I am cataloguing a large series of files which includes letters, typewritten in England, c1900s - 1940s. I would like to identify the process used, which I don't recall having come across before. The letters appear to be carbon-type copies, but the ink is quite dissimilar to that which is found from a standard black typewriter ribbon.
The text has been produced in what I can best describe a violet blue coloured ink. The typescript letterforms are sharp, but on many of the papers, portions of the typescript have either bled into the paper, and / or smudged and spread onto the paper. It is as if a wet ink has been used, which has either bled at the initial impression, or which has subsequently been wetted in places, to form patches of blurred text. The severity of this effect varies randomly across a large number of papers in many hundreds of individual, thin, files. Only in a few cases does the same process appear to have been used without producing such effects. Alternatively, the papers might have been subjected to high humidity which has subsequently caused dry ink to become unstable. It might or might not be relevant that these papers have had an interesting life, including being recovered from bombed-out storage during World War II. It is possible that these effects were caused by high humidity from fire-fighting water. However, although the papers bear some mechanical damage from that event, there is little mould, which seems to rule out high humidity caused by fire-fighting water. Other parts of this accumulation do have high mould levels for that reason, but those parts do not include any of the papers with this typewritten process. I would be grateful for advice as to the process that was used. Many thanks Paul Sillitoe Dr Paul J Sillitoe, Dip Arc Admin (Distn), RMARA; Consultant Archivist; LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/paul-sillitoe-42a1504a ****** Unsubscribe by sending a message to [email protected] Searchable archives: http://cool.conservation-us.org/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/
