A Review by Alan Warren
Conservation, Restoration and Philatelic Chemistry by V. K. Gupta, 7½ by 10 inches, 208 pages, hardbound, Delhi, India, 1998. £30 from Vera Trinder Ltd., 38 Bedford St., Strand, London WC2E 9EU, England.
The author practices law in India but has developed deep philatelic knowledge as a collector, international exhibitor, state judge, author of previous books on philately, and serving in various positions in organized philately. Gupta first describes how exhibits are robbed of philatelic value through rough handling; inspection by judges, commissioners, customs agents; exposure to heat, fight, humidity, temperature fluctuations; intrusion of fumes and dust into the frames; and many other factors.
He offers some ways to alleviate the toll that these factors can take on a collection. Stamps and covers themselves undergo long term self destruction due to the composition of paper, gum and ink. External factors that can be guarded against include dust, climatic conditions, heat (Gupta describes a loss due to hot photo lamps), light and humidity. A chapter on biological destruction discusses the damaging effects of mold, Fungus, and silverfish. Some methods of treating such problems include use of the freezer, microwave oven, and certain chemicals. Here one needs to be sure that the cure isn't worse than the problem. While use of mothballs may keep away certain vermin, I wonder about its effect on the collector who may be continuously exposed to these chlorinated hydrocarbon vapors. The author also mentions carbon tetrachloride for detecting watermarks. This compound has been pretty much banned as a household product in the United States. Although I used the chemical for this purpose as a child, I wonder how much liver damage I might have incurred.
Gupta rightfully warns about any object that comes in contact with stamps and covers and the need for them to be essentially inert. These include tongs, hinges, mounts, perforation gauges, and sheet protectors among others. Other aspects of preserving a collection are discussed such as storage, theft, handling, water and fire hazards, and insurance. He stresses the role that FIP ought to play in assuring that certain exhibition conditions are met. Although they attempt to do this, a lot more can be done to insure proper protection of exhibit materials. Proper training of commissioners would be a good place to start.
In chapter 7 Gupta presents a "white paper" on conservation but he also includes restoration. He cautions dealers to make every effort to protect materials while in their possession. According to the author, the FIP has studied the effects of gum and album pages over fifty years ago and even had a commission for the Preservation of Collections. Gupta feels FIP should take a leadership role again to research preservation techniques and publicize their recommendations widely. The author also recommends that workshops be organized to demonstrate such methods as deacidification, dealing with folds and creases, and pH measurement.
One chapter is devoted to restoration, the FIP guidelines with respect to identifying repaired items, the question of ethics, and the dangers of alteration. Restoration techniques are delved into including washing and drying, ironing out creases, chemical re-sizing of paper, treating gum problems and curled stamps among others. Another chapter details experiments or procedures that will enable one to conduct some restoration.
Further chemical techniques are presented for stain removal, restoring color, and removing adhesive tape. Over twenty types of stains are dealt with from rust to lipstick. Several appendices identify information and materials sources, give a glossary of terms, and list museum conservation standards. In addition to references at the end of each chapter there is a general bibliography, although good standard bibliographic practice is not used.
Mechanical aspects of this book are a major problem. The typeface is a sans serif one that is difficult to read. The text is rife with typos as well as poor sentence construction-problems that could easily have been prevented with an English language editor and proofreader. In discussing chemicals used to study stamps and covers, Gupta mentions that trichloroethylene is safer to use than carbon tetrachloride. Any chlorinated hydrocarbon must be treated with great respect, and protective measures must be taken with such chemicals to prevent contact with the skin, eyes, and lungs.
In summary, this book, despite its shortcomings, stresses the physical aspects of protecting and preserving our philatelic assets and can provide some useful thought on what we, as temporary curators of our collections, need to do so that they last into the next century.
[ Return HOME ] [ Book Reviews ]