Re: Another slice
Schuyler Larrabee
Mark,
Your steamy shower method has professional endorsement.
The Smithsonian has been doing the same thing for years with old drawings. The man responsible for this had a memorable name, which (of course) I can’t remember right now – I am pretty sure his last name was Loony, or something like that. But he used a bathroom in the Smithsonian building to get rolled prints and drawings to begin to flatten out. He hung the drawings using clips and then ran the shower in the room for an hour or so. The next day he’d look at them. Some ready to take down, others needing another blast of the shower’s humidity. I remember him saying that some rolls only expanded a few inches so he was hanging a roll of drawings still about 6” in diameter.
He was interviewed in either Railway & Locomotive Historical Society’s newsletter or possibly in the publication of the Industrial Archaeology Society.
Given his age when I read this, I suspect Mr. Loony is no longer with us . . . at the very least, he’s got to be retired.
Schuyler
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> On Behalf Of mark_landgraf via Groups.Io
Bob
It's so much fun to work with 100 year old paper.
I've found that high humidity helps temporarily get rid of the brittleness in old paper prints.
Steamtown uses a large steam box that they have. I have used a galvanized steel trash can with a few bricks in the bottom and about an inch of water in the bottom. Loosen up the rolled drawings, set them on the bricks, and place the cover on the can for a few days. Then unroll the damp drawings and place on a tabletop. In couple of hour they are ready for scanning.
At home, I've been known to hang them in the bathroom. After a couple of steamy showers, they are a lot easier to work with.
Mark
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