Before Treatment

After Treatment

Dimensions (Primary Support):
English: 26.02” H x 36.18” L
Metric: 66.1 cm H x cm 91.9 cm L

Dimensions (Image Area):
English: 25.12” H x 34.61” L
Metric: 63.8 cm H x cm 87.9 cm L

General
This is a watercolor drawing with a graphite and colored pencil drawing on a thick machine-made paper.

Media

• Black Colored Pencil
  There is a double line of black colored pencil bordering the image area on all sides.  It does produce a particulate offset on chromatography paper applied with a medium pressure and is also soluble in ethanol, and slightly less soluble in acetone.
  Brown Colored Pencil
  This is a brown colored pencil used in the drawing in the lower half of the image area.
  Red Colored Pencil
  This is a red colored pencil inscription in the bottom right corner.
  Graphite
  The graphite is found in both the image area and underneath the black colored pencil border lines.
  Black Marker Ink
  This is a modern black ink typical of a felt-tip marker.  It is limited to the attachment.
  Purple Watercolor
  This is a purple watercolor pigment used in the shadows under the house.
  Lavender Watercolor
  This is a fairly opaque lavender watercolor pigment used in the house and the trees behind the house.
  White Watercolor
  This is a white watercolor pigment used for the trees.
  Orange Watercolor
  This is an orange watercolor pigment used in the trees and the house.
  Yellow Watercolor
  This is a yellow watercolor pigment used in the trees and the roof of the house.
  Red-Orange Watercolor
  This is a reddish-orange watercolor pigment used in the house, trees and shrubbery.
  Red Watercolor
  This is a red watercolor pigment used throughout the image.
  Teal-Green Watercolor
  This is a fairly opaque teal-green watercolor pigment used in the trees and the shutters and roof of the house.
  Forest Green Watercolor
  This is a forest green watercolor pigment used in the trees and the house.
  Chartreuse Watercolor
  This is a chartreuse watercolor pigment used in the trees and lawn.
  Blue Watercolor
  This is a blue watercolor pigment used in the trees, lawn and shrubbery.
             

Primary Support
The support is a machine-made, heavyweight, thick, yellowy beige (2) paper with a moderately (1) textured surface.  There is a compass pinhole in the image area, 16.8 cm from the bottom and 15.9 cm from the left edge.  There are some whitish streaks and small splotches in the graphite and colored pencil drawing area. 

Attachment
The partial remains of a more brittle piece of brown (ibid.) machine-made paper attached to the top verso, 6.6 cm at its widest point.  It starts 0.6 cm from the left edge, and ends 0.4 cm from the left edge.  There is a black marker inscription that reads: "Small Houses  Atlee B. Ayers". There is also a graphite inscription on the right corner that reads "SH-2".

Inscriptions
The recto is signed in red colored pencil, in the right bottom corner: "Atlee B. + Robt. M. Ayers Architects" with a smaller graphite "3" at the end.

 

 

General
The image areas are in good condition, with some mild fading and light damage of the support.  The margins have adhesive residue and paper fiber accretions, and the attachment at the top is torn.

Media

• Black Colored Pencil
  The black colored pencil is in good condition.
  Brown Colored Pencil
  The brown colored pencil is in good condition.
  Red Colored Pencil
  The red colored pencil is in good condition.
  Graphite
  The graphite is in good condition.
  Black Marker Ink
  The black marker ink is in good condition.
  Watercolor Pigments
  The watercolor pigments are in good condition.

Primary Support
There is a noticeable rectangular area of light damage that begins 4 cm in from the edges of the support, on all sides.  There is also some discoloration on the verso.  The top left corner is creased.  There is a crease and tear in the right edge, 14.5 cm from the bottom.  There is some planar distortion and buckling.  There is a tacky adhesive residue and embedded paper fibers along all margins.  This adhesive residue does not extend from edge to edge on each margin, but covers at least 1/3 of each margin area.  The adhesive residue does not extend into the light-damaged area, indicating possible evidence of a previous mat.

Attachment
The attachment has experienced a lot of skinning and delamination, and part of it has folded over onto itself.  It is torn at the center, into two pieces.  It is also quite darkened and yellowed, suggesting a high acid content in the paper.

 

Before Treatment: Photos in raking, ambient and UV light of both the recto and verso. Details of adhesive residue areas and attachment.

After Treatment: Same with details of area where adhesive residue was removed.

1. The adhesive in the outer margins of the primary support will be removed/reduced as possible.   Some of the black colored pencil may be disturbed during this process in those areas where the adhesive is also present.   
2. Mend tears along edges of support using lens tissue and wheat starch paste.   
3. Moisture-assisted mechanical detachment of attachment adhered to top edge of primary support.
4. Re-house attachment in a separate folder to prevent continued acid migration into the primary support. 
5. Re-house the encapsulated attachment and the document together in a buffered folder.

Possible Effects of Treatment
Every attempt will be made to remove as little of the media as possible, but where the water soluble adhesive covers the black pencil there may be some slight loss of pigment. Due to the presence of watercolors, overall humidification to relax the planar distortions will not be attempted. 

1. In order to soften the adhesive residue and mat fibers present in the margin areas, a 2.5% Methyl Cellulose poultice was applied with a small synthetic brush. This poultice was allowed to sit for approximately 10-20 minutes, or until it was determined that the residue and mat paper fibers had absorbed enough moisture so that they responded to gentle prodding with a Teflon folder. Then the residue and mat paper fibers were gently scraped away using a Teflon folder. In order to reduce the amount of media displacement in those areas with black colored pencil, the removal method was less aggressive, and some Methyl Cellulose residue was allowed to remain along with the adhesive residue and mat fibers. Hollytex, blotter and glass weights were placed over the cleaned area and left to dry for an hour. The surrounding margin areas were also weighted during the process, to reduce planar distortion caused by the introduction of moisture into the support.
2. Some adhesive residue and faint tidelines caused by the Methyl Cellulose poultices were still present after the initial Methyl Cellulose poultice-assisted removal. A cotton swab, moistened with DI water, was gently rolled over these areas and changed out periodically to help reduce the tidelines and pick up the last bit of residue. This method was also employed on the residue remaining in between the black colored pencil lines. Hollytex, blotter and glass weights were also placed over these areas after cleaning, and the support was allowed to dry completely before being removed.
3. The object was then rehoused in a buffered paper folder.

1. Lunning, E and Perkinson, R. 1996. The Print Council of America Paper Sample Book. The Print Council of America.