Tag Archives: Preservation matting and mounting

How many magnets is too many magnets?!

Recently Jessica and I started working on a series of special collection items from UC Libraries’ DAAP Library. These were recent acquisitions specifically bought to be used as a teaching collection within the DAAP Library. Most items are small prints and single manuscript leaves that need to be matted for exhibition and prepared for handling during class. We have been working on these in small batches since it is a much larger collection that keeps growing.

Most of the items we have received so far have been very straightforward matting projects, however we encountered one that was puzzling and fun to work on. We received this item: a proof print accompanied by its very heavy, copper engraving plate. The print was adhered to a paper brown envelope with no information and the copper plate was also unhoused.

Image of print on the left and the copper plate on the right, with a photography target below
Proof print (left) and engraving plate (right) before treatment and housing.

The curator of the collection wanted both items to be housed together and housed in a way that would allow students to touch the items, and also be able to use them for exhibits.  We decided that both items would be matted individually, and then housed together in a thin corrugated clamshell box. The most challenging part would be to create a matting system that was strong enough to secure the very heavy copper plate and elegant enough to be used for exhibition.

The print itself received minor treatment, with the backing envelope being removed and the print housed in a polyester L-sleeve mounted with photo corners.

An image of the matted print
Print housed in a polyester L-sleeve and matted with photo corners.

With the engraving plate, I needed to figure out how to create a matting system that was strong enough to hold the copper plate in place, especially if used for an exhibit where it may be propped at a slight angle. After considering some options, I created a sink mat that would secure the plate halfway, and then the rest of the sink mat would be adhered to the window mat so the copper plate, resting on a polyester tray, could be pulled out of the mat easily. How would I keep the matting system closed? ….with magnets, lots of magnets! For this project I used 24 rare earth magnets.

Image of the matted copper plate
Copper engraving plate housed in a specialty sink mat with magnetic closures.
Diagram of the magnet locations in the sink mat
Matting system for the copper plate – a sink mat, half attached to the back mat and half attached to the window mat, all secured closed with magnets.
Copper plate partially removed from the matting system with a box highlighting the location of the polyester film tray
Copper plate slightly removed from the matting system by the polyester film tray.

This was a fun project to work on. After using 24 magnets and breaking a few in the process, the copper plate was securely housed in the sink mat, while also able to be propped up for exhibition and handled for teaching.

Before treatment
Image of the matted print and copper plate side by side with photography target below
After treatment
The matting system in action!

Catarina Figueirinhas [UCL] – Assistant Conservator

Conservation photography by Jessica Ebert

Working with Abe

I love matting projects! Matting is an elegant way to present images and documentation for exhibition. We received a collection of letters and images from Abraham Lincoln in the lab from the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL) for preservation and conservation. After our conservator Ashleigh Schieszer completed the preliminary work of removing the artifacts from all the acidic and harmful elements they were previously in contact with, we collaborated on the matting choices. One cool thing I just love about this job is the opportunity to make tiny models of our intended work. Obviously, we can iron out some of the bugs and problem solve unforeseen obstacles with models, but making a tiny representation of my work is not only great to have as a future reference but is just really cool.

Matting model on left, original objects on right

So, for one of the previously matted compilations the curator suggested retaining the beautiful custom mat for the finished system. This presented a problem because of the acidity in the original mat. The solution we came up with was to create an archival buffer mat between the original mat and the artifacts. Easy-peezy.

To mount overlapping objects, we decided to secure them to different mat board layers.  For example, the document on top will be attached to the back of the archival buffer with a polyester sling while the letter and portrait will be mounted to the backing board with edge strips or photo corners.

The archival buffer mat is hinged below the opened original mat.
View of the artifacts below the archival buffer mat. Parts are mounted to different layers in the model.

We also added a custom portfolio for transportation and long term housing.

Chris Voynovich (CHPL) – Conservation Assistant