Preserving Soviet-era Watch Factory Papers

[CJ_Yap]

Hi Folks,

Just a thought, for those of you who have managed to get pieces accompanied by their original factory production documents. Have you guys/gals ever did anything to preserve them, like... laminating them or anything of the sort? What methods do you use, if any? Or what are the tried and tested / reliable methods out there?

[mysterian]

I believe laminating is a somewhat permanent and destructive technique that is generally regarded as a no no for archiving printed material.
From my comic book collecting days, I'd say one decent solution might employ putting them in archival quality clear bags, backed up with archival quality stiff cardboard, sealed with a fold-over flap and stored in a dark place.
There are variously sized materials as described above at most on-line comic collecting sites.

I'm sure there would be other options as well. Ive got a similar situation with these old yellow folded papers.
I'd be interested in hearing other people's ideas too!

Cheers!

[Bob Bethell]

The terrible quality of the pulp papers actually makes them easy to conserve with a bit of steam from a hand-held clothing steamer readily available. I carefully unfold the paper and steam it front and back until the creases begin to fall out. Make sure you don't overdue the steam. You don't want the paper too wet. While the paper is a bit moist, I place it between two sheets of white copy paper and carefully level the folds. Then, with an electric iron set no to no higher heat than "3," I press the paper quickly but heavily on both sides. It is amazing how well a crumpled piece can turn out this way. Let it dry thoroughly before placing it in a plastic envelope. If you are going to re-fold the sheet, crease it LIGHTLY along the original folds. Try it with cheap newsprint until you get the hang of it. It's about a five minute job.

[CJ_Yap]

I believe laminating is a somewhat permanent and destructive technique that is generally regarded as a no no for archiving printed material.
From my comic book collecting days, I'd say one decent solution might employ putting them in archival quality clear bags, backed up with archival quality stiff cardboard, sealed with a fold-over flap and stored in a dark place.
There are variously sized materials as described above at most on-line comic collecting sites.

I'm sure there would be other options as well. Ive got a similar situation with these old yellow folded papers.
I'd be interested in hearing other people's ideas too!

Cheers!

Hi Mr Ian, thanks for the tip! By the way, are those archival sealable bags you mentioned the same as the sealable plastic bags that are used to keep comic books? What I had in mind was something that basically would protect the documents from human contact but still easily readable. Think of it like a gold coin encased in a plastic case. Of course I'll keep it out of the light when not being admired =p

The terrible quality of the pulp papers actually makes them easy to conserve with a bit of steam from a hand-held clothing steamer readily available. I carefully unfold the paper and steam it front and back until the creases begin to fall out. Make sure you don't overdue the steam. You don't want the paper too wet. While the paper is a bit moist, I place it between two sheets of white copy paper and carefully level the folds. Then, with an electric iron set no to no higher heat than "3," I press the paper quickly but heavily on both sides. It is amazing how well a crumpled piece can turn out this way. Let it dry thoroughly before placing it in a plastic envelope. If you are going to re-fold the sheet, crease it LIGHTLY along the original folds. Try it with cheap newsprint until you get the hang of it. It's about a five minute job.

Hi Bob, thanks alot for sharing this. Just curious, if I'm understanding your correctly, that would mean all the creases would be removed from the factory papers? The "age" of the paper would still look the same right? Abit off-yellow, and what not?

[mysterian]

Hi,... as for the archival clear bags I was mentioning, yes, they are the type used for storing comic books.

I assume that there may be other bags available for document storage but I've not tried to track any down.

I believe the comic book type bags will be available in at least a few different sizes... golden age/ silver age books are a bit bigger than the modern era books. There may also be magazine size bags and even pulp novel sizes!

Cheers!

[Bob Bethell]

The paper color or ink texture is not altered in any way by the steaming. I have not damaged anything I have tried, but be sure to practice by folding up a newspaper page and get your technique down. Keep the paper at least five inches from the vents and keep it moving.