A major component in the work of bringing history out to our patrons is the conservation of archival materials. “Archival” can be of any vintage- old or new- providing the content demonstrates a documentation of the life and activity of a subject, and for us it is Portland history.
The pictures below describe how a print from a volume of the Portland Harbor Commissioners’ reports from 1855 has recently been restored and encapsulated here in the Portland Room of the Library. Considering the time and accuracy of this print, knowing both the dates of the Civil War and especially the year of the Great Fire (1866), this landscape provides remarkable detail about the city.
The print, as we found it folded into the book’s flyleaf, had been damaged over the years- and being on thin and acidic paper it required extensive repair. This intricate landscape is now restored, encapsulated, and can be viewed !
The first stages for conserving this document included cleaning, flattening (with weights and light ironing), and consolidation (repairing the numerous torn surfaces and breaks in the paper).
Here is a closer view of one of the breaks in the paper, along with some information about the publisher- at 53 Exchange Street. The street we associate today with the Old Port District had been Portland’s “printers’ row,” filled with publishers, bookbinders, stationers, paper companies, and newspaper offices.
Using paperweights, the creases and tears are repaired on the verso (back) side of the document, thus concealing the latticework of handmade acid-free paper tissue needed to reinforce the print.
For repairs such as these, we use Kozo tissue and a mixture of PVA and methylcellulose adhesives. The archival requirements for permanence (nonacidic materials) and strength (long-fibered alkaline papers) are met.
With careful restoring, the torn edges can be brought back together as closely as possible by matching the tear with the repair. It is also an opportunity to really study the artifact. Notice the fine city of Portland seal in the image at right.
After all the repairs were fully dry, the print was placed under weight overnight. In this image, the print rests on a sheet of Permalife 80lb paper cut to the exact size of the print. The alkaline substrate will act as a buffer to raise the pH of the print itself- as well as provide some strength during future handling of the item within its mylar enclosure.
At last, the print is encapsulated between two sheets of archival mylar, while supported by the Permalife paper base. The mylar sheets are attached along the outer margins, beyond the perimeter of the print, so that no adhesive is touching the document. As well, each of the corners has a cut air vent so that the print can “breathe.”
Come visit historic gems such as the 1855 Portland landscape, here in the Portland Room. We repair approximately 100 books, maps, and documents per year. We’re also happy to answer your preservation and conservation questions.
Processing and preserving our archival collections is a constant discovery. Here is one of countless occasions at which artifacts bring us to an enhanced appreciation of what we see around us. (After reading through this entry, you might enjoy simply scrolling back up and down again- to notice similarites and changes to this historic Old Port building on Commercial Street.
Here is 175 – 181 Commercial Street, as it appeared circa 1910. Guptill was in the ship stores business, as you can detect by the wares in the windows and on the sidewalk. Just to the right hand side- out of the picture- would be Moulton Street. This original photograph is an albumen contact print.
Fast-forward to 1972, as the Guptill Building appears again. This time the image is from our in-process Portland Press Herald Still-Film Negative Collection. The building was among the initial renovation projects that transformed the waterfront district into the popular Old Port Exchange. Here is the caption from the Evening Express of May 20, 1972: “Old Building Sold – Charlton Smith, second from left, president of Greater Portland Landmarks, hands the deed for the Guptill Building at Commercial and Moulton Streets, background, to Franklin L. Brooks, treasurer of the Ralph D. Brooks and Sons insurance agency. George W. Crockett, left, realtor for the sale; D.W. Christopherson, second right, architect for the renovation; and Ralph D. Brooks Jr., president of the firm, look on.”
Here is the same storefront as seen in the ca.1910 photograph, but this time it was taken this morning- on January 10, 2012. Moulton Street is at right.
Once more, the Guptill Building- and a full view- taken on January 10, 2012. Recognize the place now?
In our continuing series of cultural snapshots of Portland’s colorful history, this week offers a few archival images that accentuate the presence of Scandinavians here in the city. For centuries, there have been communities of Norwegians, Danes, and Swedes in the Portland area- settling here in Maine from northern Europe. The following photographs, from the Portland Press Herald Still-Film Negative Collection, which is now part of the Portland Public Library Archives, demonstrate some of the Scandinavian traditions and institutions that continue today. The archival collection is in-process, though here are a few discoveries.
This image is from 1960, with a great example of traditional Scandinavian dress.
Portland’s Bayside was the early center of Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish communities. There were churches on Mayo Street (Saint Ansgar), Elm Street (First Lutheran), and Wilmot Street (Scandinavian Baptist), in close proximity and maintaining their native languages. Here is a wedding in 1937.
From 1953, with Danish Christmas cookies forming a tower- called Kransekaker.
Portland’s famous Nissen Bakery (at left) on Washington Avenue, in its 90-year presence on Munjoy Hill, was founded in 1900 by Jürgen Jepsen Nissen- who immigrated from Denmark.
In this photo, taken immediately after World War II, in 1948, two Norwegian women display traditional as well as patriotic symbols.
Immanuel Lutheran Church, at 14 Sherman Street, in Parkside- taken in 1962.
The old Saint Ansgar Lutheran Church, 10 Mayo Street, in Bayside. The Munjoy Hill reservoir water tower is in the background. This was taken in 1955.
Members of the Saint Ansgar community, in 1961, breaking ground for their new church (which merged in the Immanuel Lutheran Church from Parkside) at Rosemont Corner. This was taken in 1961.
Photo taken June 11, 1962 at the opening of the Saint Ansgar Church, 515 Woodford Street (Rosemont Corner). The parish will observe its 50th anniversary at this address in the coming year.
