Email digest for the Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList) egroup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. IAP Virtual seminar: Pigment identification – SEM-EDX, XRF & Raman microscopy 2. RE: Introduction to Plastic Materials Online Course 12th November 3. Call for papers - ICON Textile Group Spring Forum 2026, Manchester, UK 4. RE: OnionSkin paper ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.From: James Black Posted: Monday October 13, 2025 9:53 AM Subject: IAP Virtual seminar: Pigment identification – SEM-EDX, XRF & Raman microscopy Message: Pigment identification – SEM-EDX, XRF & Raman microscopy Date: Thursday, 23 October 2025 Tutor: Tracey Chaplin Price: £25.00 Platform: Zoom Time: This seminar will start at 3pm BST There will be a 55 minute presentation followed by 15 minutes of discussion. Please register on Eventbrite. <https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1693391753319?aff=oddtdtcreator> This virtual seminar (the last in a series* of 4 virtual seminars on the History and Identification of Pigments to be offered in October) introduces three of the main instrumental non-destructive techniques routinely used to identify pigments on works of art – scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), X-ray fluorescence and Raman microscopy. The processes, applications and limitations for each method will be described, with case studies used to illustrate each method. Such instrumental methods are often used in combination with visual and polarised light microscopy. *This series of seminars is intended to appeal to all conservators and others who would like to refresh their knowledge on the subject and also to students of conservation. Tracey Chaplin is an Independent Scientific Consultant specialising in analysis and identification of artists’ materials and their degradation products on objects such as paintings, sculpture, furniture, manuscripts, wallpaper, textiles and architectural elements. This includes the application of microscopy, cross-sectional analysis, spectroscopies, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, X-ray fluorescence and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Tracey lectures in conservation science at the City and Guilds of London Art School, has published extensively and is one of four authors of The Pigment Compendium. ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ James Black Co-ordinator International Academic Projects London www.academicprojects.co.uk ------------------------------ 2.From: Brenda Keneghan Posted: Monday October 13, 2025 9:54 AM Subject: RE: Introduction to Plastic Materials Online Course 12th November Message: Hurry - still some places available for this comprehensive online course on plastics in collections. Lots of opportunity to ask questions and/or show your own objects. Timetable: 10.05 – 10.20am: Presentation 1 – What are plastics? 10.20 – 10.30am: Q & A 10.30 – 11.00am: Presentation 2 – History and development of plastics 11.00 – 11.15am: Break 11.15am – 12.00pm: Presentation 3 – Plastics in museums and galleries 12.00 – 12.15pm: Questions on above 12.15 – 13.00pm: Presentation 4 - Introduction to West Dean and its modern materials holdings 13.00 – 14.15pm: Lunch 14.15 – 15.00pm: Presentation 5 – Degradation of plastics 15.00 – 15.15pm: Questions 1515 – 15.30pm: Break 15.30 – 16.15pm: Presentation 6 -- Approaches to the identification of plastics 16.15 – 17.00pm: Final questions / discussion ------------------------------ Dr Brenda Keneghan FRSC Preservation Consultant for Plastics in Heritage Collections email: [email protected] tel. 07811 040117 tel. 089 4899197 ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 09-24-2025 16:25 From: Brenda Keneghan Subject: Introduction to Plastic Materials Online Course 12th November Plastics are present in all kinds of museum collections, so join our new online course to explore them in detail. This one-day introductory course will guide you through these occasionally problematic materials and help you identify which ones are most at risk.Follow the link for full details.https://www.westdean.ac.uk/short-courses/m1w39002-introduction-to-plastic-materials-online <https://www.westdean.ac.uk/short-courses/m1w39002-introduction-to-plastic-materials-online> Dr Brenda Keneghan FRSC Preservation Consultant for Plastics in Heritage Collections email: [email protected] <[email protected]> tel. 07811 040117 tel. 089 4899197 3.From: Joanne Hackett Posted: Monday October 13, 2025 1:37 PM Subject: Call for papers - ICON Textile Group Spring Forum 2026, Manchester, UK Message: Regeneration, Retreatability and Reflection: The Lifetimes of Textile Conservation Celebrating 35 Years of the Icon Textile Group The Icon Textile Group Spring Forum, to be held in Manchester, April 2026. The aim of this symposium is to discuss the past, present and future of textile conservation in celebration of thirty-five years of the Icon Textile Group. As the industry in the UK undergoes a generational turnover, how has the care and conservation of textiles changed? How have the past 35 years informed current practice? Where is the industry headed? How can we communicate the value of textiles and textile conservation to both the wider heritage industry and to the public to ensure that the textile conservation sector continues to grow and 'textile conservator' remains a viable career option? We hope to discuss the changing landscape of textile conservation from its infancy, through present day, with a view to the future. Discussions will focus on case studies, developments in conservation treatments and materials, and changing approaches to the practice, with a focus on generational change as well as changes in the way we work. Should all items be retreated? Should old conservation treatments be removed, or should they themselves be conserved as further evidence of an object's history? We hope to look at the changing landscape of textile conservation over the last 35 years in as broad a way as possible and welcome papers that address issues such as: Novel approaches to traditional treatments. Reversibility and retreatment, changing methodologies and approaches National and international variations in textile conservation treatment National and international standards for textile conservation Experimentation and research within textile conservation The role of the textile conservator (institutions and private practice) Local, national and global attitudes towards the textile industry and the role of textile conservation within this. Changing cultural sensitivities and their effect on textile conservation. (Including working with owners, makers, scholars, artists or users of artefacts.) Community engagement within textile conservation. We welcome submissions for 20-minute papers and 5-minute "live poster" sessions. Further details of this will be shared with chosen authors. Abstracts should be no more than 250 words. Please also list the names and short bios of all authors and the contact details for at least one person (email and phone number). Abstracts should be sent to [email protected] <[email protected]> using the subject line "Spring Symposium Abstract Submission". The deadline for abstract submission is 26th October 2025. Successful authors will be notified at the start of December 2025. All authors will be asked to submit a preprint of 3000 words by 17th February 2026. We welcome submissions from around the world and will be hosting this Symposium as a hybrid event. Those unable to present in person will be asked to record their presentation and submit to the committee by the end of March. If you have an idea that you wish to run past the team prior to submitting an abstract, please email [email protected] <[email protected]> –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ------------------------------ Joanne Hackett Lecturer in Textile Conservation University of Glasgow Kelvin Centre for Conservation and Cultural Heritage Research Pinner United Kingdom ------------------------------ 4.From: Rita Udina Posted: Monday October 13, 2025 1:37 PM Subject: RE: OnionSkin paper Message: Thank you so much! As we say here, "la ignorància és atrevida" (literally, "ignorance is bold," something like "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing"). I'm speaking from a much more superficial understanding of papermaking. Your first-hand insights are truly enriching, and I really appreciate learning about those two variables (roll setting and fibre concentration) and how they influence the final paper. My comment referred broadly to the long beating associated with tracing papers (excluding impregnated ones, though), but your explanation provides a much more precise view of the variables involved. To me, it's often difficult to draw clear boundaries between categories of paper, since they frequently share characteristics with neighbouring types. Your observation about how the roll setting determines the outcome is exactly what I meant -that there are many gradations within the same continuum, and sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can't create strictly defined or mutually exclusive groups. Perhaps that's why Labarre (and others) avoid making such distinctions? And thank you for the historical note about Chartham Mill -that's truly fascinating. The name is familiar to me, but I was unaware of its recent permanent closure -sad news that perfectly reflects changing times. As you so rightly point out, soon there will be very few people left with direct experience of paper -whether in its technical manufacture or, perhaps, even in its use! I completely share your nostalgic mood. Kind regards, Rita ------------------------------ Rita Udina Book & Paper Conservator Private Practice Barcelona Spain ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 10-10-2025 13:42 From: Simon Green Subject: OnionSkin paper Hello Rita Can I add something from a papermakers point of view? You write "extensive beating shortens and fibrillates the fibres, producing a denser and more translucent sheet (as in tracing paper)." The way fibres are affected depends on the way the beater roll is adjusted as well as other factors like consistency (% fibre to water). The beater roll is raised and lowered by a screw mechanism so that it can either just impact on the fibres which will increase hydration with limited cutting or be put down harder which did not hydrate so much but cut more. The best tracing paper in the world used to be made at Chartham Mill about 20 miles from here. To make natural tracing paper they would have beaten for a very long time with a low roll setting. Some of the beating would also have been done with refiners. The stock was beaten until it was so "wet" that its drainage rate was very slow and the stuff fed to the paper machine was heated to 60˚C to increase the drainage rate. Natural tracing paper had no chemical treatment to improve its transparency etc whilst artificial tracing paper did*. There were a number of papers published by the Institute of Paper Conservation in the late 1980s on conservation of tracing paper and I know that some of this was done in collaboration to one of the managers at Chartham Paper Mill. I have a feeling that they were not published in the Journal but in conference postprints but I have not tracked them down. There was a really good session at an IPC conference (Edinburgh?) that I attended that focused on tracing paper. I hope that I have got these facts correctly as I did not work at Chartham. Sadly it closed down in September 2022. It was an exceptional mill and also made plotter paper for printing CAD drawings. At one time it supplied 60% of the plotter paper market in Japan. However just as CAD contributed to the demise of tracing paper, greater use of laptops and pads reduced the demand for drawings on paper – whether actually drawn or printed on a plotter. In future years there will be few 21st century drawings on paper to conserver and I don't think there will be much chance of accessing current CAD drawings as the decades and centuries pass. *interestingly Labarre does not distinguish between artificial and natural tracing and his description is for artificial tracing for which he gives some interesting detail. Please forgive my descent into nostalgia! Regards Simon Barcham Green 9, Lancet Lane, Maidstone, ME15 9RX Tel 07879 025313 Original Message: Sent: 10/9/2025 3:52:00 AM From: Rita Udina Subject: RE: OnionSkin paper Dear Barry, Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I agree that tracing paper is different from the others (onion skin, airmail, typist's), but I see the latter as the most similar to tracing paper in their overall features - that's why I thought it was worth reflecting on how we define them all. And thank you for summarising so neatly the three key variables that make all the difference! Indeed, fibre furnish is one of the main factors. Onion skin and airmail papers usually have a high rag content (cotton or linen), while tracing papers are generally made from chemically pulped wood fibres from which lignin has been removed - sometimes mixed with rag fibres in higher-quality grades. The longer and purer the fibres, the stronger and more flexible the paper, which already explains part of their different behaviour. The second factor you mention - the length of beating - is also crucial: extensive beating shortens and fibrillates the fibres, producing a denser and more translucent sheet (as in tracing paper). Onion skin, on the other hand, is less over-beaten, leaving the fibres longer and the sheet less compact, hence slightly more opaque and "breathable." Finally, sizing has a strong impact on translucency and wet behaviour. Tracing papers are often super-calendered or chemically modified, while onion skin tends to rely on mechanical translucency and traditional surface sizing with gelatine, starch or rosin. Warm regards, ------------------------------ Rita Udina Book & Paper Conservator Freelance/Private Practice/Self-employed/Independent Barcelona Spain ------------------------------ Original Message: Sent: 10-07-2025 12:35 From: Barry Knight Subject: OnionSkin paper Dear Rita, Thanks for starting this interesting discussion. I think I would make a distinction between onion skin, air mail and typist's copy paper on the one hand, and tracing paper (and hard toilet paper!) on the other. Are the differences to do with fibre furnish? Length of beating = degree of defibrillation? Sizing? I'd like to hear your opinion. Regards, Barry ------------------------------ Barry Knight Conservation Scientist St Albans UK Original Message: Sent: 10-06-2025 05:43 From: Rita Udina Subject: OnionSkin paper Thanks a lot, Sabine! Your observation about the lack of fillers makes perfect sense - fillers make paper heavier and more opaque (less translucent). Well spotted! A valuable point for defining it. >From what I understand, there isn't really a difference between onion skin >paper and airmail paper. Airmail paper required to be lightweight, and because >onion skin paper shared this quality, it was often used for airmail purposes, >among others. Two of the images on the blog post shows a watermark and >packaging combining both terms (as well as the brand name): "Barcino Onion >Skin. Correo aéreo" and "Barcino Onion Skin Air Mail" In this case, air mail >refers to the intended use, while onion skin is the name given to the type of >paper itself. Papers often inherit the names of their purposes -as in tracing paper or smoking paper- which explains the confusion: too many names for a wide variety of papers! As for the "foreign" and "bank notes" relationship, this is certainly new to me, never thought of a link with it. Thanks a lot for your insights and the book reference, truly valuable information! ------------------------------ Rita Udina Book & Paper Conservator Freelance/Private Practice/Self-employed/Independent Barcelona Spain Original Message: Sent: 10-05-2025 08:25 From: Sabine Protze Subject: OnionSkin paper Dear Rita, thank you for your research! Indeed "Florpostpapier" described Kotte, Hans as "onion skin or in french pelure d'oignon (Littré). To me the question is how to distinguish onion skin from air-mail paper when there is no watermark present? … Furthermore E.J. Labarre in "A dictionary of paper an paper-making terms" printed in 1937 mentioned "onion skin" in connection with "foreign" or "bank"; these are all thin papers of high quality fibres made for permanent records where small volume is desirable or duplicating purposes. Paper-making terms are sometimes a bit confusing…. Best regards, Sabine Protze paper and photo conservator, Berlin Original Message: Sent: 10/3/2025 6:20:00 AM From: Rita Udina Subject: OnionSkin paper Dear colleagues, I recently had to restore a print on onion skin paper, and in the process I found myself wondering whether it should be considered a type of tracing paper or not. While looking into this, I came across some historical and technical aspects that might be of interest to share with you. I'd be very glad to hear your views and experiences on this material. Onion skin paper: History, Uses, Composition and Conservation <https://www.ritaudina.com/en/2025/02/18/onion-skin-paper-history-composition-and-conservation/> Kind regards, Rita Udina Book an Paper Conservation C. Sant Pere, 24 08330 – Premià de Mar (Barcelona, SPAIN) +34 937548880 https://ritaudina.com <https://ritaudina.com> ------------------------------ Rita Udina Book & Paper Conservator Freelance/Private Practice/Self-employed/Independent Barcelona Spain ------------------------------ You are subscribed to "Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList)" as [email protected]. To change your subscriptions, go to http://community.culturalheritage.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions. To unsubscribe from this community discussion, go to https://community.culturalheritage.org/HigherLogic/eGroups/Unsubscribe.aspx?UserKey=d16eaa87-0f69-494b-9f2f-303dbc1222e1&sKey=fab9aa4f27a04c5d876e&GroupKey=757a8f16-505f-4323-8e74-e376757aa9f7.
