Repair of an Antique Patent Medicine Advertisement

Brown's Vermifuge Comfits advertising poster board, c. 1860's. Recto showing chromolithograph print.

Brown's Vermifuge Comfits advertising poster board, c. 1860's. Verso showing acidic pulp board backer.

This interesting 1860's advertising poster for Brown's Vermifuge Comfits came to the studio with a jagged break across the centre of the board. Its conservation treatment involved repairing the break, inpainting loss and light surface cleaning.

Chromolithograph advertising artworks such as this one, for a patent medicine based on worms, (sounds appetizing, doesn't it?), were frequently produced mounted on a thin pulp board backer, for strength and display purposes. The acidic wood-pulp board has however, after 150 years, become brittle and crumbly, and in its weakened state is easily damaged. 

Inserting a repair strip across the break.

The break was mended by inserting a thin but strong strip of acid-free board into the centre of each side, providing a sort of "biscuit" joint repair. The sides were prepared first by splitting the board, and removing some of the original board material to make room for the repair strip. Then the repair was cut to match the shape of the break, and thinned down on either side to allow for easier insertion. The joint was completed and adhered with our good friend wheat starch paste, and pressed under weight to dry. 

The loss filled with Japanese paper and ready for inpainting.

Damage around the break had resulted in some loss to the surface of the printed image. The loss was filled with Japanese paper fibres and then inpainted to match the surrounding image.

Swabbing to remove dark brown accretions on the surface.

Finally, swabbing removed several sticky brown accretions on the surface of the advertisement. 

After treatment, the break is repaired.

After restoration the advertisement board is intact, with little evidence of it's previous damage. It is ready once again to give us a glimpse into the strange victorian era of quack medicine.

What was the first book that got you hooked on rare books and collecting?

Preparing to reattach the covers of a half-leather book.

Book and Paper Conservator Jennifer Robertson was recently featured on Jasper52's blog about rare book collecting. Read a short interview where she describes what got her interested in rare books and conservation.

Getting Hooked on Rare Books: 3 Experts Share Their Stories

Conservation Treatment of a Hand-Coloured Map of Upper Canada, 1855

Canada West or Upper Canada, 1855. Before treatment.

One of our favourite types of items to work on at Book and Paper Conservation Services is rare and antique maps. They are always fascinating from a historical perspective, and they tend to respond very well to conservation treatment. Typical problems for 18th and 19th century maps include staining and foxing; creases, tears and breaks to fragile paper; and overall darkening and discolouration. The colouring can be faded but treatments that brighten the overall paper tone will make the hand coloured areas stand out more vibrantly after conservation. 

Adhesive on the map had discoloured to a dark brown, and attempts at removal had caused it to tear.

This beautiful hand-coloured map, titled Map of Upper Canada or Canada West, and dated 1855, came to BPCS adhered to the inside cover of a volume to which it didn't belong. While the map was originally issued as a fold-out plate in a book, at some point it had been removed from its home and adhered very roughly into the front of another volume. The adhesive the new owner used had darkened dramatically over time, and a rough attempt at removal had caused the paper to tear. 

Washing the map to reduce overall discolouration and staining.

First, the map was tested to determine if the hand colouring was able to withstand aqueous treatment. Then, conservation treatment involved carefully removing the map from the book cover, washing the map overall, and performing local chemical bleach treatment on both the large adhesive stain and the other various spots over the sheet. Finally, the tears were repaired and the map flattened. 

Chemical bleaching through suction to reduce staining.

As the map's original book was no longer present, it will be matted and mounted for display as an individual piece. The treatment was very successful, brightening the paper tone overall and reducing the dramatic brown stains that had disfigured the page. It can now be properly appreciated the way it was intended to appear. 

Canada West or Upper Canada, 1855. After treatment.