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knoxcotn-digest Sunday, June 4 2000 Volume 01 : Number 098
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 21:38:31 -0700 From: "Billie R. McNamara" <knox@tngenweb.org> Subject: [KnoxCoTN] If you missed the awesome maps at ETHS Charles Reeves has finally had time to put his entire catalogue on-line. You can't beat his quality or his prices. Check them out here: http://user.icx.net/~reevesca/map_catalog.htm He also does awesome, inexpensive custom maps for your family reunions, books, or other needs. I don't have a financial interest in this, BTW -- I'm just a huge fan. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 08:15:12 EDT From: JPMCANALY1@aol.com Subject: [KnoxCoTN] Hope/McAnally Searching for any information on the Hope/McAnally families. Thomas Hope b.1751 in England, m. Elizabeth Large in 1793. Came to US had 11 children in Knoxville, TN and two in Cheraw, SC. Esther Hope b. December 27, 1800 m. William McAnally b.1796 both in Knoxville, TN. Information came from LDS. John McAnally jpmcanaly1@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 09:19:52 EDT From: JTODD848@aol.com Subject: [KnoxCoTN] ELIJAH WIDNER Could you please help me? I'm looking for more information on a man named Elijah Widner. He may have been my maternal grandfather. He was born in Tn on March 27, 1895 and died in Knox County Tn in September of 1966. I was only 4 months old. I feel absolutely positive this man is the grandfather I never got to know. However, my grandfather went by the name Walter. It could have been his middle name. There is a man listed in the 1920 Knox County Census who was listed as Elisha,(I feel this was a misprint) he was my grandfather.He was listed with Bessie(his wife),and her parents. He & Bessie were married in Knox County on March 30 1918. If anyone can help me verify that Elijah is indeed Walter please contact me immediately. Thanks Sonya ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 17:21:16 EDT From: JPMCANALY1@aol.com Subject: [KnoxCoTN] Hope/McAnally Family History Have found that Mrs. Esther Hope McAnally lived in Knoxville until she died in 1864. Did not find a McAnally Household in the 1830 or 1840 census index but did on the 1850. Could someone do a look up on the 1850 census for McAnally pages 99A-104B? Interested if William is in the household. John McAnally jpmcanaly1@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 04 Jun 2000 12:15:48 -0700 From: "Billie R. McNamara" <knox@tngenweb.org> Subject: [KnoxCoTN] How to handle old paper items This is something we all have to deal with to some degree -- pictures, albums, kids' artwork from kindergarten, newspaper clippings, or even older stuff. This is one of the best articles I've read for a general introduction to the subject of how to preserve paper items. It's a little long for e-mail, but I thought it was worth reading. So, I'm sharing it with you. I found it at http://www.olypen.com/ticn/articles.htm (in the middle of the page). One thing he left out -- cigarette smoke has the same effect as the pollutants he discusses below... ============================================================ Prints, Calendars and the Care of Our Old Paper Collectibles By John Molumby
A Golden rule in old paper is that when storing, or framing old paper, and especially when re-framing always use all-rag mats, acid-free papers and backing boards, the quality of these materials today are vastly superior to most of those used in the distant past. Even though you may destroy the backing paper of a quality framed print from the teens or 1920s when replacing backing materials and cleaning. If you do not do this then within a few years your investment will quickly degrade if it isn't doing so already. What causes the most damage to old paper? It is often handling. The rules of handling are as follows: 1. Use clean hands when handling old books and old paper items. 2. When lifting matted or unmatted materials, use both hands to keep them from bending, creasing, or tearing. 3. Unmatted prints & calendars should never be stacked directly on top of each other but should be separated by a smooth, nonacid cover tissue or paper, also in a pinch you can use quality plastic bags. 4. For optimum protection valuable pictures should be matted rather than left loose. Less valuable prints or paper can be kept in acid-free folders, albums or envelopes. 5. Never use pressure-sensitive tapes "Scotch tape, masking tape, etc.", gummed brown wrapping tape, rubber cement, synthetic glues. 6. Prints glued down on old boards should be handled with as much care as any unmounted, brittle, easily torn prints are caused by age are most common, the mounted backing gives a false sense of strength. 7. When transporting old paper items, mailing, or shipping loose pictures, place them flat between stout boards or unbending cardboard, package tight, do not roll most old paper. Humidity is a chief culprit and danger, excessive humidity causes the growth of mold. Since mold cannot grow unless the humidity exceeds seventy percent, preventive measures must include keeping the humidity below that amount. Air conditioning or dehumidifying machines are the answer in moist climates and damp buildings. For Boxes, cases and small storage areas silica gel in crystal form is good,it is a dehumidifying agent. When hanging or storing prints be aware of dampness on outside walls in stone houses and in basements and cellars. Houses closed up for an extended length of time may become excessively humid and should be aired periodically and checked for signs of dampness or musty odors. Mold growth in paper often shows up as dull rusty patches that discolor the sheet. This is called "foxing" and may be caused by the chemical action of mold and/or the metallic salts often present in paper and inks. It grows easily on pastels, which contain good nutrients for mold in their binding media. Also they are a common on many older prints that have been exposed to excessive moisture. Foxing is the usual result of prolonged, high atmospheric humidity, but if water itself seeps into the picture or book, rampant proliferation of mold may completely envelop the object. First-aid treatment is to remove the object to a dry environment. Open the frame or spread out the pages so that air can circulate freely to the infested areas. Expose to direct sunlight for about one hour to kill the mold or, preferably, place in a closed container with some crystals of thymol, a fungicide, for two or three days. Small sachets or dishes of thymol crystals placed in bookcases or storage containers can help to prevent mold. Book and art collectors may also want to construct a thymol cabinet designed specifically for treating mold. It should have a metal floor on which the thymol crystals are placed and several racks or shelves on which prints and books can be spread out to allow the thymol fumes to permeate the paper. The metal floor is gently warmed from below by low-wattage (forty-watt bulbs, which are turned on every day or two for about an hour to make the thymol crystals volatilize more effectively. The placement and power of the bulbs should be adjusted so that the metal floor never feels hot. If evaporation occurs too quickly, the thymol vapors may saturate the air in the cabinet, recondense as small oily droplets, and form spots on the pictures. Since thymol softens oil paint, the inside of the cabinet should be left unpainted. For the same reason pictures painted in oils should never be treated with thymol. Thymol is volatile, it offers no permanent protection against recurrence of mold if an object is returned to a humid environment. The rules for guarding against mold are as follows: 1. Keep the humidity below seventy percent; about fifty percent is ideal. Do not store paper, prints or books in damp cellars or basements. 2. Avoid hanging pictures on the outside walls of a house, especially if they feel cold or damp. 3. Never frame pictures directly against the glass. To do so invites damage by mold growth or condensation of moisture. 4. Clean bookshelves, frames, and storage areas regularly, as dust contains a large amount of airborne mold spores. 5. Good circulation of air reduces chances of mold growth. Circulation of air behind a frame is improved by attaching small pieces of cork or wood to the lower two corners to keep the frame away from the wall. 6. Never store old paper or books directly on the floor. Raise them on supports to allow circulation of air. 7. Avoid leaving books and prints in a closed room or house for extended periods of time without providing some means of circulation or dehumidification. 8. Fumigate infested books, prints, paper ~except oil paintings~; with thymol (found through most chemical supply houses) fumes to kill mold, and be sure to correct the conditions that originally caused the mold growth. Light: of all the external forces that can affect paper, is perhaps misunderstood because it is so much a part of our everyday experience - is often the most ignored. The print or illustration of today serves as a decoration on the walls of a house, office, or gallery. The long term result is a drastic increase in such during the last several decades and in the damage resulting from overexposure to light. Collectors, rightly concerned with this hazard, often ask conservators whether fading can be stopped by keeping prints and collectibles paper, watercolors, drawings, or colored book bindings in subdued light. Unfortunately, and to their surprise, the answer is "no." It must be remembered that all light fades works of art on paper; less light means only less fading. Pigments used by the papermaker to tint his product or by the artist to create his image do not automatically stop fading when the light drops below a certain level. And fading is not reversible. Placing a work of art on paper in darkness merely halts the process and does nothing to promote recovery or rejuvenation. How much light should be used for viewing works of art on paper? What minimum amount of light does the human eye need to perceive all colors in their proper relationships? The answer is one of degree. Anyone who takes a walk by moonlight can verify that when light is at an extremely low level the eye loses all ability to perceive colors and can only distinguish tonal, or black and white, values. Therefore, one can only conclude that there must be sufficient light for good viewing, but any excess, which will hasten fading, must be avoided at all costs. An optimum amount of light is five footcandles, which corresponds roughly to the output of one Iso-watt reading lamp at a distance of three or four feet. In other words, use the same amount of light for viewing works of art on paper as is required for casual reading. Bear in mind that the human eye is a poor judge of light quantity because it adapts so easily to major changes in intensity. The eye needs mechanical assistance to make an objective determination of light quantity. This can be accomplished with some of the older photographic light meters, such as the Weston, which are calibrated in footcandles. Follow this procedure. Take a sheet of white blotting paper or other similar unglazed white paper, at least one square foot in size. Put the paper in the position that the picture is to occupy and, following the manufacturer's directions for using the meter, make a reading of the light reflected from the sheet of paper. The proper amount of light is now determined. The next step is to guard against unnecessary exposure. Museums and historical societies control exposure by various means. It is their practice, for example, to keep delicate watercolors and documents with fading ink in storage for viewing only by appointment. They display them in rooms lit artificially only during well-defined hours. They install them in cases protected with fabric coverings, which the visitor himself can remove and replace. In the nineteenth century, some Victorian frames for watercolors were equipped with a small curtain, resembling a window shade, that would roll up inside the molding when raised to view the picture. Most large museums rotate selections from their holdings so that an object is never left on view for more than a few months at a time, a practice which even the modest collector might well emulate. Simply changing the position of the pictures in your house once every year or so will not only diminish the possibility of their fading but will also place them in a new perspective that will enhance enjoyment of them. The established collector might even consider the possibility of storing a certain percentage of his collection on a rotating basis. Avoid hanging pictures or placing bookshelves or glass-fronted bookcases on a wall directly opposite windows, since the light is likely to be greater there than anywhere else in the room. Translucent curtains or louvered blinds can used to moderate or redirect the bright light of day. Pictures should, of course, never be hung in direct sunlight. Even reflected or indirect morning light reflected from within a room will cause negative effects. Indirect daylight, however, carries a danger in addition to intensity, for it is a source of ultraviolet light, which, though invisible, is even more destructive than visible light. Ultraviolet rays accelerate fading and even cause deterioration of the paper itself. Watercolors, prints, drawings, paper and books should therefore never be exposed directly to these damaging rays. Fluorescent lights are a potent source of ultraviolet light and should always be covered with cylindrical plastic sleeves that filter out the dangerous radiation. Alternatively, ultraviolet-filtering acrylic plastic may be substituted for glass in a picture frame. Heat; do not expose paper and books to heat, since high temperatures accelerate the deterioration of paper. Do not hang prints over a radiator, heating register or air duct. The enticing spot above the fireplace is doubly bad as a place to hang prints, first, because of heat, and, second, because soot and gummy residues produced by the fire adhere to the glass and obscure the picture. Air Pollution Urban areas are antipaper. The city dweller should realize that a polluted atmosphere is one of the dangers that threaten the longevity of paper and the permanence of works of art on paper. The most harmful contaminant in the atmosphere is sulphur dioxide, a gas produced by combustion of fossil fuels like coal and oil; it is a major constituent of smog. Sulphur dioxide attacks paper and causes discoloration, brittlization, and eventual disintegration of the paper fibers. It is absorbed by the paper and converted into sulphuric acid, a particularly strong acid that does not evaporate and leave the paper even after it has been removed from contact with the gas. Severe brown stains caused by this destructive pollutant are often seen on framed pictures that have been partly or entirely exposed to the air by lack of proper backing. Sulphur dioxide also robs leather bookbindings of their strength and pliability and can eventually reduce them to mere powder. At the turn of the last century library holdings were severely damaged by the high concentration of sulphur dioxide produced by the use of illuminating gas. Air pollution seems to be an inescapable hazard of urban life. The only sure defense, short of removing the paper to the relatively uncontaminated air of the suburbs or the country, is to install air conditioning. The restorer can help to minimize the effects of pollution by washing or deacidifying paper that has been exposed too long to city pollutants. Protection of framed prints with all-rag board, front and back, plus a backing large enough to cover the entire mat will help to minimize danger from a polluted atmosphere. GOOD LUCK! (editor's note: The above article was written for and is in the archives of The Illustrator Collector's News) =============================== ------------------------------ End of knoxcotn-digest V1 #98 ***************************** |