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An Inside Look at SHSI’s Paper Conservation Lab
The
State Historical Society of Iowa goes to great lengths to preserve and conserve
items that the organization acquires. The public sees some of the better-known
results of this work every day: artifacts in State Historical Museum exhibits
or Civil War Battle Flags in the State Capitol rotunda.
Perhaps less known is the State Historical Society’s Jane Meggers, a paper conservator based at SHSI offices in Iowa City, whose job it is to assess the condition of books, letters, maps and other items, in the collection and prepare them for use by researchers or in displays.
There are no formal academic programs related solely to book and paper conservation. Meggers began her career in the early 1980s, training for two years with the Head Conservator at the University of Iowa. She then came to work for SHSI, where she has honed her skills as a conservator and continues to seek learning opportunities.
Meggers
said the main goal of paper conservation is to extend the lifetime of the original
materials. In terms of treatment, she said, less is more, since any treatment
— good or bad — changes the object. Her first step is to inspect the
items visually.
“For paper-based objects from the 19th century and later, the primary observable evidence of deterioration is brittleness and discoloration or yellowing,” she said. “These problems cannot be reversed, but they can be halted. I look for enough flexibility to make repairs without further damage.”
Sometimes, Meggers finds items cannot be made safe for use, so she provides a facsimile for researchers, and retains the original for non-use storage.
Meggers must take painstaking care in handling of her fragile materials. In the paper conservation lab, tools like antique manual cutters and presses, needles and knives lie next to more modern equipment like a suction table for specialized work or a fume hood for using solvents in tape and stain removal.
“One really develops a sensitivity and feel for handling fragile items,” she said. “I have to be careful not to be over-confident about it, and always use a support under things when moving them. Work tops need to be padded and clean to protect from abrasion and marks.”
When a typical treatment can take her anywhere from 15 minutes to 15 hours to complete, Meggers quickly becomes intimately knowledgeable about her subjects. She admits it’s hard to identify the single most interesting piece she’s handled.
“My favorite items have probably been things with evidence of how much their owners treasured them,” she said. “Examples would be old primers with homemade repairs using whatever was available, or Civil War diaries full of heartfelt words and barely held together from being in a soldier’s pocket through the sweat and blood of war. Or on my bench right now: a binding carefully executed using nothing but rubber bands and twist ties!”
In her role, Meggers is able to provide consultation to outside groups on the practice of book and paper conservation. As part of her job now includes work with the Iowa Preservation Center, Meggers contracts with private individuals for conservation work and conducts formal workshops – such as one she recently held for the Greenfield School House Museum, which had undergone fire damage. She also lends her expertise to public libraries, local historical societies, SHSI conferences and grade schools.
For more information about the services provided through the Iowa Preservation Center, contact Jerome Thompson at (515) 281-4221 or visit www.iowahistory.org/preservation/preservation_center.
