Laminating and Delaminating

I’ve been wanting to do more reading on the Barrow method after this jumped out at me from the Northeast Document Conservation Center’s  Introduction to Preservation: “Archivists adopted many of the techniques for conservation of individual documents set forth by William J. Barrow, among them deacidification and lamination, a process later found to be damaging.” (Foley) (emphasis mine)  I found this alarming since my library has, for decades, saved archival newspaper clippings by pasting them onto construction paper and then laminating the pages.  Probably doubly damaging as I suspect the construction paper was not acid free.

My fears were allayed quickly by a little more reading on the Barrow lamination method.  This process used cellulose acetate, the same material which was used, among other things, for motion picture film during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s.  When it was developed in the 1930s, cellulose lamination was considered a state of the art method for preserving fragile paper and was used on many collections of historic documents, among them gubernatorial papers of Thomas Jefferson (Dulaney) and documents relating to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 (Page).  Cellulose acetate film turned out to be less permanent than had been hoped as the film will deteriorate when exposed to heat or moisture.  The chemical breakdown can cause even more damage to the documents it was designed to protect.   The film that my library is currently using is labeled “homopolymer.”  That is a fairly generic term so further research will need to be done to determine whether this particular film is appropriate for archival use.  However, I don’t believe we need to worry about it breaking down in the same manner as the cellulose acetate film does. Whether it could be removed is another question.  Cellulose acetate films (there are various brands) can be dissolved by various solutions of acetone.  Two articles (referenced below) from the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC) describe this process as it was applied to several documents relating to the 1803 purchase of the Louisiana Territory by Thomas Jefferson.  Page gives a history of the documents and an overview of the delamination process, enhanced by several photographs.  Ormsby goes into great detail on the chemical processes of delaminating cellulose acetate film.

 While perusing the FAIC website I also found a dissertation written by Sally Roggia in 1999 about Barrow and his work.   Roggia gives an extensive background on Barrow, his family, education, research, and work, as well as history and exploration of library and archives conservation, and research into paper deterioration and preservation.  Barrow did much of his work right here in Virginia, and for several years has a workshop at the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, which is within walking distance of my house.  All the more reason to learn about his life and work!

1. Foley, L. (Project director). What is preservation? Definitions. In Preservation 101. Andover, Massachusetts: Northeast Document Conservation Center. (2006)  Retrieved from http://unfacilitated.preservation101.org/

 
2. Dulaney, D. (2011, February 23). Grant Allows Jefferson’s Papers to be Preserved.  Retrieved July 17, 2014, from http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2011/02/23/grant-allows-jeffersons-papers-to-be-preserved/

3. Page, S. (2003). Cellulose Acetate Lamination at the National Archives Part 1: The Louisiana Purchase Documents, a Case Study. The Book and Paper Group Annual, 22. Retrieved July 18, 2014, from http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v22/bp22-11.pdf

4. Ormsby, M. (2003). Cellulose Acetate Lamination at the National Archives Part 2: Analysis of Laminated Documents Using Solid-Phase Microextraction. The Book and Paper Group Annual, 22. Retrieved July 18, 2014, from http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v22/bp22-12.pdf

5. Roggia, S. (1999). William James Barrow: A Biographical Study of His Formative Years and His Role in the History of Library and Archives Conservation From 1931 to 1941 (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. Retrieved July 18, 2014, from http://cool.conservation-us.org/byauth/roggia/barrow/