An Ounce of Preservation : A Guide to the Care of Papers and Photographs (Paperback)

by Craig A. Tuttle (Author) "The technique of papermaking was invented by Ts'ai Lun in China about 105 A.D. and was introduced to the Middle East in the 8th century..." (more)
Key Phrases: deacidification solution, buffered tissue paper, leaving smudge marks, Signs of Damage, Financial Documents, Grand Canyon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Archivist Craig Tuttle's book, targeted at the lay person, provides the answer to the question of how to preserve papers and photographs. In An Ounce of Preservation, he provides a clear and concise discussion of the causes of paper and photograph deterioration and he teaches the reader to recognize the damage caused by such environmental conditions as temperature, humidity, fungi, insects and rodents, light exposure, pollutants, water damage, framing, lamination, fasteners and adhesives, fire and theft. Included in the long list of paper-based and photographic items which can be preserved and repaired are letters, books, posters, works of art on paper, certificates and awards, comic books, journals, scrapbooks, magazines, newspapers, stamps, report cards, sports cards, greeting cards, postcards, black and white and color photographs, negatives, slides and movie film. An Ounce of Preservation also includes information on the care and handling of paper-based items and photographic materials and techniques for the repair and cleaning of mildly damaged items. In addition, there are four appendices which provide a reference guide to damage/cause,a descriptive list of preservation supplies, where these supplies can be purchased and sources to contact for additional information on paper and photograph preservation. As an added bonus, the book includes a chapter on how to arrange paper and photographic collections for easy storage and retrieval. Also included is a preservation glossary, a bibliography, an index and 14 black and white photographs, which illustrate the different types of damage to paper-based items and photographs.

From Booklist
To collectors of photographs, documents, and books, preservation and conservation--" pres-con" to librarians--present problems pitting the physical needs of perishable materials against the constraints of time and money. Even stopgap measures carry costs, but inept, inadequate, or delayed attention may result in increased deterioration. Here is help for those willing and able to undertake pres-con by themselves. Functioning much as a stylebook does for writers, Tuttle's tidy guide prepares users for undertaking remedial measures. It presents information on paper, inks, environment, storage, and repair simply and clearly; considers the special needs of differing materials; and, in generous appendixes and a glossary, helps put users in touch with the specialized world of preservation and conservation. Know-how may not be an absolute substitute for time and money, but a little knowledge can help in taking proactive steps to protect and preserve two-dimensional materials. A valuable resource. Mike Tribby

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Product Details

• Paperback: 111 pages
• Publisher: Rainbow Books (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568250215
• ISBN-13: 978-1568250212
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #186,682 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #7 in	Books > Home & Garden > Antiques & Collectibles > Paper Ephemera
  #12 in	Books > Home & Garden > Antiques & Collectibles > Care & Restoration
  #54 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Library & Information Science > Library Management

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Conservator's Review, April 2, 2000

By	Martin Juergens (Kingston, Ontario) - See all my reviews

As a guide book written specifically for lay persons, An Ounce of Preservation has an educational mandate. As such, it is compelled to offer well-researched and accurate information in all details. At the same time, it attempts to simplify a highly complex field to fit the format of a short booklet that can be understood by a reader who has never concerned himself with document preservation before. The main dilemma of this book becomes apparent at the point where these two goals meet: simplification versus accuracy - can both coexist? Some critical observations must be made that demonstrate how the author has compromised the accuracy of his text by falling into some of the traps of over-simplification.

In the process of simplification, information must be excluded, and the choice of what to omit and what to highlight is not an easy one, particularly in view of the rich history of photographic processes. The guiding principle should be to describe foremost the processes most likely to be encountered by the family historian in his personal collection of historic documents. Unfortunately, Tuttle has decided to concentrate on less common processes. He mentions gelatin based black and white prints in only one sentence, and almost as an afterthought (p. 28), although this process accounted for the vast majority of all photographic prints for about 70 years. Collodion prints, though widespread and likely to be present in every album that goes back at least to the 1880s, are not even mentioned once. Rather, the author describes negatives in detail and even dedicates two sentences to albumen coated glass plates, which never abounded and are exceedingly rare today.

Complex cause/effect relationships may become too difficult to describe in short paragraphs, but their simplification can easily lead to slight or great inaccuracies, as can be seen throughout the book. The use of parentheses as a space saving method of explaining a former term can lead to misunderstandings, as for example with the description of the calotype process, which "involved the application of silver iodide (a light-sensitive solution) to a sheet of paper..." (p. 24). Silver iodide may be light-sensitive, but it is not a solution, as Tuttle's wording implies. Silver iodide is in fact insoluble in water, and can thus only be formed on the paper fibres by the subsequent application of two aqueous solutions to the paper surface: that of potassium iodide and that of silver nitrate. Had the author formulated his explanation accurately, he might have written, for example: "...involved the precipitation of light-sensitive silver iodide on a sheet of paper". The use of chlorides was actually more common than that of iodides at that time.

Next to shortening by exclusion of information, the author has chosen to use what he calls plain language - a term that indicates that he is avoiding complex language which the lay reader could not understand. In going down this path, Tuttle uses a terminology that implies that the issue at hand is really more complicated than he can expect the reader to grasp. One of the most used terms in this book is "pH-balanced", which is neither defined, nor used consistently in one sense. The true meaning of this term, which, incidentally, is not commonly used in conservation literature, remains elusive no matter how long it is contemplated. In An Ounce of Preservation it is used to describe any material that is archivally "good", but it does not, for example, differentiate between paper with an alkaline reserve (p. 15) and that which is pH neutral (p. 59). Should a family genealogist come to me as a trained conservator and ask if he should use "pH-balanced" paper to house his negatives, I could only respond with a blank look on my face. Tuttle misses the important opportunity in this and other cases to give his readers the adequate vocabulary to communicate on an appropriate level with professional conservators.

On a positive note, the author has kept the chapter on repair and cleaning very basic (p. 63). The techniques he describes are among those that are considered standard preservation measures in the contemporary understanding of minimal intervention. Any complex treatment, Tuttle stresses, should only be carried out by a professional conservator. This makes it clear that many treatments can easily lead to greater damage if carried out lightheartedly. The inclusion of a description of the ethics and complexities of the work of a conservator as well as definitions of basic terminology might have been beneficial, however, as self-help books will often give the reader the impression that a do-it-yourself approach will always work.

The absolute condemnation of the lamination of documents (pp. 45-46) brings up the concept of reversibility, which is fundamental (even if impossible to comply with) for the understanding and application of conservation treatments. Although the book does cover many sources of deterioration and gives hints on housing documents, the most important advice is missing: how to actually handle your papers and prints. The ground rules should be clearly stated at the beginning of the chapter on storage and care (p. 55): maintain a clean workspace, refrain from smoking, eating and drinking in the presence of important documents, and simply wash your hands before handling them. Humans, after all, are the greatest source of danger to documents.

Despite the many small inaccuracies, omissions, and simply false statements, such as the definition of relative humidity in the glossary (p. 93), distributed throughout the book, An Ounce of Preservation does install in the reader a sense of appreciation for those old papers and faded photographs in the basement. This is an important achievement in itself. Apparently, an expanded second edition of this book is in preparation. One must hope that, prior to publication, Craig Tuttle will submit his manuscript to a paper conservator and photo historian for review, so that his book can advance from being 'recommendable with reservations and in view of the lack of alternatives' to 'wholly recommendable' from the conservator's point of view.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise Overview of Major Types of old Photos & Their Care., June 10, 1998

By A Customer

To learn more about old photographs and their care, I ordered three books; An Ounce of Preservation by Craig Tuttle, Collector's Guide to Early Photographs by O. Henry Mace, and Care and Identification of 19th Century Photographic Prints by James Reilly.

An Ounce of Preservation, A Guide to the Care of Papers and Photographs, is a small, almost pocket size book that can be read quickly. It has a good description of all the major types / categories of photographs (Daguerreotypes, Tintypes, Albumen, etc.) that have been produced since the birth of photography. It helps identify the specific type of damage likely to be found, and then provides advice to both reduce further deterioration and to treat the damage.

Unlike the other books, An Ounce of Preservation provides a background on the paper manufacturing process, which is helpful for understanding the base structure of an old photograph. Also unlike the other books, it also addresses the care of various other types of paper documents (manuscripts, postage stamps, trading cards, postcards, comic books, magazines, etc.)

This is a great book for gaining a basic understanding of the types / categories of old photographs in existence and easy-to-implement procedures for reducing their deterioration. Anyone who cares about maintaining old family records or local historical records would find this book very useful. If a detailed knowledge is desired regarding either the types of old photographs or the proper care for old paper based photographs, then one of the other two books I purchased would be better. However, the other two books are not as concise, and you would need to purchase both of them to learn about both the types of photographs and their care.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the beginning family historian!, April 14, 1999

By A Customer

With no background in caring for old photos and papers, I was in a quandry over what to do with the box full of items left to me by my deceased uncle. I didn't have the money for a professional to refresh and repair the photos, many of which suffered from long years of neglect. So I went online in search of a publication that would tell me where to start. An Ounce of Preservation provided me, a true archival dummie, with the groundwork I needed to begin the restoration project. As I sent off for information from companies listed in the appendix of the book, I learned more and more, unti I now feel like a blooming expert! I have a great scrapbook of my uncle's photos that I can pass on to my grandchildren, and it's a scrapbook that takes care of the items instead of aiding in their destruction. Without all the easy-to-follow techniques and many, many leads for more information provided in the book, I doubt if I would have ever had the courage to tackle the job myself. And since I didn't have the money for professional help, all those precious items of family history would still be deteriorating away in my closet. I contacted the publisher (to find out how to contact the author) only to learn that a greatly expanded second edition of this book is in the works. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the basics -- it was all news to me!