Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

(a)
‘reading’ of the object. For example, in 1884/5
the New York-based Herter Brothers restored a
seventeenth century French ebony cabinet by
completely rebuilding its structure. If the cabinet
had not been stamped, it could easily have
been mistaken for a nineteenth century piece
because of its fine, typically nineteenth century
cabinet work.
Paper-based documentation includes all
forms, letters, free text, drawings, sketches,
photographs, charts and related material that
accrue from the first enquiry to the completion
of treatment. Such documentation should be
kept with the furniture until the treatment is
completed. It is suggested that one suitably
presented copy of the documentation should
be submitted to the owner or curator and one
copy should stay with the conservator.
Information contained within any conservation
documentation system will generally have
the greatest value if it can be shared. For example,
engineers and scientists communicate
information about the built environment to
conservators. Information about the conserva-
(b)
Conservation preliminaries 399
Figure 9.4 Eighteenth century French commode,
c.1740, stamped BVRB for Bernard II Van Risenburgh,
which incorporates Japanese lacquer panels and
elaborate ormolu mounts
(a) Side view
(b) Rough outlined line drawing of the mounts, on
foam, that ensures that each screw or pin that is
removed can be returned to its original position on the
object
tion condition of the collections is obtained by
conservators and used by curators and conservators
to determine priorities. Technical information
from conservation scientists and
historical information from curators is used by
conservators in formulating treatment proposals.
However, much documentation is still held
in the form of day books, paper forms, diaries,
card indexes, files and ledgers. These paper
systems have several inherent disadvantages.
First, access is restricted. If only one copy is
available access is physically restricted to those
close to it. The creation of multiple copies risks
the introduction of inconsistencies and errors
as each owner makes small alterations to the
record. In paper form the logical order is also
the physical order. To find information by
other search criteria involves cross-referencing.
This also introduces redundancy and risk of
errors. The format of the paper system is
unlikely to be suitable for all applications for
which data are required. Paper systems are
physically bulky and have limited durability
and security. It is virtually impossible to main-