New treatment approaches for iron gall ink damage using gels and IMAT mat at the National Archives, London, UK 

 

This treatment involved the conservation of an important 17th c. map damaged by water and iron gall ink. The map appears to have been worked with to the extent of its material failing, which led to the production of an 18th c. copy. The transfer process of the ink drawings involved pricking through the paper onto the new support. The map also showed staining from water damage, which would have contributed to the breakdown and removal of the adhesive holding the lining to the paper and exacerbated the iron gall ink damage. The three factors together, the iron gall ink degradation, the pricking and the water damage, led to the paper delaminating in fragments like a jigsaw. New treatment approaches for iron gall ink damage included the use of gels and a precision low heat transfer IMAT mat.