temporary (?) document restoration

March 16, 2018 10:33 AM

How to physically handle a paper document that's crumbling?

My mother writes "When you get a chance, would you ask Meta filter what to do with my [recently discovered] parents’ crumbling marriage certificate so that we can at least maybe scan or photocopy it? It was rolled into a loose tube shape and more of it crumbles every time I touch it. To get it home I rolled some fabric into a cylinder and put the paper around it and then slipped it in a plastic sleeve."

She goes on to say "As long as we get the [relevant genealogical data] off of it, I don’t expect us to do some expensive restoration on it."

posted by komara to Grab Bag (11 answers total)

What about taking a photo of it? If it's laid out flat, you should be able to do this the way it is. The less handling, the better. You could use a tripod, or try something like Office Lens.
posted by OneSmartMonkey at 10:43 AM on March 16, 2018

Response by poster: I promise I don't intend to threadsit, but to respond to OneSmartMonkey's comment: the problem is that even the act of unrolling it will cause it to crumble at this point. I apologize for not being specific enough in the question. I should have asked how best to get it A.) flat and B.) in more or less one piece so that it could be duplicated by photo or photocopier or scanner.
posted by komara at 10:49 AM on March 16, 2018

If anyone has flatbed scanner or good camera, I'd prepare to capture the image but possibly destroy the item. You'll be able to reprint the scan, so that might be okay. The paper might crumble less in a humid environment, but that will probably hasten the destruction.
If there isn't any paper sticking to itself, I would put in a humid bathroom for a few minutes, wear thin gloves and have a few blank sheets of paper. Have a work surface that is bigger than the certificate so you can lay out any chunks and reassemble them. Hold the roll with the free edge (last part on the roll) facing you and pointing up. Put the roll on the surface and slide a blank sheet between the edge and the rest of the roll. Slowly move the roll away form you. Repeat with more blank paper until the whole thing is unfurled. Be prepared for some breakage and have acid free tape on hand to put on the back to anchor pieces in place.
posted by soelo at 10:52 AM on March 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

You can preserve this document and make it easier to consult. You want to encapsulate (not laminate, which is reflective and tends to yellow) it in clear archival sheets. If the paper is very dry and hard to unroll without cracking, running a humidifier in the room with it might make the process less destructive. If it still wants to curl up once between the sheets, you can stack something heavy on top of it for a few days to tamp it down. Good luck!
posted by Scram at 11:04 AM on March 16, 2018 [2 favorites]

Oh, geez, call a librarian (or wait for a knowledgeable one to post here). They will at least point you in the right direction.

If it were me, for example, I might try getting it humid somehow to soften it, but all the methods I can think of would possibly further damage the document. So don't use my idea!

I might also consider pressing it between two glass sheets to photograph or scan it, but if that's done wrong it might unnecessarily ruin the document.

I might also consider gently unrolling it onto some clear, sticky plastic, but a librarian might know if this is necessary and, if so, what to use and how to unroll the document best. This scenario is also high risk (wrinkling, getting a falling piece of paper between the document and plastic page so that it obscures the document, etc.).

Definitely ask a real expert. A trained librarian, with a grad degree in library science, can at least point you in the right direction.
posted by amtho at 11:08 AM on March 16, 2018 [3 favorites]

Addendum: I get that you aren't trying to keep the document forever, but what I meant by ruining it was that those ideas could possibly ruin it immediately, before you get a chance to photograph or read it.
posted by amtho at 11:38 AM on March 16, 2018

You might be able to steam it flat. I have no doubt it would be a finicky process but you should be able to unroll it.
posted by irisclara at 11:38 AM on March 16, 2018

On the off chance that cost is no object, or if you'd want to wait until this technique becomes more widely available, in the last few years archaeologists have had success 3D x-raying and then "virtually unwrapping" delicate documents. Here's a science journal article; I don't know if it would work the same way with 20th-century inks.
posted by XMLicious at 11:40 AM on March 16, 2018

Special collections librarian here, and what you need is not so much me as a conservator, trained in the art and science of treating this kind of material. I can say that humidification is certainly a kind of treatment that conservators use to flatten rolled or folded material, but I can't say how likely it is that you can successfully attempt something like that at home. Even if you don't feel the need to preserve this document for the long term, it might be worth checking to see if there's a conservator in your area who would be able to do the unrolling at a more modest cost.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 11:56 AM on March 16, 2018 [5 favorites]

A friend of mine is a professional who repairs rare books, sheet music, etc. Please message me if you would like a referral.
posted by Bella Donna at 12:29 PM on March 16, 2018

As a bit of a tangent - is there somewhere else this information is stored? Perhaps a copy can be obtained from the relevant City Clerk's Office?
posted by Julnyes at 1:01 PM on March 16, 2018