Paper Conservator

Paper conservators treat works of art and documentary materials on paper and related supports — watercolours, drawings, prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, archival documents, and books. Treatment involves examination under raking light and ultraviolet, testing paper and media stability, and selecting appropriate aqueous or non-aqueous cleaning methods to reduce discolouration, tidelines, and surface soiling. Wet treatments include washing, deacidification, and humidification for flattening distorted or cockled sheets. Structural repairs use Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste to fill losses and stabilise tears. Lining and backing removal, paper splitting, and encapsulation in inert polyester film for fragile documents are additional techniques.

Photograph conservation encompasses both chemical stability assessment of silver gelatin, albumen, cyanotype, and colour processes, and physical support treatment. Books conservation includes covering repair, resewing, and rebinding using reversible adhesives and traditional bookbinding structures.

Postgraduate programmes are available at the Camberwell College of Arts (UAL) for works of art on paper, and at West Dean College and Northumbria University for archival and library materials. Icon ACR is the professional standard. The National Archives, British Library, county record offices, university special collections, and museum departments of prints and drawings are the principal institutional employers. Private commissions from collectors, dealers, and galleries sustain freelance practice.

The UK's public and private archives hold many millions of documents and works on paper requiring varying degrees of stabilisation and treatment. Digitisation programmes, far from reducing demand for physical conservation, have increased awareness of condition problems and generated conservation assessment work. The National Archives' preservation mandate and the legal requirement to maintain public records create statutory demand for paper conservation skills. Private art market activity — drawings and watercolours being among the most actively traded categories at auction — sustains commercial demand. The delicacy and individuality of paper treatment means that each piece requires considered manual skill; automated treatment systems cannot replace the judgement of a trained conservator.

Morning: continue washing a 19th-century watercolour — float the sheet on a suction table with controlled aqueous solution to reduce a prominent tideline, monitoring colour stability of the pigments throughout. Afternoon: treat a batch of 18th-century estate maps for a county archive — mend tears with Japanese tissue and paste, humidify and flatten each sheet, and interleave in acid-free folders for long-term storage. End of day: prepare an examination report on a collection of architectural drawings from a private estate, prioritising the most urgent items for treatment.