago that I first used Wei-To, and there has been no
sign of any further deterioration, foxing or fragility issue since then.


I am not a conservator by trade or background, but I have done a lot of
conservation in my time (and always wanted to do the Courtauld course).
I would emphasize that I do not undertake any conservation project
without thoroughly researching the pros and cons. Most recently, I have
been using Klucel-G on a leather chair conservation project for the
third floor restoration of the McFaddin-Ward House. As Anne Battram and
Nancy Rosebrock of the Biltmore can attest, I consulted them with follow
up questions before I touched the MWH's 1905 Robert Mitchell chairs with
their original upholstery. 

When I first considered using a deacidification spray, I consulted a
paper conservator in Nashville who had conserved many books and precious
maps for Historic Rock Castle. He told me then that it was important to
saturate the page you are attempting to deacidify. Whether you use a
bath or multiple coats on both sides of a page, saturation is the aim. I
used this method on my prints with no adverse effects.

ANY conservation is expensive and must be viewed as a temporary measure.
So, I have had success thus far with deacidification spray, but I do not
rely upon it alone to care for my Hogarths. Temperature, RH, light
levels, basic handling techniques, security are all considered when my
prints are concerned. In other words, conservation is not a cure all.
Other maintenance issues must be addressed in concert with conservation
or your efforts will be all for naught and will cost you much time and
money in the process.

Whatever you decide, these are my two cents. Good luck.

Ware Petznick

L.W.S. Petznick, Ph.D.
McFaddin-Ward House 
Curator of Collections
725 Third St.
Beaumont, TX 77701
[log in to unmask]
www.mcfaddin-ward.org
409.832.1906 p
409.832.3483 f

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Nancy Russell
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 3:59 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Wisdom of deacidification sprays?

I remember hearing/reading eons ago (or so it seems) that the problem
with 
deacidification sprays is that they only treat the surface of the paper 
(i.e. the acids deeper in the paper will migrate up to the 'deacidified'

areas). As such, it seemed that the deacidification was a temporary fix
at 
best. . . therefore, I have to wonder if it is worth the time or effort
or 
money. It also seems like there is potential to damage papers if one
hasn't 
been properly trained and just buys it from a catalog. One key issue I
would 
be concerned about is the stability of the ink on the paper.

It seems to me that housing them in buffered enclosures, separating
sheets 
with buffered archival paper as needed, etc. would be a better long-term

investment. Over time acids will migrate to these enclosures and they
will 
need to be replaced but that's par for the course.

I realize I come from a museum background rather than an
archives/library 
one, but I wouldn't use deacification sprays. If a treatment is needed,
I 
would consult a conservator. If the object is important enough to
consider 
something like deacidification spray and in such bad condition,
consulting a 
conservator seems like a reasonable course of action. Otherwise I would 
rehouse with archival materials and monitor.

Any paper conservators out there with an opinion on this? Have any folks

that have used the deacidification sprays evaluated the long-term
effects 
and effectiveness of the sprays on the objects in their collection?

Thanks,

Nancy Russell
Museum Curator
Everglades National Park


>From: Holly Wilhelm <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: The Bookkeeper and the Cuhna Cocktail
>Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2006 16:35:23 EST
>
>In a message dated 2/23/2006 1:29:29 PM Eastern Standard Time,
>[log in to unmask] writes:
>Bookeeper is...deacidification spray? I think I had bought a can years
ago
>and it didn't go very far towards the work I was doing. It
was...$19/can? 
>And
>I
>think, to apply it on books and documents, etc., that are critical...I 
>would
>need about 50 cans! There has got to be a better way!
>
>________________
>
>Pam,
>
>Yes!  Microfilming and photocopying on to modern office paper (usually
acid
>free, but alkaline buffered is better, especially if it may be coming
into
>contact with stuff that increases in acidity).  Microfilming is the 
>preferred
>method for preserving the content of old newspapers, and by that I mean

>true
>quality controlled preservation microfilming.  Newspaper clippings are
best
>photocopied.  Considering how acidic that paper can get, you don't want
it 
>in
>the
>files with stuff it can damage.  (Have you ever taken a close look at
the
>"shadows" that appear when acid migrates?)
>
>That may explain the name "Bookeeper."  More likely to be used for
books 
>than
>other materials for which there are "cheaper" methods for preservation.

>And
>sorry 'bout the extra K in my first post--what can I say?  It must have

>been
>the spellcheck!
>
>Yes, it's expensive, or at least more so than a bottle of soda and a
bottle
>of milk of magnesia.  Since I'm new to museums and more familiar with
>archives,
>I'm using archivists' terms, which I hope cross-over enough for museum 
>folks
>to understand.   "Appraisal" is the process by which archivists decide
>whether
>to keep and preserve or not.  It is a matter of applying such questions
as
>"Is the content important?" and "Is the actual, original document 
>important?"
>
>and then moving on to questions as "Is it worth the cost of saving the
>document
>itself, or is it just the information that requires preservation?"
After a
>while of questions like this you've gotten a pretty good idea as to
whether
>to
>keep it, toss it, microfilm it, photocopy it, or spray Bookeeper on it.
If
>you use Bookeeper, use it on the stuff that's worth it.
>
>And yes, Pam, we never have enough funding for the preservation.  The 
>public
>doesn't see preservation, only the lack of it.  And it's generally not
>considered a glamorous enough expense at which big donors want to throw

>their
>money.
>Unless one is going to put engraved gold plaques on the Bookeeper cans
and
>put them on display for the public to see.  Donors like the public to
see
>their
>names on popular funding.
>
>Preservation and conservation just ain't there yet.  Unless you work
with a
>sophisticated and intelligent core of donors...
>
>Holly
>being doggedly cynical today!
>
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