Kovács Petronella (szerk.): Isis - Erdélyi magyar restaurátor füzetek 3. (Székelyudvarhely, 2003)
Erdélyi - romániai magyar vonatkozási múzeumi restaurátor publikációk
J etable tanned, dyed leather. Gluing was carried out using wheat starch. In areas that were hard to treat and on the shoulder parts of the vestment, a 2 to 1 mixture of wheat starch and poly(vinyl-acetate) dispersion (Planatol BB Superior) was used. Restoration was finished by sewing back the cleaned and completed linen lining and fastening the front and back parts of the mass cashuble. Kissné Bendefy Márta Chemist-restorer Hungarian National Museum 1450 Budapest Pf. 124 Éva Mária BENEDEK Restoring a copy of the first Hungarian Catholic Holy Bible using paper molding The copy of the Holy Bible under discussion here was published in Vienna in 1626. The translation work was started in 1605 by György Káldi under the instruction of Archbishop Péter Pázmány. The influence of this work on the development of the Hungarian language is similar to that of the Lutheran Bible, translated by Gáspár Károli. The individual history of this book is unknown, recently it was privately owned. The original book was bound entirely in leather with a relief imprint on its cover plate. The first and last gatherings are missing from the volume. At one point in its history, the book was probably kept in a humid environment. The proliferation of microorganism has lead to decay in the high quality, textile-cellulose paper. The detached pages were crumbling, and in a very bad state of preservation. In several places, the book's body, displayed a purple discoloration owing to the enzymes emitted by fungi. Foxing stains also occurred on the pages. The restoration of the book began following the analysis of materials, photographic documentation and drafting of a restoration schedule. The numerous and large discontinuities in the paper were completed using mechanized molding. With the help of András Szabó, a small paper molding machine was constructed in the Csíki Székely Múzeum. Kind help by Gábor Barkó, a restorer from Budapest, must be acknowledged here since he released the plan for this special equipment for our purposes. Paper molding is the phase of restoration during which missing parts are replaced with paper pulp using a vacuum. The paper molding machine consists of a lower and an upper part. These are supported above each other by an iron frame. The upper tank is divided into two sections. This is where the actual process takes place. The lower tank serves for the storage of water pumped through a perforated inox sheet and a plastic sheet onto the page to be restored. The pages are fastened down when under treatment, in order to avoid displacement during restoration, thereafter the pulp is poured onto it. With the help of a valve, excess water is drained back into the lower tank. The vacuum thus produced creates a stronger suction force in the damaged, missing parts of the paper. Cellulose fiber from the pulp is trapped on the screen selectively and the page is completed. Additional restoration work included drying, gluing, the fitting of pages as well as the formation of the book's body and cover. Éva Mária Benedek Paper and leather restorer MA Csíki Székely Múzeum 530110 Miercurea-Ciuc, str. Cetăţii nr. 2. József ORMOS Photographic techniques Photographs have increasingly been accepted as independent works of art both in Hungary and abroad. Special institutions have been devoted to the collection, filing and research of photographs. It is for this reason that it is especially important to recognize pictures taken using different techniques that also require different ways of handling. The author therefore reviews the main characteristics of both carrying and fixing materials for a variety of photographic techniques including daguerreotype, cyanotype, albumin paper, talbotype, aristo paper, celloidin paper, developing paper, gas-glosspaper, ambrotype, ferrotype, pannotype, pigment and carbon prints as well as nitrate and acetate films. Conserving and restoring photographs is a relatively new field, especially as regards various forms of chemical treatment. One of the chief reasons behind this situation is that photographs belong to the most complex objects in any collection. This complexity raises serious problems of curation, although creating proper circumstances for storage and handling, the life-span of photographs can be significantly extended. •One should never handle photographs with 114
