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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, July 22, 2010 · 4 Freedom papers underwent painstaking restoration process Continued from page 3 break down over time and they can also be affected by light, moisture, mould, insects, pollution, poor storage conditions and frequent or careless handling. The Johnson freedom paper had been affected by many of these elements already. Janice Passafiume, of Jana Fine Arts CPR Ltd., a specialist in paint and paper conservation, was picked for the restoration. She notes that such certificates, were documents made of either sheep, goat and calves skin to honour special events. As it was, the problems with the Freedom document were many: it was brittle and showed overall deterioration; badly stained from the pocket watch's metal: the ink (made of iron gall) had faded and corroded the parchment: there were holes made from insects: folding had created deep raised creases and tears: it was scuffed and worn from handling and its age and storage in damp conditions had caused strong brown stains called foxing. The conservation process undertaken by Passafiume and her husband in their Etobicoke studio, took several months, double the time she had expected it to take, in all, 80 to 100 hours, much of that staring through a microscope. First she had to examine the piece in detail. The parchment was removed from the cardboard backing that Joe had stuck it to for display. It was PHOTO COURTESY THE OAKVILLE MUSEUM ON DISPLAY: Branson Johnson's Certificate of Freedom is now part of a permanent display at the Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate. examined under a microscope and infrared and ultraviolet photographs were taken to help determine exactly what needed to be done. The treatment first consisted of gently dry cleaning the parchment, removing all surface grime and mould spores. The flexibility of the parchment was improved using pressure to flatten and expand the document. The tears and small holes were repaired using a unique combination of small pieces of cow intestine and Japanese paper held in place with gelatin. That was the recovery procedure. Once The Art of Living Well Perfected Discover Oakville's award winning retirement rental residence for people too busy to act retired. You'll join other like-minded adults who just got tired of preparing meals and doing chores. 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Call today for a special tour of our Model Suites. that had been done, the museum had to design a space where the document could be placed where it would not deteriorate and be further effected by the elements and could be viewed. Here's where the best resources available to museums came to bear. What they did was to essentially have a micro-chamber built to hold the parchment taut. Using a special paste, a number of linen threads were attached by one end all around the document's edges. The other ends of these linen threads were glued to the matting, much like the netting for a trampoline. In this way the parchment could be held flat and upright and the entire document could safely expand and contract with any changes in temperature and humidity in the relatively controlled atmosphere of the museum. In order to prevent light from affecting the document a special glass cover filters out ultraviolet light and a thick blackout cloth protects the document from light when it is not being viewed. Cross admits that the cost for carrying out the conservation obviously has not been cheap. She would only say that the price was significant. "It took up our conservation budget for the year, and then some. But it was worth it." The museum also upgraded its security system and Cross feels that the document could not be removed unless the whole wall containing the document came with it. Although the document is valuable it would not be the most valuable item in the museum though. A painting by Vermeer holds that honour, but the Freedom paper has not been fully appraised, yet. That will be done when the Museum is applying for the document's classification as a cultural property and as a significant piece of history. So it was that the document, in its new home, was officially unveiled during Black History Month in February of this year. See related story, Emancipation Day in Oakville page 13. Kids Country Farmer Olympics Act now for move-in and rental bonuses (905) 469-3232 1459 Nottinghill Gate (west of Dorval, south of Upper Middle) 8560 Tremaine Rd., Milton 905-878-8151 Check out our website for all our summer events! Visit www.delmanor.com for all our GTA locations. www.countryheritagepark.com Daily admission: Adults $7, Children $4, Family Package: $20 (Some events differ) Programs subject to change.