During Treatment
The Conservator examined all pigments. He then cleaned the photo mount surfaces. After these steps, he stopped the flaking of the mount edges by consolidating (click to definition) them with an ethanol-based solution of methylcellulose.
The Conservator filled losses (i.e., holes) in the album mounts and mended the cracks in them with layered Japanese papers and wheat starch. Powdered pastels and water color pencils were used to tone the new fills and mends to more resemble the hues of the original materials.
The Conservator devised a stable album structure by installing new linen hinges on the album mounts. By sewing through the hinges, the Conservator created a strong and flexible conservation binding.
When the conservator found discoloration of adjacent mounts caused by the album page paper’s reaction to certain pigments, he decided that there was a need to add interleaving paper as a barrier.
The interleaving paper the conservator added also supports the photo mounts during use in a research room, which lessens the risk of damage from handling.
The preserved album resides in the Prints & Photographs Division of the Library of Congress, within its new enclosure created by LC Conservator Alan Haley. The album has been completely digitized and is available for online viewing through the "Search" feature of the Prints & Photographs Division website, at //www.loc.gov/rr/print/.
