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Photo rights: Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg Historical document from the 18th century showing severe water damage before being restored. Using the papersplitting process, the sheet is separated into front and rear pages. The restorer can then strengthen each of them by applying a reinforcing sheet of paper. Gelatine can also be used for stucco work. [8] With passion and GELITA ® special gelatines Substantial damage: spiral-shaped flakes of detached photographic coating on a glass negative plate.
Innovation The flair for restoring art treasures GELITA ® Special Gelatine for restoration Whether it‘s a book, a hand-written manuscript, a photo or even stucco work: at one time, someone has taken the greatest of care to create as perfect a piece as possible. However, for such works of art, time is the enemy. It is a good thing therefore that there are conservators and restorers who have passionately devoted themselves to maintaining and repairing our cultural possessions – and that they have GELITA ® Special Gelatine to work with to restore new splendor to old artifacts. “The use of gelatine is meaningful, especially if this has been used for the original work”, explains Dr. Christoph Simon, responsible for the Photo Division and Technical Applications at GELITA. “In most cases, gelatine acts as an adhesive or binding agent in such projects, e.g. in the restoration of photos and historical glass plate negatives.” Since 1871, gelatine has been used for the coating of photographic plates and later for photographic paper: today, it is used as a binding agent for the most varied of applications in photography. One of the specific problems associated with glass plate negatives is that the aging gelatine coating tends to loosen and flake from the glass plate over time due to the effects of temperature and fluctuations in humidity. This effect is known technically as delamination. This particular phenomenon is the subject of research by highly qualified restoration expert Kerstin Bartels and her students at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, their focus being on “The conservation and restoration of audio-visual and photographic cultural possessions”. This course is an important reference for Dr. Simon; for, as Kerstin Bartels and her students have established in a study, the best substance to use for gelatine that has aged is – gelatine. According to Bartels, “It fulfills several essential conditions. Gelatine possesses very good adhesive properties that can be accurately set and in addition has the necessary elasticity to cope with any movement of the photographic coating brought about by climatic fluctuation and without creating additional tension.” Destroy to rescue Gelatine has another advantage here in that it is reversible, i. e. it can be removed after use. This aspect is particularly important for its application in the restoration of paper and documents. Gelatine is not just used to re-glue the worn spines of old books or to prevent acid ink corrosion; it is especially used to split the pages of damaged documents. It may sound like a synonym for “splitting hairs” but it is effective in rescuing damaged manuscripts. “The restorer splits the damaged sheet into front and rear pages; he then reinforces them individually with Japanese tissue paper” explains Andreas Kieffer, Head of Document Restoration at the State Archive of Baden-Württemberg. To achieve this, the carrier paper is stuck onto the page and this enables it to be separated into front and back pages. This may all sound a bit harsh but the technique demands great skill and a very sensitive touch. The adhesive used for the carrier paper is gelatine, and this is where its reversibility plays a role: because the carrier paper has to be subsequently removed. “We split between one thousand and three thousand pages a year in this way”, says Kieffer. For this, he does not require large amounts of gela tine – “We require about 25 –30 kg of gelatine for every thousand pages – but it must be of the highest possible quality.” Gelatine in famous buildings Stucco artists also use gelatine due to its stability, e.g. in the production of stucco marble. Master stucco artist Willi Jänschke who led a team of restorers working on the famous Semper Opera house in Dresden for some seven years says: “We add gelatine so that the marble doesn’t harden too quickly; it’s then easier to process. Once it is dry, however, it remains hard as rock”, he says. “Gelatine was used for a long time by stucco workers when making ornaments”, he continued. “They used it as a mold for the form so that the plaster could be easily removed after hardening. But today that’s a bit too tricky for most; for if you don’t find exactly the right point for pouring the plaster, the gelatine becomes too warm, and therefore porous – and you can say “goodbye” to your work.” For this reason, many stucco workers use silicone rubber for this work. But overall, the demand for quality gelatine is on the increase. This is mainly because the properties of gelatine are being continuously refined by GELITA to meet the requirements of its customers. Thus, GELITA can now supply four different types of gelatine for restoration work. How many tons are used for this purpose in a year? Dr. Simon laughs and says: “Here we are talking about kilogram amounts only!” But, such small amounts eventually create an enormous amount of splendor. FURTHER INFORMATION: Dr. Christoph Simon Telephone +49(0)6271 84-2535 christoph.simon@gelita.com [9]
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