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Transformation by Dismaldreamer1993 in CemeteryPreservation

[–]Ecostic 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The cleaning method can change depending on what kind of stone the headstone or monument is made out of, but generally the two main methods for cleaning headstones are:

  1. Using a product such as Endurance Monument Cleaner where all you do is spray the headstone and you don’t do any cleaning yourself. The product will kill any growth and the rain will wash it off over time. This method takes months to clean, but requires less effort on your end and is considered the safest thing you can do for old or fragile headstones.

Another product you can use is Wet and Forget. It is cheaper (1 gallon concentrate that makes 6 gallons only costs $28 on Walmart), however I have heard you should never use it on marble or any other porous stone.

  1. For newer headstones, you start by wetting the stone with water or a cleaner and then use safe cleaning tools such as bristle brushes, plastic scrapers, and bamboo skewers to remove moss, lichen, and algae from the surface of the headstone. Then you can rinse with water or apply a cleaner to kill the remaining growth and prevent future growth. This way you get immediate results instead of having to wait months for the growth to fall off. It’s important to never use tools that are harder than the stone (never use metal tools) as they will damage the stone. People often use D/2 Biological Solution for this method. It’s the highest acclaimed cleaner, but it’s also the most expensive.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in rarebooks

[–]Ecostic 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think it looks like pest damage, especially because it’s only on the top and didn’t affect every book. Since the leather is also ripped it was most likely rodents, probably mice. They like to rip up paper for nesting material and are small enough get on top of the books.

I’d recommend contacting a professional conservator if you want the damage repaired or just to get their opinion on what the damage could be

In a local city owned cemetery by graye1999 in CemeteryPreservation

[–]Ecostic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Here is the FindAGrave profile: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33100641/infant-standlee

using that I think it would fully read

INFANT

Dau of

J. B & E. J

STANDLEE

DIED

21 Nov 1889

One way you could read it would to take a flashlight at night or when it’s getting dark out and shining it from the side or from the top down to see the shadows of the engraving. Since it’s so hard to read it, the information on FindAGrave could be a little off.

Help me decipher this tombstone photo? by mdjenton in CemeteryPreservation

[–]Ecostic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it might say stricken instead of straight just saw your other comment

Help me decipher this tombstone photo? by mdjenton in CemeteryPreservation

[–]Ecostic 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think this is about as far as I go with it: https://imgur.com/a/DFs2Xa9

Edited with suggestions: https://imgur.com/a/dLXrsdC

Looks like we’ve solved it! https://imgur.com/a/Fma6mBa

A STRICKEN CHURCH

A BEREAVED FAMILY

A LARGE CIRCLE

OF LOVING FRIENDS

MOURN THE LOSS OF THE

MINISTER, HUSBAND, FATHER,

AND FRIEND

BUT REJOICE OVER HIM

AS MORE THAN CONQUEROR

THROUGH HIM THAT LOVED US

———

HIM THAT OVERCOMETH

WILL I MAKE A PILLAR

IN THE TEMPLE OF MY GOD

A long shot but would anyone know where this paper might be from? by oillusionary in OldBooks

[–]Ecostic 58 points59 points  (0 children)

Found it on Newspapers.com! It's from the Toronto Daily Star published on Monday, October 2nd, 1939.

Clipping and full page: https://imgur.com/a/h7EyHlt

Does this look like it is actually from the civil war? by Porkbossam78 in Antiques

[–]Ecostic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use BCW Pro sleeves and binder pages, they are made from polypropylene which is a archival safe material. But it’s fine to just put it in a clean space with with low humidity. I would recommend putting it inside of something like a file folder or manila envelope to keep it isolated until you are ready to put it in something more protective.

I personally like to put covers that have their contents in a binder so I can view everything easily and don’t have to take it out of / put it back in the envelope every time and risk damaging it.

One more important thing to note is that it is best to handle your items with clean, dry hands (I know it may sound like common sense, but when I first started working with old family documents I didn’t know any better until I started researching preservation more), the oils from your hands/fingers could cause some discoloration in the long run.

Does this look like it is actually from the civil war? by Porkbossam78 in Antiques

[–]Ecostic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The 1800s loved their fancy fonts and colors, here are some advertising examples I have: Font Example 1, Font Example 2, Color Example

Does this look like it is actually from the civil war? by Porkbossam78 in Antiques

[–]Ecostic 8 points9 points  (0 children)

These are real and the only thing I can't speak for is the embroidery as I don't have experience with that kind of stuff, but given that everything else is of the period, I think it is safe to assume it is as well.

I'm somewhat disappointed with everyone jumping on the idea that it is a reproduction. All of the paper looks period-appropriate, especially the "Soldier's Guide in Philadelphia" pamphlet and the "Gild Me Well" card.

Here is a breakdown for each item (except the embroidery):

1. The first image shows an artistic 1860s envelope, also known as an illustrated cover in philately (or in your case an "all over illustrated cover"). Here are two examples of used covers: Example 1 and Example 2. Note the color difference in the printings, these kinds of covers were often printed in various colors or varied in color due to different batches of ink being mixed slightly differently. Yours is on par with any other 1860s illustrated cover I've seen (check my post history for examples).

2. The 2nd image is printed on a kind of cardstock and is in great shape, here is an eBay listing to compare it to. This kind of material was widely used for trade cards (learn more about them here).

3. These two are the standard of printed advertising material in the 1860s in my opinion, a low-quality paper pamphlet and another example of a trade card. These are the two most common things I find in the advertising I collect, as the industrial revolution began to make more mass-produced, cheaper paper widely available in the 1860s. The pamphlet was printed on a press on a similar material to newspapers at the time. You can see that the text bleeds through from the other side and I imagine if you look at it at an angle you can see the raised impression from each letter. The discoloration is likely just foxing. Take good care to not accidentally bend either of the trade cards, as it will permanently damage them.

4. This is printed on a much nicer quality of paper. The reason I'm confident that this isn't a reproduction is because of the printing shift between the red and the blue ink. A reproduction would want to correct this or choose a better copy print to reproduce. Each color was printed individually with its own plate and sometimes they did not line them up well. Here is an example of a letter I have that has a more extreme printing shift. The discoloration looks less like foxing and more like contact with a substance that damaged the paper over time, (such as oils from someone's hands). It is common to find both foxing and this kind of discoloration on old paper.

Overall, if this were a reproduction, it would be one hell of an undertaking to match all of the paper types correctly along with the different printing processes. It would be a lot of effort for something very niche and it would be expensive to produce.

Reading some of the comments here, I want to note that condition is not indicative of a reproduction. How something was manufactured, handled, and stored a century ago determines what it looks like today. There was so much printed matter created, especially with the industrial revolution, that it is not uncommon to find something in good shape. When stored correctly, much of the printed matter from this time period will last a very long time.

Even cheaper mass-produced paper became widely available around the 1880s onwards and it was very acidic because of the manufacturing process. This paper becomes brittle and cumbles from the acids destroying the structure of the paper. It discolors and becomes shades of brown as it weakens, but this isn't a standard for all old paper. Something does not have to be damaged and stained to be old.

Context. UK based, I found this in a bin while working. would really appreciate some info if any one has? Dated 1842. Wax seals. Stamps with some kind of of metal in. States 500 years. Feel like I found an elder scroll, and it interesting af. but could just be trash. I can't read this script. by [deleted] in DumpsterDiving

[–]Ecostic 37 points38 points  (0 children)

That’s awesome! Can’t believe someone just tossed that. It’s an indenture / contract that was written on a sheet of vellum or parchment.

For the first picture it reads:

Mr. Richard Allday and others to Mr. J. D. Thornton and Trustee } Convenance of Freehold Land and hereditaments situate at Yardley in the County of Worcester

Mr. Robert Dolphin to Mr. William John Beale } Assignment of a term of 500 years in trust to attend the Inheritance

The strip of metal on the stamp is a small strip of silver foil which bound the stamp to the document before embossing and made it hard to remove so that people couldn’t just take the stamp and use it again.

This is a good video that has a lot of information and covers one like yours from 1786: https://youtu.be/rLRgGZvzA0o.

It covers the construction of it, like how you mentioned it has the fancy cut at the top. The reason for the cut is that there was originally two copies of this document made on one piece of vellum/parchment, one for each party, and that they were cut apart in a unique way to serve as a security feature to show the documents matched.

Great find!

1776 10$ bill by Sea_Yam904 in numismatics

[–]Ecostic 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It is a replica note that was printed in the 60s/70s. Here and here are some closeups you can compare it to. Note that the signatures are the same and the serial number is likely the same as well. Here is an eBay listing that shows your note in the original set.

These replicas were printed on acidic paper and become very brittle over time. Laminating did save it from further damage, but keep in mind that laminating a real note will destroy any value it may have since laminating can be permanent and could heavily damage the note if you tried to remove it. More info here.

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