Mounting antique fabric backed map

[framinzfun]

I have a map that is from about 1850. It's been folded most of it's life, and since the customer opened it up, the fabric in the folded areas is really brittle. I am matting and framing it. My question is... what is the best way to mount it? My first thought was paste hinges... but will that work with the fabric on the back? Is there a better way? I've attached some photos with a closeup of the back. Thanks!

 

[Finest Fabric]

I have framed many maps like this. It is sometimes difficult to get good adhesion with starch hinges. I have used Lineco acid free gummed paper tape for hinges with good results - the gummed adhesive is a little more aggressive than the starch.

Because the map is made from dissected paper mounted to linen, it is common for pieces of the map to lift, and also as you noted, for the linen to become fragile at the folds.

For this reason, it is a good idea to either encapsulate, or direct contact glaze with abrasion resistant OP3 plex or better. Either will give good support to the surface of the piece.

I usually float mount these against a fabric wrapped board with pass through hinges. Here's some pics!

 

[Sally]

I framed a very large antique map for our local museum. They got an estimate for a conservator and couldn't afford it. So the conservator told me that water activated gummed linen tape hinges were appropriate for mounting as this piece had at one time been taped (packing tape) on the edges.

The best course of action would be for it to go to a conservator.

 

[framinzfun]

I hesitate to use the gummed hinging tape, since my experience with that stuff makes me think it's a bit too aggressive. Fortunately, this map is only 21x26, and isn't very heavy. The customer isn't interested in having a conservator work on it, he just wants to keep it as it is. Another thought I had was to possibly use a suede mat behind it, and use the friction of the suede with the fabric to hold it in place? Is putting plexiglass right up against the paper an acceptable thing to do?

 

[framinzfun]

So is it general consensus that the rice/wheat starch won't adhere well enough to the fabric for hinging?

 

[RParrish]

So is it general consensus that the rice/wheat starch won't adhere well enough to the fabric for hinging?

It's small, I would try it, maybe use 4 or 6 hinges, with a mat floated with spacers.

Suede will just look tacky, but the linen is a very nice look.

I think the paste will hold okay, sometimes an old paper is crusty it's hard to get a good hold on but this should be fine IMO. I frame a lot of these too.

 

[Jim Miller]

I suggest a DCO (Direct Contact Overlay) mount using at least one 1/4" layer of needle-punched polyester batting over a sturdy, decorative backing board; perhaps fabric covered. The batting would compress under slight pressure, and it has a texture that might tend to 'grab' the fabric on the back of the map, making other attachment provisions unnecessary. Use abrasion resistant, 98% UV-filtering acrylic, such as AR-OP-3 orr, if the customer wants the best possible view of the map, use optically coated Museum Optium Acrylic.

Yes, it is OK to have the abrasion-resistant acrylic in direct contact with a flat-textured paper item, but never use glass in direct contact. The acrylic has better thermal properties and would not easily condense moisture, unlike glass, which is a poor insulator and readily condenses moisture. Proper handling, and therefore customer education, is important with any DCO-mounted framing. For more on this, search the archives for "DCO", "Direct Contact Overlay", and "Dew Point".

If hinging is necessary, I would probably attach lightweight fabric hinges using Lascaux 360, a conservation-grade, reversible, heat-activatable contact cement.

 

[Shayla]

If you do hinge it, itmight be a good idea to use the method shown
on the frametek site, where one is fastened up close to the art, and
the others have some wiggle room.