Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 26. (Budapest, 2008)
Róza BRENNER: Conservation of a Pair of 18th Century Leather Boots Shrunken and Deformed at High Temperature
filled the inside front of the softened head and fastened a straight wooden lath to the sole with the help of bandage. Then I put the turned wooden rod used for stretching into the leg and fastened the foot to the horizontal and the leg to the vertical sides of a metal square ruler with a broad strap. The boots were in the humidification tent Ín this fixed position for two weeks, and since no more shaping was possible on either boot, I removed them from the tent and put them in the cabinet of the workshop with 50% relative humidity. Gradually decreasing the humidity to 45% I kept the boots tied to this position for another one month and regularly checked them. The fixing bandage was loosened at 42% humidity. Wet cleaning of the leather I chose an alcoholic fatliquor. 1 I applied the mixture to the leather with cotton wool covered with a cotton cloth and squeezed heavily. The dark filth emerging on the cloth surface indicated the purification of the leather. As I wanted to prevent the mildewing of the greasing agent applied with the fatliquor in the relatively high humidity of the tent and after removing, also to avoid contact with moisture again, I did the wet cleaning right before removal from the humidification tent. Thanks to the composition of the cleaning and at the same time nurturing emulsion, the surface of the leather did not darken or get greasy (lustrous) after drying but preserved the shade and moderate lustre of its original colour. Support of torn leather parts I used vegetable tanned goatskin cut to measure and thinned at the edges to support the torn parts. I coloured them with metal complex dyes 4 to a colour similar to the original. To mend the leather rents, I selected a mixture of rice starch and acrylic adhesive during the adhesive tests. I placed each supporting piece between the upper leather and the lining. For the duration of drying, I put weight on the boot filled densely inside its entire surface. Cleaning of metal thread embroidery and sequins During the cleaning of the boot leather with fatliquor, I worked with a short-haired brush in the hard-to-access areas, especially along the embroideries. I could not avoid the alcoholic emulsion reach the embroidery, but it also cleaned it with unexpected efficiency. This gave the idea to make new cleaning tests with a fatliquor of more favourable chemical reaction than the earlier selected mixture and its components. The best cleaning effect was achieved with neat's-foot oil, which made me realize that the black layer on the surface of metals - thought to be corrosion - was liposoluble soot or ash. I therefore used sticks dipped in the mixture containing neat's-foot oil and squeezed well to remove the smutty dirt from the metal surfaces where it was mechanically possible, and then I wiped off the remaining fatliquor with alcohol. The removed soot appeared on the cloth in a thick black layer of dirt. 7. Stretching the heads and legs of the boots to right angle
