The following definitions in this resource have been compiled from CCAHA Disaster Recovery bulletins: Salvaging Books, Salvaging Art on Paper, and Salvaging Photographs.
At CCAHA, we often find that the stories behind the objects we treat are as interesting as the objects themselves. Such was the case with a recent treatment from the Suffolk County Historical Society of Long Island, New York. The Historical Society had a scrapbook of documents that was referred to...
Ultraviolet (UV) light is harmful. It’s bad for our eyes, bad for our skin, and, unsurprisingly, bad for paper objects. The windows and lights at CCAHA filter UV light, and the glazing we use in frames protects artifacts from the wavelength. But in certain controlled circumstances, UV light can be...
The American Battle Monuments Commission recently brought a soldier’s memorial certificate from c. 1914-1919 to CCAHA for conservation treatment. The 19” x 13” certificate, written largely in French, has this handwritten inscription: “Charlie P. Monroe / Private, 13th Battalion, Infantry Replacement...
The Mennonites were one of the persecuted Anabaptist German Protestant groups who emigrated to the United States in the 18th century, seeking religious freedome. Today, the Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania manage the Mennonite Heritage Center (MHC). Its collections illustrate and...
In World War I, American soldiers served in segregated regiments. Like many troops of color, the men serving in the 369th Infantry Regiment, commonly called the “Harlem Hellfighters,” were sent to France to serve under the French Army. It was there, on the Western Front, that two American privates...
In 1972, the Louvre installed a unique design exhibition. Dozens of rolling Plexiglas and polished steel cubes housed individual pieces of furniture. The entryway to the 45-foot tall exhibition space was dominated by a huge, three-dimensional logo spelling out a single word: Knoll. The show was a...
Treating pastels is always challenging due to the delicate, crumbly nature of the media. They also present handling and transport issues that must be considered during housing. When two large pastels from the University of Delaware Museums came to CCAHA, conservators had to balance improving their...
Born in Warsaw in 1907, Feliks Topolski moved to England in 1935. Topolski is remembered as a talented draughtsman, muralist, and chronicler. He painted the 1959 Coronation murals of Buckingham Palace and ran a serialized publication, Topolski’s Chronicle, for several decades toward the end of his...
Russian artist Ilya Kabakov lived through three tumultuous decades in Moscow during the height of the USSR. From the 1950s to the 1980s, his work spanned a variety of media and subjects as he fell in and out of favor with the Soviet regime. In his capacity as a member of the prestigious Union of...
