Sylvia Thom;
Paper Conservation Intern at the National Archives of Ireland describes working with a large quantity of criminal case files from the 1920s to1950s. All the files were similar in condition;
including documents which were dirty;
torn;
creased and weak due to inherent acidity. The wheat starch remoistenable tissue was selected over methyl cellulose as it had proved to be successful on localized tear repair. It was also thought that it may be beneficial to investigate the working properties of a wheat starch remoistenable tissue for lining. Using the remoistenable tissue for a lining worked well on the very thin papers but it was not as effective on the thicker papers;
as some linings peeled at the corners and others delaminated completely. The solution involved placing a large sheet of Saatilene® on a table;
then placing a similar-sized sheet of spider tissue on top. A smaller Saatilene® off-cut was then placed as a protective barrier over each document and brushed through to ensure an even contact. This project has been an excellent chance to enhance my problem-solving skills as well as my ability to investigate new repair methods;