AICCM Symposium 2006, Conservation of Paper, Books and Photographic Materials. Post-prints and Posters. 19-21 April 2006, Wellington, New Zealand. p234-245

Abstract

The Australian War Memorial’s Official Records collection consists of archival records of Australia’s armed forces during periods of war and peacekeeping. The ‘War Diaries’ gathered during the First World War amount to 645 archive boxes of records, largely from active service units. The entire collection is currently being digitised for online access. The collection includes a substantial number of tracing papers, which are mostly resin-impregnated map overlays. These folded, brittle papers are a primary historical resource, but they have sustained considerable damage and some loss over the years. The current project has provided an opportunity to stabilise these materials for flat storage. The repair method used for stabilisation needed to consider the sensitivity of the material to distortion, the issues of media solubility, the need to maintain transparency for evidentiary reasons and the volume of material requiring processing.

Conference:
4th Book, Paper & Photographs Symposium, 2006
Paper author:
Bernard Kertesz
Year:
2006
Download:
AICCM_BP2006_Kertesz_p234-245.pdf