Fire damaged books

We have forty 19th century parish registers with various amounts of
fire damage. Some are also water damaged, but most not. All have
paper text-blocks and there are a mixture of stiff-board parchment,
leather and cloth covers. In general the text-blocks have survived
with only minor charring around the edges, although the paper is
brittle and some have darkened, especially at the edges. The boards,
covering material and spine are very badly burnt throughout. Many
covers have shrunk and are blackened, distorted, charred, brittle
and are fragmented at the edges.

There are approximately 4 books with text blocks that have also been
badly burnt. The pages in these books are black, charred and
fragmented.

Presently the books are stored horizontally, wrapped in spider
tissue and acid-free tissue and boxed. We are exploring options for
microfilming, treatment and re-housing.

Does anyone have any experience of this type of material. Salvage
techniques, treatment options and housing suggestions.

Helen Lindsay
Senior conservator
London Metropolitan Archives




                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:11
                  Distributed: Sunday, August 6, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-14-11-017
                                  ***