A few weeks ago, theEverything to Everybody: Your Shakespeare, Your Culture exhibition opened in the Gallery on Level 3 in the Library of Birmingham. The exhibition tells the story of George Dawson, the beginnings of the Shakespeare Memorial library, and showcases some of our prized pieces from the Shakespeare Collection including our copy of the First Folio. Putting on exhibitions takes months, even years of planning. For this exhibition, in collaboration with Simon Leach Designs, we decided to see what was possible when building the exhibition space with as much recyclable material as possible, whilst maintaining conservation standards.
Previous exhibitions I have worked on have used Perspex to make book cradles and angled lecterns to display objects. Although these do look beautiful, do the job of fully supporting the objects and are an inert material, there are sustainability issues with this material. The problems with Perspex is it is not recyclable and after the exhibition (which are always temporary e.g. no permanent displays!) they are unlikely to ever be reused in any capacity again. With plastic pollution becoming ever more of a problem, it seems wise to try and cut down on the use of plastic in the first place. Although there has been a movement of making cardboard cradles for exhibitions over the past few years, these are usually made by hand which would not have been a possibility for me as I am a sole Conservator with limited time. It therefore was decided to see what was possible using the Kasemake box making machine.
When I think of Wimbledon I obviously think of tennis, strawberries and cream and its perfect green grass courts. I have never thought of Birmingham. However, when I saw ‘Harry Gem’s scrapbook’ back in 2019 that changed. Within the scrapbook there was a booklet with an annotation crossing out ‘Rules’ replacing it with ‘The Laws of Lawn Tennis.’ (See Fig 1.) Having read up a bit more I realised that the tennis played at Wimbledon today was developed by Harry Gem, a Brummie!
Fig 1. ‘Laws of the Game’ booklet within Harry Gem’s scrapbook MS 3057
Harry Gem was a Solicitor from Birmingham. Along with his friend Augurio Perera, they developed a game which became known as lawn tennis, sometime between 1859 – 1865. They formed the first ever tennis club in Leamington Spa in 1872 with a second club being set up in Edgbaston shortly after. The game Harry Gem helped to develop was the beginnings of the game of tennis which we know today. Gem’s scrapbook contains various mementos showing us his thoughts and what interested him throughout his life, including his interest in developing the then new sporting game – Lawn tennis!
Regular readers of the blog and users of our social media channels may have heard the good news that together with Sampad, we were awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the project ‘From City of Empire to City of Diversity: A Visual Journey.’ One part of this exciting project will be the re-housing of the entire Dyche collection (MS 2912).
The Dyche collection is made up of a variety of materials including an estimated 10,000 photographic prints, photographic negatives, bound volumes, ephemera, various props (including a fake tree stump!) and photographic equipment from Ernest Dyche’s studio. The collection is currently housed in standard archival boxes with very few individual objects in protective enclosures. Some objects such as the photographic negatives are in their original packaging. Fig 1. shows us a typical example of how the collection is currently housed.
Fig. 1. Current housing of MS 2912 photographic negatives in their original packaging in a standard archival box
One of the most challenging materials to look after in our collections is cellulose acetate film. This is due to the material it is made from. Cellulose acetate film can have a lifespan of 60 to 100 years and therefore is a major hazard to care for. If left alone with no preventative measures in place, the sheet film could end up looking like this:
Fig. 1. Cellulose acetate sheet film with blisters and channels.
Cellulose acetate film (also known as safety film) was used in photography of the base material for negatives from the 1920’s until the 1970s. It was created as a safe alternative to cellulose nitrate film (cellulose nitrate film had a tendency to set itself alight, so a safer alternate was developed!).
Unfortunately, cellulose acetate is highly vulnerable to decay, deterioration and is unstable. As this film type starts to deteriorate, acetic acid is produced creating a vinegar smell. This marks the start of deterioration. As these films start to decay, the plastic cellulose acetate base starts to shrink and become brittle. The film layer does not shrink so this creates undulations and as it deteriorates further the surface of the negative starts to bubble and create channels. See Figs 1 and 2. In some cases, the negatives can turn blue or pink when they would have once been transparent. Once the film has reached this stage it is rendered unusable. It is therefore important that these film types are identified within our collections and stored in appropriate conditions.
When I see a collection reference number starting with BBP (Birmingham Building Plans), I look at the retrieval slip and shudder, knowing that the requested item has a high chance of being in a poor condition. Transparent paper has poor ageing qualities so when I open the envelope to look at the document it sometimes looks like this:
Fig. 1 A damaged and brittle building plan
This is an example of one of the many building plans that we hold which has become damaged. As you can see from fig 1, the paper has yellowed considerably and become extremely brittle. If handled, the paper would break and shatter further. We obviously cannot serve plans which are in this state as there is a real danger of pieces becoming lost forever.
Transparent papers are some of the most challenging papers within our collections to look after. They began gaining in popularity and use in the mid-19th century and include paper types such as tracing paper and vegetable parchment. As the commercial production of these papers increased, it meant that for the first time the production of multiple copies of maps, plans and decorative designs was cheap, easy and could be achieved in both small and larger sizes. These papers were favoured by architects, engineers and designers for these reasons and feature heavily in the BBP collection. Unfortunately, their preservation is not the most straightforward.
You may have come into the Wolfson Centre and wondered ‘Why have I been told that this document has been closed because of its condition?’ You may have thought to yourselves ‘How bad can it be?!’ Sometimes when I look in a box, I am confronted with this…
Fig. 1 An object suffering from mould growth
Although I find it extremely tempting to put the lid back on as quickly as possible and hide it away for it never to be seen again, objects like this are kept, assessed and our catalogue is updated stating the object is now closed due to its condition. As you can see from the photo in Fig 1, this book is covered in mould. When confronted by objects such as these, I make sure that these objects are separated and stored separately from the rest of our collections. Storing mouldy objects separately makes sure that the mould is confined and cannot cross-contaminate other collections.
We cannot serve objects like this due to the health and safety hazards associated with them. Breathing in mould and mould spores as well as handling objects like this can cause irritation to your skin, eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Mould can be particularly harmful if you suffer from skin allergies, asthma or have a compromised immune system. Prolonged exposure to mould with no personal protective equipment (PPE) could potentially make you very sick indeed causing rashes to the skin, a cough, nasal congestion and breathing difficulties.
The best defence against outbreaks of mould in our collections is to make sure that the environmental conditions in our storage areas are kept stable, that areas are not damp, the temperatures do not fluctuate, and that stores are kept reasonable cool. Our main store is kept at 18⁰C, with a Relative Humidity (RH) of 45%. These conditions are maintained 24 hours a day and are monitored to make sure these conditions are consistent.
Mould germination and its growth is dependent on conditions which are warm and damp. Conditions over 60% RH at 20⁰C or above would be cause for concern. It would only take 48 hours for mould to grow in conditions such as these. A regular cleaning regime is important too. Loose surface dust can carry mould spores so if left uncleaned, could encourage mould growth if the correct conditions present themselves. Mould is more likely to develop in the present of starch and proteins such as gelatine and animal glue. These are found in sized papers and in books which is most of the collections which we hold!
Flooding is also a concern when looking after a collection and preventing mould growth. As well as potential damage to a building it can ruin collections. If any objects happen to get wet, it is important that wet objects are dried out within 48 hours or frozen in the same time frame. Freezing wet books halts any potential mould growth and buys valuable time so objects can be dried out once a more appropriate time presents itself.
Although it is not the nicest of jobs, we are able to treat objects that contain mould. When treating these objects, we must wear PPE. This includes wearing disposable nitrile gloves, disposable over sleeves, a disposable apron and in more extreme cases a FFP3 mask and goggles (used if exposed to very high levels of mould). Mouldy objects are cleaned within a fume cabinet using a museum vacuum, both must contain HEPA filters. HEPA means High Efficiency Particulate Air. A HEPA filter will trap 99.95% of dust particles which are 0.3 microns in diameter. To compare, a human hair is 50-150 microns in diameter, so if using a HEPA filter you are effectively trapping particles several hundred times smaller than the width of a human hair, so the particles the filter is trapping is very small indeed.
To remove mould from objects, the object must first be completely dry. Once dry we make sure the mould is not active. Mould which is not active is dry and powdery. Once mould is in this state, it is placed in the fume cabinet a using a soft brush attachment on the museum vacuum. All parts of an object are brushed gently with the vacuum on. Fragile items are vacuumed using a fine mesh to make sure the object is protected from the suction from the vacuum. As well as removing the powdery substance we are also able to remove the mould spores. No chemicals are used on archival objects when mould cleaning. Once objects have been cleaned, their condition status is updated, and these objects can return to our main stores and can potentially be served.
Approximately 40% of all conservation enquiries I receive are related to mould, so it is important to have procedures in place to minimise its occurrence, have active recording of objects containing mould so we can identify and isolate objects as well as organising treatment of the very worst cases. Hopefully by having preventative measures in place and being reactive to risks, our collections will be safe from mould from many years to come!
In the coming weeks a lot of us are going to be spending a lot more time at home. Although this may be a daunting prospect for some, it will be an opportunity to be able to spend time on activities that we don’t always make the time to do.
In my case I am going to sort out my own treasured possessions. I have recently moved to a new house, having moved a total of 3 times in just under 4 years! Each time I have moved to a new place, a lot of boxes have moved too, and I just never get the chance to unpack and sort them. In the end it just became a daunting prospect which I never got around to dealing with.
Some of my treasures I have rediscovered whilst sorting through boxes!
From the picture, you can see some of my treasured possessions. Some items include family photographs, concert tickets, postcards and letters sent to me before social media really took off. Sorting this box out so all photographs are stored safely will be my priority in the coming weeks. As I have gone through the box, I have found that it made me feel happier looking at old times and it was a chance to chat and reminisce about shared memories with my family and friends.
The Iron Room 