Paper Restoration Processes

Vital to adequately restoring a paper document is being familiar with the elements that the manuscript is made up of, its constitution, and, if possible, the environment that surrounded it throughout its years of existence. This is the only way of carrying out the most appropriate methods of restoration.

On this occasion, the following will show the restoration of the Letter from Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa to Carlos I of Spain. It is a document from 1525 that recounts the difficulties of the ship Trinidad's solitary journey through the North Pacific and its capture by the Portuguese.

"Restore" does not mean "make the work like new." Instead, it implies the act of identifying its aging process and creating the conditions that will minimize future deterioration.

To achieve this, a series of procedures will be take place to have a more direct impact on its physical appearance: cleaning (mechanical or water-based), repair of cracks and tears, reestablishing the base, etc.

A long-term conservation protocol is also a must—correctly performing the work would mean nothing without it.

For this document, after studying the base and ink, any creases were smoothed out, and the next step was both a mechanical and water-based clean. The paper was strengthened in the most damaged areas. Rips and tears have also been joined back together, and any lost parts have been reattached through manual grafting, which were done using "washi" (Japanese paper) and a reversible adhesive.

The following is the step-by-step process.

1 / Mechanical cleaning. Removal of dust and superficial dirt with a brush.

2 / Mechanical cleaning. Removal of dirt using eraser powder.

3 / Measuring the document's and ink's acidity with pH test strips.

4 / Ink solubility test.

5 / Binding the soluble ink.

6 / Cleaning the document.

7 / Strengthening the document through repreparation.

8 / Reattaching any separated fragments back onto the document.

9 / Repairing any rips and tears in the paper.

10 / Reattaching missing parts of paper using washi (Japanese paper).

11 / Details of the document once any missing parts of paper are reattached.

12 / Document restored.