#artconservation

I'm only a conservator here. Who did I miss?

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Hello, I’m Alexa Machnik, a third-year graduate student at the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU. I first came to the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation & Conservation Department in Fall 2022 as a student in the graduate course, Conservation in Context, taught by Laura McCann, Director of Preservation. During this course, we delved into the world of library conservation, exploring the value systems that guide preservation decision-making and treatment action in academic research libraries. One of my class projects involved rehousing delicate leaf paintings from an early 19th-century commonplace book, or friendship album, part of the Fales Library holdings in the Special Collections at NYU Libraries (figs. 1-2) [1]. In honor of Preservation Week, I will share the intriguing history of the book and discuss the decisions that were made to preserve the leaves.

Figure 1 [left]: Front cover of the commonplace book, bound in gold-tooled red morocco leather.   Figure 2 [right]: Ownership label of “Jane Harriet [Blechynden]” on front marbled pastedown.

The book in question was compiled by Jane Harriet Blechynden (1806-1827) in England between 1822 and 1825. It holds her personal collection of handwritten and acquired materials, with contributions from her sisters, Emma and Sarah, who wrote original poems about sisterhood, separation, and their Anglo-Indian ancestry. The three women were the daughters of a British merchant residing in Calcutta, and while born in India, they were educated in England [2]. There is not a great deal known about Jane Harriet’s life in England, but her impending return to India in 1825 is documented in an emotional verse by Emma (fig. 3):

“Thus in parting my sister we’re breaking a link / Which may ne’er be united again / And firm as that chain was ‘tis painful to think / That absence may send it twain.”

Figure 3: Excerpt from the original poem, “Parting and a Meeting,” signed by Emma.

Jane Harriet’s book offers insights into her personhood, social connections, and sensibilities as an artist and collector. In addition to written entries, she inserted a compendium of acquired materials–pressed flowers, her own original drawings, and numerous paintings–between pages of the book (figs. 4-6).

Figures 4-6 [left to right]: A small sampling of the ephemeral treasures found in the book, including a dried pressed flower, a drawing on pith possibly by Jane Harriet, and a cut-paper silhouette.

Notably, six of these paintings are executed on the dried leaves of the Bodhi tree, a sacred plant indigenous to Asia with distinct spade-shaped, long-tipped leaves (fig. 7) [3]. Although leaf painting has origins in Buddhist traditions, by the time Jane Harriet collected her leaf paintings, it had already evolved into a form of Chinese export art in Europe. Her leaves depict secular scenes of contemporary life in China and botanical subjects, which are typical of the export genre (fig. 8). Their inclusion in the book implies that Jane was among the many people who partook in the avid collecting of China trade goods during the first few decades of the 19th century, a time when European fascination for Chinese culture and art was at its peak. 

Figure 7: A leaf painting, as found loose in the book and partially lifted to show the thin, translucent nature of the leaf support.

Figure 8: Another leaf painting from the book, oriented with the leaf tip at the bottom of the image, depicting flowers and a butterfly.

The initial rush of excitement that I felt at finding the leaf paintings soon turned to concern as I gave thought to their long-term preservation at NYU Libraries, where researchers are expected to handle the book. The leaf paintings were loose in between the pages, which raised a series of “what ifs” about the potential dangers they could encounter. What if the leaves slip from the book? What if they bend or break as the pages are turned? What if the painted surfaces become abraded? The paintings were made with opaque pigment-based watercolors on exceptionally delicate, skeletonized leaves that have been primed with a thin organic coating. Despite being intact, their inherent fragility means that they are vulnerable to even the slightest touch. After considerable discussion, the Conservation Unit decided that in order for the leaf paintings to be preserved and safely accessed by researchers, they should be housed separately from the book. 

I thoroughly examined the condition of the leaves and the painted surfaces in order to make a housing recommendation. Despite some minor damage, all were in stable condition. Thus, the ideal housing would provide support to prevent any further damage, such as paint loss and leaf breakage, and at the same time allow the leaves to maintain their translucency. To achieve this, I opted to mount them in double-sided window mats with a support made from clear polyester film, or Mylar® [4]. The addition of the Mylar® would not only create a stable surface for the leaf paintings but also enable the viewing of both sides (fig. 9).

Figure 9: View of the double-sided window mat with a Mylar® support.

My next challenge was to figure out how to mount the leaves onto the Mylar® support without the use of adhesive [5]. After consulting with conservation staff and creating mock-ups, short, discreet Mylar® tabs were selected as the best option to secure them into place (figs. 10-11). For this process, I positioned a single leaf painting onto the support and selectively placed the tabs around its perimeter, making sure the tabs did not overlap any areas of paint. I then used a handheld spot-welding pen to fuse the tabs to the support. Since this process was done in-situ, near the leaf, it required lots of precision practice and encouragement from colleagues before I felt confident enough for the task.

Figure 10: Detail of a mounted leaf painting. Notice that the Mylar® tabs are welded just outside the leaf and extend minimally over the edges, holding it in place with gentle pressure.

Figure 11: The backside of a mounted leaf painting viewed through the Mylar® support. This gives researchers access to the painting’s verso, where an underdrawing and other signs of artistic process can be discerned.

At the time of writing this post, I successfully housed the six leaf paintings in their double-sided window mats (figs. 12-13). This housing project, while complete, is just one part of the ongoing effort to preserve the commonplace book, and the Conservation Unit is continuing work on other elements of the book to ensure its safe return to Special Collections.

Figure 12: Example of the completed housing, showing the front of a leaf painting.

Figure 13: Back of a leaf painting.

Though my involvement in the project has come to an end, I have gained a very special appreciation for the commonplace book and the preservation challenges it presents. The experience of learning directly from NYU Libraries Special Collections was especially invaluable, providing me with opportunities to participate in complex decision-making processes unique to large research libraries driven by user needs. Before signing off, I’d like to extend my gratitude to my supervisors, Laura McCann, Director, and Lindsey Tyne, Conservation Librarian, and the entire team at the Barbara Goldsmith Conservation Lab for their unwavering support and enthusiasm throughout this project. Thank you all very much!

Notes:

[1] A commonplace book is a centralized place for an individual to record information, whether it be their personal thoughts or quotes from outside literary sources. Friendship albums, by contrast, contain handwritten entries from the family, friends, or acquaintances of the owner (often female). Both forms of commonplacing sustained popularity in Europe and America throughout the 19th century. To learn more about this fascinating literary genre, see Jenifer Blouin, “Eternal Perspectives in Nineteenth-Century Friendship Albums,” The Hilltop Review, Vol. 9, Issue 1 (2016) and Victoria E. Burke, “Recent Studies in Commonplace Books,” English Literary Renaissance, Vol. 43, No. 1 (2013), 153-177.

[2] Much of what is known about Jane Harriet (also known in her family as Harriet) comes from the Blechynden papers in the British Library (Add. Mss. 45578-663). This large holding contains the diaries of her father, Richard (Add. Mss. 45581-653), and older brother, Arthur (Add. Mss. 45654-61). For a secondary account of the Blechynden household, see Peter Robb, Sentiment and Self: Richard Blechynden’s Calcutta Diaries, 1791-1822 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2011).

[3] Michele Matteini, “Written on a Bodhi tree leaf,” Anthropology and Aesthetics, Vol. 75-76 (2021), 45-58. 

[4] The design of the double-sided mats is based on an instructional guide made available by the Library of Congress. “Double-Sided Mat,” Library of Congress, accessed 1 February 2023. 

[5] We chose not to use adhesives or traditional paper-hinging techniques to mount the leaf paintings for several reasons. As noted, the paintings are on fragile, non-paper-based supports that have an organic coating, which may be derived from plant gum. The leaf supports are thin, translucent, and highly vulnerable to breakage, so applying hinges directly with adhesive might permanently alter their appearance or risk further damage to the leaves over time, especially if they need to be removed from the housing in the future.

In recent times, around the globe, a lot of people have a growing awareness of the need to mark out their individual cultural identities. This makes people want to embrace the arts and culture of their predecessors. A major concern hindering this is the protection of this old culture. More often than not, ancient pieces of art, books, furniture and others become less and less impactful with age, sometimes, becoming completely destroyed or uninspiring. This is where the conservators and restorers come in. They strive to preserve and revitalise these ancient items. What does it do? The Romoe Conservation Network was created in April 2001 to be an international network for and by restorers/conservators that offers a structured directory for finding and appreciating conservation works. The network also has an extensive category and radius search that will prove useful to specialists. With the Romoe Conservation Network, you can get in-depth information about various restoration projects around the world. The network gives users access to contacts to organizations, educational institutions, institutes, and facilitation of the exchange of special information. With the Romoe Conservation Network, you can get a closer look at some of the projects and work done by restorers, which involves both academic and craft restoration. The network’s directory holds overviews of various regions, categories, subject areas, and a search area optimized for clients and interested parties in finding restorers.

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Yesterday I restored an old book(RAMAYANA), written by Rajagopalachari, published in 1957. It belonged to my grand father. ⁣⁣⁣

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I found this book in his old card-board suitcase, and it was in a rather bad shape, no original binding was found, there was no spine on the book at all and the stitching was slanting badly, and needed to be completely resewn. ⁣⁣⁣

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Bound in fine brown leather attached to hard card-boards, and the paper was stitched using waxed linen cords.⁣⁣⁣

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Absolutely enjoyed restoring this old beauty.⁣⁣⁣

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(Public Art Conservator Andrea Bowes with the new conservation microscope)

Microscopic attention to detail is the name of the public art conservation game. Dental scalers, sponges, airbrushes, saws, rags, and grinders are all part of a conservator’s arsenal. Microscopes add a high-tech level of detail. This month, the Edmonton Arts Council Public Art Conservation Department welcomed the latest addition to its battery of tools. The portable microscope came to the EAC from the United States and will allow staff to zoom in on the tiniest details as they go about their daily work of stewarding and maintaining the City of Edmonton Public Art Collection.

The microscope’s first task will be to assist the conservation team as it embarks on the final stages of “Mission: Mural Rescue,” a multiyear project that entails the removal, restoration, and reinstallation of a 52-year-old 1,000-pound mural by then-Alberta artist Norman Yates at the Stanley A. Milner Library. The untitled mural was painted in the late 1960s.

Public Art and Conservation Director David Turnbull says, “[This artwork is] the only known surviving artwork in Edmonton’s Public Art Collection commissioned for Canada’s Centennial.” This historic importance, and the stature of the artist – Yates founded the University of Alberta’s graduate fine arts program – inspired the conservation team to take a radical approach. Faced with the extensive gutting and renovation of the Edmonton Public Library’s main branch, the EAC conservation team wielded tissue paper, fish glue, angle grinders, and brute force to preserve the painting, cut the wall into sections, then moved the entire artwork to the EAC Conservation Lab.

(Fragment of the architectural plaster that underlaid the artist’s plaster layer upon which the mural was painted)

Over the past two years, Public Art Conservator Andrea Bowes has ground about two inches of architectural plaster from the back of each piece to expose the artist’s original, one-inch, fragile plaster layer. The pieces are now stored on wooden A-frames, their backs stabilized with a skeleton of lightweight aluminum channel, fibreglass, resin, and sand. The painting itself is still obscured by its tissue paper cover.

“Now that we can safely handle each piece, we can start restoring the damage on the surface. We’ll use the microscope to make sure that when we repair damaged edges that the surface lines up properly and the surrounding surfaces are even and in plane. That’s not a thing you can do just by eyeballing!”

“The next stages will be painstaking and a lot of fun,” says Andrea, “The microscope is going to be integral. In the meantime, we’re really enjoying the novelty of looking at several projects in the lab at a level of detail that wasn’t possible until now.”

This is the third article in a series:

Click here for the first article from February 2017. 

Click here for the second chapter from April 2018.

Stay tuned for a new chapter as the project enters the next phase!