about nedcc

Before & After treatment photographs

Before

After

Abraham Lincoln Portrait, 1865 by J. G. Chandler
From the collection of Norman F. Boas

The varnished oil painting on paper was lined with decayed fabric which was stretched over an oval wooden stretcher and secured with rusted iron tacks. There was planar distortion and there were numerous paint losses due to exposure to moisture.

Treatment: The fabric was removed. The paper support was backed with Japanese paper. After flattening, paint losses were retouched.

 

Before

After

Japanese Decorative Fans
From the collection of the Longfellow National Historic Site, Cambridge, Mass.

Eighteen Japanese decorative fan paintings had been mounted on the ceiling of the Japanese Room of the Longfellow House in the late 19th century, when coal-fired furnaces were used.

Treatment: Heavy layers of dirt and soot were removed. Old ceiling paper backings were removed. Breaks and tears were mended and the fans were relined. No water was used in this treatment.

 

Before

After

1727 Petition to Governor Dummer
From the Massachusetts State Archives 

The document had been mounted in a bound volume using much self adhesive tape in a misguided attempt to mend tears and stabilize it overall. The document was written in iron gall ink which was somewhat oxidized. There was a red wafer seal at the bottom right corner. 

Treatment: Self-adhesive tapes were removed in a series of solvent baths. The document was washed, alkalized, mended, and backed with very thin Japanese paper.