Preserving History: Document Restoration's Role in Salvaging Old Archives
Historical archives are the key to our collective past. And when preserved, they form a bridge that future generations can use to discover stories that shaped generations of humanity and events that defined our history.
Various documents containing valuable information must be preserved—from historical artifacts, art, drawings, paintings, photographs, film, to maps, government records, taxation records for businesses, and even personal, family, medical, and legal records.
These documents typically use organic material—and organic fibers are susceptible to damage from aging, humidity, mold, pest infestations—and even human handling!
But all this history etched on parchment, printed on paper or preserved on film is of little use if it cannot be accessed by students, researchers, historians and sociologists to advance our knowledge further and understand the historical context of society.
The art of document restoration has advanced by leaps and bounds with the help of technology in recent years.
In this article, we look at the art and science of document restoration and how physical restoration and digital preservation of documents helps us safeguard valuable information for future citizens of the human world.
Understanding Document Deterioration
Ancient documents have been preserved for centuries.
A famous example is the Rhind Papyrus, an ancient Egyptian mathematical document that dates back to 1550 BC. It was acquired from Luxor in 1858 by a Scottish antiquarian, A. Henry Rhind and has been preserved by the British Museum since 1865.
Time is an enemy where ancient scrolls and manuscripts are concerned. As they age, the organic fibers in old documents start to decay and deteriorate.
Environmental factors, such as excessive heat, can cause parchment or paper to become brittle and tear easily. Too much humidity can attract mold and fungus infections. Too much light or exposure to other pollutants can cause the ink to fade. Even human handling contributes to their deterioration—oil and acid from human hands can leave traces on paper that can further damage the surface and cause deterioration.
But handling ancient documents for study and reference is inevitable—and it is a great irony that mere physical handling can compromise the integrity of these documents!
It's not just ancient materials like papyrus or parchment that deteriorate with time. Paper that is stored by organizations and businesses over a few years or decades is susceptible to damage and decay. Stored in dingy storage areas, they can attract moisture and insects. They may be prone to tearing from excessive handling and folding and may even become illegible. Moreover, natural disasters such as storms, fires or floods can have a devastating impact on businesses if they lose their archives.
How do you prevent damage to these rich informational archives and preserve our heritage?
The Art and Science of Document Restoration
Document restoration is the process of conserving or repairing old books, manuscripts, and documents made primarily from paper, parchment, or other materials used for information archives. The objective is to extend the life of documents of historical or institutional value, improve their legibility or stability, and preserve the information contained in them for future use.
RDS specializes in document restoration for institutions and government bodies. Our restoration experts understand the unique requirements of restoring old documents to ensure that valuable information is not lost.
Document assessment
The process begins with an initial evaluation to determine the extent of damage and restoration needs.
We first assess the state of the documents, including the type of damage and the extent of the damage.
Our document restoration experts conduct a visual inspection, carefully examining the document's physical condition and identifying the types of damage it has sustained.
Experts may use microscopic lenses or magnifying tools to study minute tears, stains, folds or scratches on the document.
They may also use chemical reagents to test the acidity level of the paper and identify the type of ink used or detect the presence of harmful substances or pollutants that the paper may have collected over time.
At the end of initial evaluation, they may have answers to questions such as:
How old are the documents? How large is the collection of documents?
What material are the documents made of? (parchment, paper, photographic paper, film)
What is the condition of the documents? Do they need extensive repair?
What type of restorative measures need to be taken?
Preservation techniques
Once experts have assessed the documents, they can then proceed with treating them to arrest deterioration and preserve their integrity.
At RDS, we have a team of expert restorers and conservationists who are highly skilled in restoring old, fragile, and damaged documents.
Here are some of the remediation techniques we use for damaged documents.
Cleaning: This involves carefully removing dust, dirt or grime collected on the surface of the paper. For example, for documents affected by fires, we may remove soot or smoke residues from the documents's surface.
Deacidification: If the pH balance of paper is lower than 7.0, it is prone to damage and may become brittle or tear. Deacidification is a chemical process in which we use a neutralizing agent, leaving an alkaline residue to prevent further damage due to high acidity.
Repair & reinforcement: Just as a surgeon mends tears in skin and tissue, our restoration experts delicately repair minute tears and creases in paper documents that have been stored for years. They may also reinforce fragile documents with archival-friendly material, protective sleeves or folders.
RDS has successfully restored documents on time and within budget for various institutions, including US government departments.
We ensure that documents that are needed for immediate use are treated and released first to maintain business continuity.
Challenges in Document Restoration
Document restoration is an intricate and skillful activity.
Apart from the physical challenges, such as battling against the ravages of time and the elements, conservationists must also maintain a delicate balance between interventions to conserve documents and ethical considerations to maintain the authenticity and integrity of historical documents or archives.
Balancing preservation and authenticity
Altering the nature of old documents with treatments may involve changing their original structure or even their visual appearance. This is especially true for documents with unique markings, annotations, or other traces of its use or in the context of artwork and photographs.
Document restoration experts exercise restraint during their remediation to ensure that historical context is not lost or authenticity is not compromised.
Ethical considerations
Restoration experts have a responsibility to ensure that remediation or digital enhancement does not alter the meaning or intent of the original text or artwork. There may be a historical perspective, a cultural sensitivity or a vital clue to a bygone event that may be unintentionally lost during restoration.
That's why it is vital for restoration experts to maintain transparency about the treatments they have used and document the remediation techniques applied. This also helps future restoration efforts by recording the document's prior condition.
Digital Age Advancements
As we have seen, restoring physical documents can be challenging.
Enter technology to the rescue!
Digital document restoration is the process of creating a digital image of an old document and then enhancing the image to conserve the information contained in the document.
Digitization for preservation
Rapid advances in document imaging technology have ensured that we can now affordably create digital archives—converting paper documents into an electronic repository with multiple backup copies to preserve our informational heritage.
Document scanning does not affect the integrity or authority of the original documents. Instead, it democratizes information sharing and allows students, researchers and historians to easily and frequently access old archival documents in digital formats without endangering the originals.
Technological innovations
Today, we have high-resolution scanners that can accurately capture minute details from old manuscripts or documents. Intelligent data capture technologies powered by artificial intelligence can accurately translate scanned images into editable text, allowing us to gain easy access to information.
Image enhancement technology allows us to digitally erase stains or discoloration, improve contrast to make faded ink more legible, and adjust the sharpness or brightness of the image to make the document easier to read.
Besides, digitally restored documents can be reprinted and distributed or shared globally to improve the dissemination of valuable information.
Digital copies of archives cannot be destroyed by natural disasters or be affected by temperature or humidity. More or less, they are eternal!
RDS: Preserving Informational Heritage with Document Restoration
At RDS, we have a team of document restoration experts skilled at repairing and preserving old books and documents, such as legacy government documents or citizen records.
Our document management experts have been preserving digital archives for educational and government institutions.
Connect with our document restoration experts to learn more about how we can help you restore damaged documents and preserve your valuable information.