Műtárgyvédelem, 2007 (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum)
Válogatás az utóbbi évek magyar papír- és könyvrestaurálási munkáiból - Összefoglalók
must be presented and defended in a lecture before public audience. The final exam also contains a written examination on materials and the theory of conservation and an oral examination before an examination panel on art history in general and on the history and art history of literacy, printing, books and book binding technology. 169 students of eleven training courses organised in the National Széchényi Library between 1981 and 2007 got nationally accredited book and paper conservator certificate. Conservation without fixation of a caricature prepared with water-soluble pigment on acidic paper Tamás Peiler Complete conservation-restoration was the aim of the conservation of the hand- painted caricature made of Count Lajos Hatvány probably in the 1930’s, which is preserved in the Poster and Small Print collection of the National Széchényi Library. The task included the cleaning and neutralization of the paper, the completion of the missing parts, the mounting of the 4.3 m long object and the reconstruction of the originally uniform aesthetic condition. The analysis of the paper material revealed that it was prepared with a monosulphite process from mechanical wood pulp of lignin content and unbleached chemical wood pulp. The paper was rosin sized which was precipitated on the fibres with alum during the production. The pigment was gouache, which was used in transparent form and also as an opaque colour. The thickly applied paint, which peeled at a few places, can be dissolved by moistening. In result of inappropriate storing, the object got torn into five parts since it was folded and kept in a drawer, where the paper broke along the folding. The edges of the dirty sheets darkened and tore and a few fragments got lost. The bottoms and the tops of the first and the last sheets were backed with broad and thin acidic paper strips. Their fittings got detached at a few places. The conservation of the paper started with erasing and the removal of former repairs, then watery cleaning followed. The pigments dissolved in water but the protection of the large painted surfaces would have been a risky solution since when the fixing solvents of excellent pervasive capacities soak the caricature painted on a thin paper, the applied surfaces would be water-repellent. Later when the paper is mounted, these areas would not absorb the glue, which would hinder the uniform stretching of the paper. Thus the pigments were not fixed on a large surface, only two smaller areas were the paint layer peeled. A sieve was placed under each sheet at the floating watery treatment to secure their safe lifting. The surface tension did not let the paper sheet sink. The swelling (dissolution) of the pigments could be observed in the areas of a thick gouache cover. As they did not directly touch the solution, the surface was not damaged. Neutralisation and buffering were carried out in the same way in a calcium hydroxide solution. With measuring the acidity of the paper before and after treatment, the author wanted to see if the acidity of the paper floating on the surface of water could be raised from the initial pH value of about 4 over the ideal pH value of 7 during cleaning, neutralisation and buffering. In the case of former treatments 257
