Works on Paper Department: Recovery from vehicle accident
Beth, Paper Conservator, during treatment, repairing the document
Accidents are an unfortunate risk during long-distance transport - and this artwork has quite the story to tell. While en route from Mexico, the trailer carrying our client’s family belongings caught fire after an axle failed. Although the firefighters extinguished the blaze, several of its contents were destroyed. Our client inherited the Declaration of Independence print from his great, great grandfather, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. He was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922. At its core, the Declaration of Independence states that a government exists to safeguard the unalienable rights of its citizens. These rights include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The second edition print of The Declaration of Independence arrived at Preservation Arts’ studio with soot, water damage, and severely structurally compromised condition—a firefighter’s axe had gone through the center of the document during the emergency response. Further, the enclosed environment of the vehicle acted as an artificial aging chamber, leading to severe embrittlement, discoloration, and fragility of the paper substrate. Treatment began with unframing the print and allowing it to aerate for several weeks to dissipate the odor and off-gassing. This was followed by careful dry cleaning to remove surface soot, and then extensive immersion washing. Once the print had been stabilized, individual fragments could be repositioned, and areas of loss were aligned more accurately. The print was then lined to provide structural support, sized, pressed, and flattened.
After fire, damaged trailer
Before treatment, detail
During treatment, immersion washing
Before treatment, detail of the document after the fire and fireman’s ax
After treatment
During treatment, detail of immersion washing with water discoloration
Before treatment, overall
After treatment