Before and after: Objects on the conservators’ workbench

Vanessa’s most recently conserved object is a beautiful silhouette cut-out by Lotte Reiniger entitled ‘The Dance in the Park’. Lotte Reiniger is well known in the cinematographic world for her exquisitely elaborate silhouette animation films. Between 1923 and 1926, she made ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed’, the oldest surviving animated film in the history of cinema. ‘The Dance in the Park’ silhouette in our collection was made in 1956 for a neighbour’s 21st birthday, in the characteristic style that Reiniger pioneered.

The silhouette is composed of three parts: a larger paper back mount, a thicker paper background and the black paper cut-out section on top. All the parts had originally been attached to one another with adhesive, which had begun to fail in places.

>Vanessa’s first action was to assess the silhouette’s overall condition and write a report to track changes and improvements. Vanessa carefully analysed all the cut-out sections, and it became apparent that many areas weren’t appropriately adhered—in some cases, this had been done deliberately to add dimension and drama. The intricate cut-out details of this scene are quite remarkable.

Vanessa re-adhered the two large fragment areas that had become loose, as well as the other areas that were fragile and lifting away from the paper background. Loose cut-out backed with Japanese paper.[/caption]

>To conclude the stabilisation treatments, she added a barrier film between the back mount and the thick background paper, to separate the cut-out paper from the acidity of the original paper back mount.

Meanwhile, on Eleanor’s bench this week was an Aeroscope cine camera, a wooden camera which uses compressed air within its mechanism. After an initial assessment, it was clear that the camera was in good condition, so the conservation work would be reasonably light touch. The wooden casing was scratched and scuffed, but these scratches speak of a history of use and therefore their appearance would not be altered.

>Examining the left-hand side of the camera revealed not one, but two object numbers applied to the panel—a paper label and hand lettering applied to the wood. Physically labelling objects is done to avoid what is known as ‘dissociation’—losing information about a particular object within the collection. Although labels on strings can be tied to objects, they are not without the risk of becoming detached and lost, so marking objects helps ensure museums can be confident they can identify objects in their collection, as well as any specific information recorded about that particular object.

>In this instance, the paper label is more intrusive to the object, drawing the eye to a greater extent than the more discreet lettering at the base of the panel. Therefore, in a discussion with the relevant curator, it was decided to remove the paper label.

The first step was to see if the label could be removed manually without having to resort to using a solvent. As the edge of the label was already lifting, Eleanor gently began to peel it away with a pair of tweezers, paying close attention to ensure that none of the varnish was being lifted at the same time.

The paper substrate lifted away easily, but it left gummy remnants of the old adhesive behind on the wood. Again, this part of the sticker was also reasonably mobile, and using a cocktail stick carved to give it a flatter edge, Eleanor was able to gently manipulate the adhesive over the surface of the wood into a shape that allowed her to tweeze it off.

>With the label removed, it was time to give the rest of the camera a clean. The panel that previously had had the paper label stuck to it had been detached in the past to allow access to the internal workings of the camera, and as a result there was a large amount of dust and grime within the recesses of the camera.

It proved tricky to access a lot of the dusty areas, as the gaps underneath the mechanisms were quite tight. Therefore, rather than use a soft brush with a long handle that would get in the way, Eleanor used a cotton bud, which was much more maneuverable in the limited space.

Once Eleanor was satisfied with the level of cleaning within the camera, she returned to the exterior to give the wood one final dust. Another object  complete!