handling 180 year old land grants

[Randall C Colvin]

I have several old land grants that I'm considering framing. They appear to be on animal skin and I have a few questions/thoughts; How to flatten these so that they can be framed? Since they are on animal skin, I assume rag mat is the choice over conservation mat. Is conservation glass good enough or is museum glass necessary? Rag paper gutters or edge strips for mounting? Any other considerations that I may be missing? One of these in the photos looks to be beyond help but I include it because it indicates the kind of material they're on.

 

[tedh]

What about putting them under Museum glass, scanning them, and framing the scans? Then file them away between sheets of rag mats.

 

[Randall C Colvin]

What about putting them under Museum glass, scanning them, and framing the scans? Then file them away between sheets of rag mats.

That's certainly worth considering but I think the customer actually wants the documents themselves in a frame.

 

[Bruce Papier]

Firstly, don't try to flatten these yourself. Ask your local historical society if they know of a conservator in your area who specializes in sheepskin. If these are improperly handled, they will be ruined. I don't know if even an expert can restore the one with the shrunken section.

Secondly, the protective qualities of Museum and Conservation Glass are the same. Only the surface coatings are different.

Thirdly, I think either of the mounting methods you mentioned would be fine.

 

[Rick Granick]

That's certainly worth considering but I think the customer actually wants the documents themselves in a frame.

In that case, it is important to manage their expectations about what the final product will look like. (Hint: NOT flat and square.)
Rick

 

[Mary Beth van der Horst]

I don't think you're going to get these perfectly flat even with a conservators help, and those old land deeds were rarely square to begin with. If this came into my shop, I might consider letting them be what they are and float mounting them with klucel/mulberry hinges passing through or around unbuffered rag(hedgehog mount). If around, you can raise/float it on top of another (pretty) mat so long as it's not in direct contact with that one. That way, the uneven edges and crinkles and age can all be appreciated instead of haphazardly tamed. Obviously would need a deep enough frame to space it out and keep it away from the glass.
In term of glass type, that's up to the customer. Conservation clear and museum glass would both have the same UV protection, just looks different when it comes to the glare.

 

[wpfay]

Even seasoned conservators cringe when approached with animal skins.
They know the limits to their treatments often don't mesh with the customer's expectations, and that in less than ideal situations, the skins will return to the pre-treatment state.

 

[Rick Granick]

Right. It's all about "educating" the customer as to the "nature of the Beast".
Rick

 

[tedh]

My first experience back in the '90s on Hitchhiker's was the guy who tried dry-mounting a sheepskin diploma in a hot press. It "exploded" into dozens of pieces. Took him weeks to put it back together.

Anyone else remember this?

 

[JFeig]

Parchment, as a protein based material should not be framed with standard buffered archival boards
(rag or alpha cellulose). Only unbuffered boards should be used.

As for flattening, an experienced art conservator is your only option other than digitizing.