Conservation treatment of the Caramelo Deportivo: ¡Pleibol!

​During her time as a conservation technician at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History (NMAH), WUDPAC Class of 2023 and LACE Fellow Verónica Ivette Mercado Oliveras worked on a Cuban album of 100 baseball cards, for the exhibition ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues/En los barrios y las grandes ligas.

A native of Puerto Rico and a native Spanish speaker, while assessing its condition, Verónica translated the printed text found on the album covers, leading to a better understanding of the album's history and purpose.

The Caramelo Deportivo is a newsprint staple-bound special edition baseball sporting album of 100 baseball cards, manufactured and distributed in 1946 by Felices, a candy company from la Habana, Cuba. Printed in Spanish and sold for 5 cents to the Cuban people, the album was conceived to celebrate the African American and Cuban players who participated in the Professional Winter League Baseball Championship of 1945-46. These men were lauded for a common skill and passion, and today the album is tangible evidence of Cuba's diverse heritage.​

During its condition assessment, it was evident that the object presented damages as a result of 'inherent vice' (poor-quality materials) and a lifetime of enthusiastic but incorrect handling. The folios and covers were fragile, and the centerfold was corroded and torn from rusty staples, causing the covers and leaves to partially detach.

To fit the exhibit goals, which were to display the Caramelo Deportivo open, the album was carefully disassembled under the stereomicroscope by removing the rusty staples and the rust on the pages' centerfolds with the aid of dental pics and two micro spatulas. Moreover, the paper was gently dry-cleaned, flattened, and mended with Tosa Tengujo and Sekishu, two of the various Japanese tissue papers made from Kozo fibers (extracted from the inner bark of mulberry trees) used by conservators to mend tears and in-fill losses. Depending on the paper making process, the resulting sheets of tissue have different weights, tones and fiber length. Both tissues were toned in separate baths of Golden Acrylic paints diluted in water and were selected to closely match the thickness, strength, earth tone, and texture of the original paper while also allowing future reversibility. The selection of an appropriate mending tissue to the original support therefore depends on how compatible they are to each other.

Verónica was interviewed in late June for the ¡Pleibol! virtual exhibition opening which took place on July 9th. The event is now available on the museum's YouTube channel​. (Verónica begins speaking at the 40-minute mark.) ​