“Oxford University College Leases” – Iron gall ink treatment

I carried out this project during my placement in 2015 in the Oxford Conservation Consortium.

These documents from the late 16^th to the late 17^th centuries were mainly written with iron-gall ink and had been exposed to water/moisture, which caused ink corrosion and mould damage to the paper support.

The damaged support was supported locally using remoistenable tissue. Toned Hidakawashi paper was coated with 3-5% gelatine through thin terylene screen and was used for treatment by reactivation with controlled moisture.

The procedure followed the technique developed by Jacobi Eliza and Bas van Velzen in their article (2011) “Repair on Iron Gall Ink with Remoistenable Tissue”, Journal of Paper Conservation, Vol. 12 No. 2.

The following images are reproduced by permission of “The Master and Fellows of University College, Oxford”.