The conservation perspective
The Trust Archives has recently updated our webpage with information about how you can support the work we do to preserve and conserve our collections (check out the 'Supporting our work' section here). You can donate online here.
Conservation is a key part of the work of any archives service, and so to explain a little more, we're resharing a post which was first published on the old blogsite from our past project 'A Study in Specialism', which focused on the archives of St Mark's Hospital. The post was written by conservator Rebecca D'Ambrosio, who worked with us on the project.
This post was originally published on 9 Oct 2017:
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Rebecca, I am the project conservator currently working on this exciting project of making St Mark’s Hospital collection accessible for research. In this post I would like to give an overview of the conservation perspective of this project, and hopefully share a little bit about why I find conservation so fascinating.
Caring for a historical collection
What is conservation? – Conservation relates to caring for the physical aspect of a collection: to reduce or stop damage and/or degradation, by ensuring that the collection is stored in an environment that will promote its longevity and by stabilising individual items so that they are safe to be handled and used. The ultimate aim is to preserve collections and make them accessible to present and future generations.
How does one conserve? – The approach is holistic: from individual item repairs, to uniform or unique housing solutions, to general storage environments. Some of the guiding principles for conservators are:
- Recording: the condition prior to treatment, photographic and written.
- Minimal intervention: the treatment should involve only what is necessary to prevent further degradation.
- Good quality materials: these must not change properties or produce harmful products as they age.
- Reversible treatments: all repairs must be removable at any given point, in the near or distant future.
- Documentation: all must treatments must be fully recorded, photographic and written.
Whatever the collection, a conservator must treat it with the same care and respect as with any, without altering, hiding or removing any part, in order to preserve and uphold the historical value of an item.
Why conserve a collection? – In the case of St Mark’s hospital’s collection, the value is placed primarily on the content, yet a physical loss will result in a loss of information, therefore preserving the physical aspect of a collection comes hand in hand with preserving the information it holds. Without conservation, collections in all that they contain (physical and information) would be lost, which would result in a terrible loss of our heritage.
St Mark’s Hospital collection
The extent – This collection is composed of a variety of types of materials, from bound volumes with paper, cloth, leather or parchment, to files and folders of paper, to boxes full of photographs, negatives and many other individual items. Until the whole collection is catalogued the exact size of the collection is not currently known. Before their transfer to the archives, the records weren’t always stored in ideal conditions, and have suffered varying degrees of degradation. They have to be treated differently according to their needs and the format and material.
The Condition – The historical collection of St Mark’s hospital is currently stored in the archives at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. This collection suffers damage from physical handling, such as tears, abrasion marks and creases, and from poor storage conditions. Many files and boxes are over-full and most books are un-protected with layers of historic dust deposits as a result. Conservation will allow us to make the collection available for research without risking further damage.
