Here be treasure...part deux

Flattening ( or 'relaxing' ) the map took about two months. The combination of sand filled gloves and glass weights ensured that the process was gradual so no inadvertent extra creases were made but this slow and steady approach did have the down side of taking a long time. The edges needed extra attention as they were still curling up. I used a mini iron on a low heat through some silicone release paper (to ensure that there was no disruption to the surface of the map) and 'huffing' on it, to introduce a small amount of moisture. There was still a remaining curl on the edges but this responded well to the glass weights.

The idea was not to get the object pristine and 'like new', but for it still to look it's age and authentic. So when it came to cleaning, it was important to remove any dirt that was detracting from the legibility or that could be damaging but not to use any invasive methods like submersion in an aqueous fluid. Additionally aqueous cleaning would mean the canvass back and the (disintegrating) paper support on the reverse would need to be removed. The owner wanted minimum intervention but maximum conservation to extend the objects life and to improve the aesthetic. After I tested rubber granules, groom stick and some other things, I settled on a plastic eraser. Initially, I grated the plastic eraser (image below). Whilst this was effective at gently removing dirt, this method created too much waste, as the granules had the potential to get in between the layers and creases of the object. In the end, I found shaping the eraser by cutting it to suit the area I was cleaning worked best.

As you can see from the images, some areas of the map were quite grubby and responded really well to cleaning.

I ended up using a view finder that I cut out of (non-acidic) card to hold the map surface securely whilst I erased' the dirt to ensure I didn't ruck-up the surface or add to any of the tears. This had the additional, very pleasing and satisfying result of leaving clean squares and I could track my progress across the map clearly.

As you can see in this image I was concentrating cleaning in the bottom left hand corner when this photo was taken. The section in the lower, middle of the image had a lot ground in dirt and the surface of the paper was quite worn and creased. This limited the cleaning that was possible. I considered using a micro-gel to remove some of the dirt but I didn't want to introduce any more liquid as there was quite a lot of distortion to the shape as it was. this would have also taken me well over the time/intervention limit that the myself and the customer had agreed on.

There was a need to balance cleaning with mending. Whilst I didn't want to trap dirt in the mends it was also tricky to clean around the fragile tears in the paper. As you can see from the close up of a rip on the edge, there are striations from the eraser, left partway through the cleaning. I elected to clean very carefully around the rips with narrow, shaped pieces of eraser.

In this image of the map you can see how the gentle pressure of the glass weights and the sand filled gloves has worked to straighten out the worst of the creases.

After applying the Japanese tissue paper to strengthen weak and damaged areas on the edge, I placed a folded a piece of silicone release paper around the area and weighted it to ensure a good bond with the glue and paper.

Where there was missing sections of the map, I used the Japanese tissue paper to fill the gaps. Because the owner didn't want the map restored, I didn't infill with matching paper. Instead, left the stabilised gaps obvious.

After I had cleaned, flattened and fixed the rips all that needed to happen, before the I returned the map to the owner, was to secure it for travel. I did this by sandwiching it between two bits of non acidic card and folded pieces of paper attached inside to act as stays.

The customer has told me that the framer did a good job (and hopefully followed my instructions!) and that her husband is very pleased with the gift.

...And here ends the tale!