Development and preservation in Dublin

Transcription

The Wide Street Commission Map Conservation project is an initiative of Dublin City Library and Archive, which has been part-funded by the Heritage Council of Ireland under the Heritage Management Grant Scheme 2011. The Wide Street Commission was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1757 to reduce city-centre congestion, and to widen and develop the thoroughfares of Dublin. In order to facilitate developments, the Commission had the authority to acquire property by compulsory purchase, to demolish buildings to make way for new streets, and to impose design standards on new buildings. The work of the Wide Street Commission had a lasting impact on the fabric of Dublin City and some important developments included the creation of Westmoreland Street, the building of Carlisle Bridge -now O'Connell bridge- and the development of much of the Quays, Liberties, Dame Street, Baggot Street and the area around the Custom House. The records of the Wide Street Commission have been preserved at Dublin City Library and Archive, and include almost 900 manuscript maps, which trace the development of Dublin city and its environs from 1757 to the mid nineteenth century. Unfortunately approximately 40% of the Wide Street Commission maps were damaged due to how they were handled and stored before being deposited at Dublin City Library and Archive. The extent of damage varies from item to item. However in general, maps had been tightly rolled, and had heavy surface dirt. Some maps suffered from tears and creasing, and even had areas of loss. All damaged maps are closed from public inspection, as handling of fragile maps can cause further deterioration. In order to make these historically important records available to the public, Dublin City Library and Archives has an ongoing project to conserve a number of maps every year. In 2011 with the support of the heritage council, we have been able to conserve 30 maps. Conservation involves time-consuming and highly skilled work. Liz D’Arcy of Paperworks Studio for Paper Conservation was engaged to assess the damage to each map and to carry out the conservation work. Liz is a qualified conservator and an accredited member of the Institute of Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works in Ireland. The treatment of each map was underpinned by two important conservation principals - the principal of “minimal intervention” and the principal of reversibility. This means that all conservation work should be full reversible and that minimum changes are made to the document itself. This ensures that a document retains its original character. Because the maps had been stored rolled, many of them had become brittle and were curling on their own. The first step in the conservation work was to gently unroll each map. To prevent the maps from breaking as they were flattened, Liz used a dahlia spray to humidify and relax the paper. The dahlia spray is filled with water and is then pumped up to pressurise it. It sprays an extremely fine mist, which relaxes paper without actually getting it wet. The next step was to remove dirt from the maps. Liz began cleaning by gently brushing the surface of the map with a soft brush to remove loose dirt and dust. A chemical sponge was then used to remove the heavier dirt. A chemical sponge is always used dry and it is very safe to use on vulnerable documents. It works by using the open cells of the sponge to absorb -actually lifting dust, dirt, soot, and lint into the sponge from the map. This image shows the verso of a partially cleaned map of Cork Hill and Dame Street. The amount of dirt, which has been removed, is considerable. Likewise, contrasting the cleaned section of this map of Rotunda Lying in Hospital with the untreated version, highlights how effective the chemi-sponge is at removing dirt. Before being transferred to Dublin City Library and Archives, some repairs were carried out on the maps using materials harmful to paper, such as commercial tapes and adhesives that stain. Liz carefully removed any pressure sensitive tape or adhesive discolouration evident on the maps. The next step was to reduce acidity and soluble discoloration in the maps. For each map Liz firstly tested pigments for solubility. A tiny drop of water was brushed onto the pigment and then swabbed with a cotton bud to see if any pigment lifted off. The map was then treated with a calcium hydroxide solution. The solution was either brushed on the verso of the map, or if pigments were stable, the map was immersed in the solution. This step is to prevent the chemical deterioration of the paper on which the maps are drawn. Chemical deterioration could cause the documents to become brown, brittle, discoloured. The next task undertaken by Liz was to repair tears, damages to edges, and areas of loss in the maps. Tears need to be repaired, not only to improve the appearance of a torn document, but also to prevent a tear from lengthening, to keep fragments from separating, and to make a document safer to handle. The damaged areas were repaired using Japanese tissue paper. Japanese tissue is a hand-made paper, which does not discolor or become brittle over time. It has long, strong, flexible fibers that produce a lasting repair. Wheat paste starch was the adhesive used with Japanese tissue for paper mending. It is strong, easy to reverse, and is chemically stable. It is purchased as a highly refined powder and mixed in a sauce cooker to make paste. Once mixed into paste, it is stored in a cool, dry place. It is then applied to documents using a soft brush. Liz began by mending the largest tears in a map first. For each repair, Liz selected a piece of Japanese tissue that closely matched the colour and thickness of the map being mended A tweezer was used to gently apply the Japanese paper to tears and areas of loss on the maps. Some fragile maps were strengthened by lining the entire map with Japanese tissue paper. For example this 1794 map of Fitzwilliam Street which had significant loss at its corners was fully lined with tissue paper. The Japanese paper was then carefully trimmed to size to match the original proportions of the map The final step in conservation was to press each map under weights to reduce and remove creasing. The success of the conservation process can be observed by contrasting the before and after images of a number of the maps. This 1807 Map of Kevin's Port had several bad tears. The map edges were curling and frayed. It has now been fully repaired, and the boundary of Nettelon's Holdings at Kevin's port and the names of cottage occupiers on Cuffe Street can be viewed. This 1841 map of Trinity College and Nassau Street was in two separate pieces, and also suffered adhesive discoloration and tears due to previous attempts to repair the map. The map fragments have now been sensitively rejoined and all tears and frayed edges carefully mended and cleaned. This map showing the Four Courts area of Dublin was dirty, torn, and very fragile. Adhesive stains were also clearly visible. It has now been fully conserved and lined with Japanese paper. The land purchased by the Commissioners of Public Works and the Honourable Society of Queen's Inns at Pill Lane near the Four Courts can now be viewed. This map showing the elevation of Westmoreland Street was extremely dirty and dull. It also suffered tearing and creasing, and was very brittle at the edges. Having been expertly cleaned and repaired, the different pigments used by the nineteenth century surveyor in drawing the map are now clearly visible. The conserved maps were transferred into archival quality mylar and acid-free folders. The maps are now stored in special map cabinets in our purpose-built strong room, which is air-conditioned and fire-proof at Dublin City Library and Archive. This stable environment ensures that the maps will not be vulnerable to any further chemical or physical deterioration. The newly conserved maps are available on request to researchers in the Dublin City Library and Archive reading room. The maps not only look beautiful but also contain a wealth of information about Dublin in the eighteenth and nineteenth century and its inhabitants. They will be an important resource for local historians, geographers, town planners, architects, and other researchers. Dublin City Library and Archives hopes to continue with this important project in 2012 by conserving additional maps.