_REMOVING STAINS_
TRANSLATED FROM BONNARDOT
[Illustration: VELLUM BINDINGS
(1674 AND 1878)]
Before discussing the means of attacking stains which may blemish a book
or a precious print, I am going to say that, in certain cases, it might be
very desirable to allow them to remain. If I possessed, for example, a
missive addressed to Charles IX during the night of Saint Bartholomew, and
stained with bloody finger-prints, I would take great care not to disturb
these marks which, supposing their authenticity established, would
increase tenfold the value of the autograph. If the custodian of the
Laurentian Library at Florence should efface, from his Longus manuscript,
Paul Louis Courier's puddle of ink, he would commit an act of vandalism,
for that ink stain is a literary celebrity.[2]
To speak of more ordinary examples: one often finds on a book or print, a
signature or inscription which may sometimes be an autograph well worth
preservation.[3] I very rarely efface signatures or the notes of early,
unknown owners; I find it pleasanter to respect these souvenirs of the
past. In the same way, some curious objects have certain defects which, I
think, add to their interest. For example, a statuette of the Virgin, in
silver or ivory, of which the features and hands are half effaced by the
frequent contact of pious lips. Restore such worn parts, and the sentiment
is stripped from a relic of past ages. It is far better to leave untouched
such scars, which attest the antique piety of the cloister. A vellum Book
of Hours of the Fifteenth Century, worn and soiled through prayer, has, to
my mind, acquired a venerable patina. Here, a spot of yellow wax; there,
the head of a saint blemished by the star-print from a tear of devotion:
are not these stains which should be respected? On the other hand, a blot
of ink or an oily smear point only to carelessness and should be removed.
About the year 1846, I was invited by M. A. Farrens, a skilful restorer of
old books, to see in his work-shop a Dance Macabre in quarto, imprinted on
paper, at Paris, toward the end of the Fifteenth Century; a rare volume
which he was restoring for M. Techner.
The portions already cleaned and restored, compared with those still
untouched, excited my admiration. The numerous worm holes, the torn
places, had disappeared through an application of paper-paste, so well
joined, so well blended in the mass, that I could hardly detect the
boundaries of the restorations. The letters and wood-cuts suffering from
lacunae had been reformed with great skill on a new foundation. The soiled
surfaces of the pages had entirely disappeared before I know not what
scraping or chemical action. In a word, M. Farrens was putting into use
every secret of restoration to give again to this volume its original
lustre.
Ah well! today, I confess, that if I possessed this book in the
dilapidated state in which I saw it, I would leave it just as it stood,
and limit myself to the indispensable repair of a new and solid binding.
Its worn and soiled condition came, very probably, from the frequent and
pious turning of its pages, in that monachal perseverance of prayer of
which our century knows nothing. Its shocking and decrepit condition had,
to my eyes, a secret in harmony with all books of the kind, which, from
each page, recall to us our insignificance.
No doubt many amateurs will not agree with me in this; some, perhaps, will
declare I have arrived at a monstrous degree of cynicism for a
bibliophile. However, I will supply the means of restoring at least a part
of their original freshness to books and old prints badly treated by time
or by the indifference of their earlier possessors.
When a print is soiled with spots or foreign color, especially in the most
interesting places, one can hardly lay it away in a portfolio without
making some attempt to remove or reduce the strange tints which appear on
it. This is the part of my present work most difficult to discuss, while
being the most useful. My simple notions of chemistry are not always
sufficient and perhaps, some day, some chemist especially trained in
analysis and decomposition may, with advantage, rewrite this portion of my
work. I will at least record, however, a large number of satisfactory
results which I have obtained and even repeated on fragments of proofs on
unsized paper, this last being the most unfavorable of all conditions.[4]
The first difficulty comes when the nature of the spot is not easily
recognized. This yellow spot which resists both washing and bleaching, may
perhaps be formed by some greasy body or by some metallic oxide, and one
must proceed carefully on any hypothesis which may be formed. In such
cases, where experiments must be tried, it is necessary to know some
chemical substance which can be first applied, to the end that, if the
spot persists, the chemicals used in attempting its removal will not, at
least, render it impervious to further efforts. It is not possible to set
positive rules for this. I have tried indifferently the action of an acid
before that of an alkali, and vice versa. Only, I have been careful,
before renewing any experiments to soak the print for several hours in
cold water to stop the action of any chemicals already used and to annul
their traces and effects.
The first attempt to make upon a spot of unknown origin, is to soak the
print for several hours in cold water and then rub the spot gently with a
finger or a small brush. It sometimes happens, especially when the paper
has been well made and well sized, that the spot will yield to this gentle
rubbing, slide off and disappear. When the spot becomes thick and pasty,
it is at least weakened even if it does not come off. This is, in any
case, a necessary first operation. But it should be carried out with care,
in order not to injure the surface of the print. Before soaking a print in
water or chemicals, it is best to clip a few small shreds from the margin
and soak these in a small glass test-tube to note the effect.[5]
It sometimes happens that there appears on a page or print a single spot
which it is desirable to remove without going to the trouble and risk of
soaking the whole sheet. A spot on the corner offers few obstacles; the
part is simply dipped in a vessel containing the proper solution. If the
spot is in the middle of the sheet, I usually make use of a shallow
porcelain cup having sides slanted in toward the centre, such as is used
for water-colors. By means of such a cup, any part of a sheet can be
brought into contact with the solution. The chemical may also be applied
directly to the spot by means of a small brush.
M. de Fontelle advises the use of blotting paper from which a hole, a
little larger than the spot, has been cut. This is placed over the spot
and the chemical liquid dropped in. The blotter around the spot will
absorb the excess liquid without offering any obstacle to the operation.
In operations upon single spots, the action of the chemicals always
extends a little beyond the spot itself and often leaves a bleached line
which is in disagreeable contrast with the other parts of the sheet. This
may be retinted with dark licorice or some suitable color in more or less
concentrated solution, mixed sometimes with a little common ink. This is
applied with a small brush, care being taken not to overlap the solution
on the unbleached portion of the sheet beyond the bleached line.[6]
_REMOVING STAINS OF VARIOUS KINDS_
GREASE. Grease spots, especially when very recent, can sometimes be drawn
out by an absorbent powder such as impalpable clay or chalk. The spotted
leaf is enclosed between two tins or boards, both sides of the spot well
dusted with the powder, and the book closed tightly and set aside for
several hours. Some kinds of grease absorb more slowly than others. If
this operation is unsuccessful, alcohol, ether or benzine may be tried.[7]
A weak solution of pure or caustic potash operates very rapidly. If the
ink on the page or print is turned gray by this, it may be restored by a
wash of acid in very weak solution.
WHITE OF YELLOW WAX. These spots yield promptly to pure turpentine,
especially in a warm bath. When the spots thicken, they are lifted off
with a scraper, or blotting paper may be applied, pressed down with a
heated iron.
STEARINE. Wax tapers are today replaced by a kind of liquid grease,
stearine, spots of which give paper a disagreeable transparency. These
dissolve in warm alcohol or boiling water, but the spot remains stiff and
the brilliance of the ink is reduced. The greater part of the stearine
spot may be removed by the same process indicated for wax.
SEALING WAX. RESIN AND RESINOUS VARNISH. All dry resins yield to a warm
alcohol bath. The thick part is removed as above. Sealing wax colored red,
blue, etc., leaves a corresponding tint which is very tenacious.
TAR, PITCH, etc. These spots are rarely encountered. They give way to warm
turpentine or cold benzine. If a dark trace remains, it sometimes may be
removed by oxalic acid if the spot has not been burned by the hot tar.
Whenever turpentine is used on any spots, it should always be the purest
obtainable.
EGG YELLOW. This is always mixed with a little albumen, a matter which
thickens in boiling water and can be drawn from the paper, along with the
yellow. If the paper is smooth and well sized, all will disappear under a
sponge in a bath of hot water. There sometimes remains a yellowish trace.
To remove this, apply with a brush chlorated lime and then very weak
hydrochloric acid.
MUD. This may be removed simply with a wet sponge or in a warm water bath.
Where the paper is rough and absorbent, soap jelly should be used. If a
dark trace remains, it usually will yield to oxalic acid or cream of
tartar.
INK. Ordinary writing ink is easily decomposed because its principal
constituent is a vegetable matter, oakgall, mixed with a little iron
oxide. This gives way rather promptly to an application of sorrel salt
dissolved in boiling water. The water must be boiling to secure prompt
action. Even better success may be obtained by the use of pure oxalic
acid, which is an extraction from sorrel salt of which it is the base.[8]
Chinese ink cannot be dissolved but sometimes may be washed from a smooth
page by means of a damp sponge. Marking ink may be removed with chloride
of lime.
FRUIT JUICE. Stains from fruit may be removed by chlorine or cream of
tartar. In some cases, water alone is sufficient.
BLOOD. These stains may be bleached by chloride of lime. As this must be
applied for at least twenty minutes, it is better to use it as a damp
paste. There will remain a yellow trace which will give way to a weak
acid.
FECAL MATTERS OR URINE. For such spots, try soap and water. If this is
unsuccessful try successively chlorine, alkalis, oxalic acid and
hydrochloric acid, soaking the page for an hour in water between each
operation.
TRANSFERRED IMPRESSIONS. Frequently the characters of a book, bound before
the ink is completely dry, offset, while in press, an impression in
grayish tones upon the opposite pages or upon the faces of inserted
prints. These transferred impressions may sometimes be removed by rubbing
with an eraser made of bread crumbs or by soap-jelly, which should be
left on for some time and then washed off.
I have no doubt neglected to describe more than one kind of spot which an
amateur may find. By analogous reasoning, however, he may find for himself
the proper remedies to use. If the spot seems to be of a vegetable or
animal nature, he should use chlorine and sulfuric acid; if metallic,
diluted hydrochloric acid; if oily or greasy, essence of turpentine,
ether, alkaline solutions or benzine.
BLEACHING.[9] Soaking a print in cold water for about twenty-four hours
often suffices to brighten and clear it; but if, after a long soaking, it
still remains darkened to the point of detracting from the clarity of the
engraving, one will need to use chemicals in order to obtain a suitable
bleaching. Chloride of lime may be used for this purpose. This is a fine,
dry powder which softens when allowed to absorb moisture from the
atmosphere. About fifty grammes of this are placed in a bottle about
two-thirds full of water, and thoroughly shaken. When the solution clears
by the excess of matter depositing on the bottom of the bottle, the clear
liquid is carefully poured off. Another solution, which will be weaker,
may be made by pouring more water into the bottle. The clear solution is
diluted with about twenty times its quantity of pure water, for use. It is
better to dilute too much, and add more of the solution later, if
necessary, than to dilute too little. The solution will not injure the
black ink of an impression, but if too concentrated, it will make the
paper brittle.
After using this solution, the print should be placed in a bath of weak
acid, and then left to soak for several hours in clear water.