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Condition issues in the print included a large corner loss in the lower left quadrant and major losses and exposed unstable edges around the perimeter of the upper half, which made it a perfect candidate for a technique known as manual pulp filling. After surface cleaning with soft brushes and eraser crumbs, the print was gently bathed in calcium-enriched water. For filling, Jackie made two different pulp mixtures, formulated to the desired strength and color, using modern and antique papers, in addition to dyes and pigments. Filling was achieved using a variety of pipettes and pulp dilutions. Over the course of several hours, Jackie gradually applied the wet pulp to the humidified print until the appropriate thickness and distribution of fibers was attained. The print was then dried in between blotters and felt under moderate weight.
Once the print was dry, Jackie used colored pencils and dry pigments to more precisely match the hue and tone of the paper. She finished by trimming the fills according to the print’s maximum dimensions. The etching was returned to the study collection, and it can now be safely handled and studied. For more information about the print, please visit the New York Public Library website, which has the full publication digitized online here.
A printable PDF version of this story is available here. Previous stories on projects from the Department of Art Conservation are archived and available here.