Paper Conservation - waterstains and paper

 

Water stains can be quite difficult to remove as the properties in the stain
itself need to be identified. This is quite a scarce fishing book and the subject
matter gives us a clue as the book looks as if it was dropped in the water
during the excitement of the catch. Identifying these stains will determine
how many baths are needed and what size is to be used.

Some water stains are more difficult to remove than others and it is
critical that the correct size is used in the final washing.

Click on images to enlarge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course water and severe damp can leave a nasty edge called a "tidemark" this can be just as difficult to remove especially if the book is rare and has the provenance of being written on by someone famous (tut tut) the writing medium would need to be "fixed" to the paper before the operation can commence.

Strange how sometimes just one page in the whole book can get damaged by water, but it does happen especially with old cookery books, the pages in these get subjected to a whole range of different stains,
including booksellers rubber ink stamps!

                               

  

 

 

 

Next Page Removing Ink Stains

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