Judge Black’s Answer to Jeff. Davis, broadside, 1860

Before Treatment

During Treatment

After Treatment

TREATMENT PROPOSAL/AUTHORIZATION FOR TREATMENT

AUTHORIZATION
The undersigned requests and authorizes the Kilgarlin Center at the University of Texas at Austin, to undertake conservation treatment of the artifact described in the attached Condition Report according to the procedures outlined in the appended Treatment Proposal.  In the event that the Owner/Custodian authorizes the Kilgarlin Center to proceed with the treatment recommended in the proposal such authorization shall be deemed to include acceptance by the depositor of the terms and conditions appearing in the original Authorization for Examination and Treatment.

Signature of Responsible Officer
For Owner/Custodian:____________________________________________________

Date: _________________________________________________________________

TREATMENT OBJECTIVE
The objective of this treatment is reverse a previous inappropriate treatment.

DESCRIPTION
General
Approximate dimensions : 8 ¼ in. x 10.5 in. (21 cm x 26.75 cm)

The letterpress broadside is printed in black ink on machine made paper.

Media
Black Printing Ink
The broadside was printed overall with a thick, even, matte black ink. 

Typewriter Ink
A cataloger's annotation is typed on the left edge of the reverse in a flat, even ,gray-black typewriter ink.   The ink appears to have smeared towards the right, a possible result of the way the typewriter hammer struck the paper when originally typed.

Graphite
A brief, lightly written cataloger’s annotation appears on the upper left corner of the reverse.

Primary Support
The primary support is medium weight, slightly textured, cream colored machine made paper with regular pulp distribution.  The edges of the sheet are cut straight. 

CONDITION
General
Overall, the broadside is in fair condition.

Media
Black Printing Ink
The printing ink is in good condition with no sign of loss or abrasion. 

Typewriter Ink
The ink is in fair condition. There are no signs of loss or abrasion.

Graphite
The graphite is in good condition, the writing has not faded or smeared.

Primary Support
The primary support is in fair condition overall.  The paper is very brittle and has darkened and yellowed to a beige color. There are multiple small tears and losses along the left and right edges of the leaf. At some point the whole leaf spilt into two pieces and was mended with three pieces of pressure sensitive tape on the verso. The tape adhesive migrated to the recto, resulting in dark brown stains on both the recto and verso.

Housing
The broadside is housed in a good quality folder.

PHOTODOCUMENTATION
Digital photographs were taken before and after treatment in ambient, raking and transmitted light.  The photographs include overall shots, as well as detailed shots.

TESTING
Protocol
Ink Testing
The inks were tested using three methods:

• The ink was tested for offset using a dry cotton swab and gentle abrasion.  The test was done under a microscope so that the smallest amount of offset would be detected.
• The ink was tested for offset by contacting a piece of chromatography paper, moistened with deionized water, with the medium for up to 10 seconds, and looking under a microscope for offset of the medium onto the chromatography paper.
• Each medium was tested by applying a very small droplet of deionized water to an inconspicuous area of the medium and allowing the water to sink into the paper.  The test was performed under magnification to detect the first sign of change.

Results
Ink Testing
Black Printing Ink
The ink displayed minimal particulate offset.  No dye offset was observed after contacting the chromatography paper with the ink for 10 seconds.  There was no visible change with the addition of a small water droplet.

Typewriter Ink
The ink displayed minimal particulate offset.  No dye offset was observed after contacting the chromatography paper with the ink for 10 seconds.  Minimal particulate offset was observed with the addition of a small droplet of water and gentle abrasion.

Graphite
The graphite displayed minimal particulate offset.  Minimal offset was observed after contacting the chromatography paper with the ink for 10 seconds. 

Tape Testing
The tape did not soften upon the application of deionized water.

TREATMENT PROPOSAL

• Test media for solubility and sinking. (20 min.)
• Remove pressure sensitive tape as possible. (1.5 hrs)
• Mend tears and fill losses as appropriate. (1 hr.)
• Re-house in an appropriate size lignin free folder. (5 min.)

Proposed Treatment Time: 3 hrs.

POTENTIAL RISKS OF TREATMENT

It is possible that the primary support could become slightly torn during the removal of the pressure sensitive tape. Fiber loss and ink loss may occur. Application of organic solvents may dry out the paper, making it more brittle.

TREATMENT PERFORMED

• Tested media for solubility to deionized water.  (20 min.)
• Tested a small corner of the tape to see if it could be removed mechanically with a microspatula.  (5 min.).  This method proved to be unsuccessful.
• Attempted to remove tape mechanically using moderate heat applied to the reverse and a microspatula.  (10 min.)
• Tested the pressure sensitive tape adhesive's solubility to a variety of solvents including: acetone, ethanol, and naphtha.  (20 min.)
• Attempted to remove tape with a localized application of naphtha and a microspatula.  (30 min.)
• Removed one piece of tape under a fume hood using a cascade of naphtha and a microspatula.  (1 hr.)  This method resulted in tide lines and substantial fiber loss.
• Under a fume hood, used three successive applications of a Fuller's earth/naphtha mixture to reduce the appearance of tide lines.  (1 hr.)
• Placed broadside in a naphtha bath and attempted to remove the two remaining pieces of tape.  (10 min.)
• Allowed the broadside to sit in the naphtha bath for 30 minutes.  (30 min.)
• Removed tape while the document was in the naphtha bath.  (15 min.)
• Removed broadside from the naphtha bath.  (5 min.)
• Removed residual adhesive with cotton swabs (15 min.)
• Allowed the broadside to dry under the fume hood for 30 minutes.  (30 min.)
• Removed residual adhesive with alpha cellulose and a Teflon bonefolder.  (30 min.)
• Washed the broadside in two successive 5-minute baths of deionized water that had been alkalized with a few drops of concentrated calcium hydroxide solution.  (10 min.)
• Lined broadside with Manila hemp lens tissue and a 1:4 Zin Shofu Japanese precipitated wheat starch paste deionized water mixture.  (15 min.)
• Dried for 48 hours under blotters and boards.
• Replaced fragments of paper lost during the tape removal process with wheat starch paste.  (30 min.)
• Re-housed document in a lignin-free folder of appropriate size.  (5 min.)

Total treatment time: 6 hrs.  40 min.