Page 20 - August 2018

Caring for Your Masonic Treasures
Caring for Your Masonic Treasures
National Heritage Museum
National Heritage Museum
We at the National Heritage Museum often receive calls this ink is made of iron mixed with several types of acid, it
from Masonic lodges asking how to preserve their historic can burn into paper. Other inks bleed through the pages onto
documents—diaries, manuscripts, charters, minute books, adjoining ones over time, producing smudges or shadows.
and certifi cates—as well as their photographs and books.
We have produced this booklet to help fi ll this need. It will
help you preserve your lodge's history by extending your
collection's life as long as possible. This booklet outlines
various preservation techniques and explains:
■ how they relate to what the items are made of.
■ how they counteract environmental infl uences that can
age the items in your collection.
■ how to store your documents and books appropriately,
and
■ how to contact and hire a professional conservator to
repair damaged documents and books.
With these suggestions in hand, you can start preserving
your Masonic lodge collections right away.

COMPOSITION
When you are planning to preserve your historic
collections, the fi rst thing to consider is what the items are
made of. Some materials simply last longer than others.
Organic materials - ones that come from plant or animal
sources - are more likely to deteriorate than inorganic
materials. For example, paper and leather are more fragile
than ceramics or stone. Other materials break down more
quickly because of "inherent vice" which is inevitable Figure 1. These manuscripts were written in the 1820s on high-quality
deterioration, often caused by the materials the item is rag paper. Photograph courtesy of David Bohl.
made of. One example is common wood-pulp papers that Photographs
produce acid as they degrade. The following is a description Collections of historical documents often include
of materials that make up paper, inks, photographs, and photographs. A photograph consists of a support or base,
books and what makes them deteriorate naturally. usually paper, upon which an image-bearing chemical
layer, or emulsion, is applied. The photographic images arc
Paper formed when the emulsion is exposed to light. The most
Most Masonic lodge documents are made of paper. Paper common emulsion is gelatin, and the image in most black-
is made of plant fi bers such as cotton, wood, fl ax, straw, and-white prints is made of a fi ne metallic silver dust.
and mulberry that have been reduced to pulp, suspended Although photographs can be made of diff erent support or
in water and then matted into sheets. However, some lodge base materials, such as metal, glass, or plastic fi lm, we will
documents from the late 1700s, such as certifi cates and only consider paper prints here because they are the most
charters, were made from animal skin, called parchment or common in historic Masonic lodge collections
vellum. This material is more stable and durable than paper.
Some types of paper are more chemically stable than others Books
- that is, some types do not deteriorate as quickly as others Although books have been made since medieval times,
do. Paper from the 1700s and early 1800s is generally quite the ones in your lodge's collection are probably less
strong and fl exible because of its cotton and rag content (see than 200 years old, so we will consider only these types
Figure 1). In the late 1800s, as paper-making became more of books here (see Figure 2). Each book includes many
mechanized, new processes and materials resulted in much diff erent materials. The pages are made of paper, which are
less expensive but shorter-lasting paper. Manufacturers sewn together with thread. The cover is made of cloth or
began to use ground wood pulp because it was plentiful and leather stiff ened with boards, and the pages are glued into
cheap. However, it does not produce stable paper because it the cover using a piece of heavy gauze.
produces acid as it ages. As with documents, the quality of paper used in books
Ink varies greatly. Paper high in wood pulp content, introduced
How durable ink is depends on what it is made of. There in the late 1800s, is very acidic. Pages made of this paper
are many types of inks including carbon ink, iron gall ink, will turn yellow, dry out, and begin to crumble into dust
and copying inks. Iron gall ink, commonly used in pens in within just a few years. However, a book printed on acid-
the 1700s and 1800s, fades when exposed to light. Because free paper can last a long time.
Page 20 Montana Freemason August 2018