I thought that I would pass along to the group a few suggestions on
paper repairs.  I use these methods quite successfully in my business.
As with all repair/restoration methods a certain amount of risk is
involved and experimentation on the object is required.  My philosophy
is "least is best," and don't do anything that can't easily be undone.

Paper can dry out and become very brittle and when you try to unroll a
piece; if you aren't careful you can do more damage.  The first thing that
I do is to make sure the paper is flexible and that it can be unrolled.
I do this by flexing a corner on the inside of the roll.  If the paper
isn't flexible I place it along with a DAMP, not wet, paper towel in a
trash bag and seal it up.  Every 12 hours or so I check it until the
paper starts becoming flexible and I can flatten a edge.

I then clamp the edge to a flat surface and start unrolling very slowly.
I keep on hand an atomizer filled with distilled water; as soon as I feel
that the paper is becoming stiff I mist that section with the distilled
water and go have a cup of coffee.  Do not saturate the paper, only mist
it.  I use a old DeVillis atomizer that I found at a flea market for
$3.00, these work much better than a trigger sprayer.

I just keep unrolling until the roll is completely unrolled.  In the case
of very long pieces of paper I roll the starting end onto the cardboard-
tube center from a carpet roll.  You can obtain one of these from any
carpet store for free it you say "Please."  Do not roll up tightly; allow
the paper to follow it's natural curl.

After I have unrolled the whole roll I then proceed to make the repairs.
On tears I use "Archival Quality Transparent Mending Tissue" made by
Lineco Inc.  This is self adhesive and can be removed  with a solvent.
After taping, smooth the tape with the back of a spoon.  To insure a good
repair I do tape both sides of the tear.  However you can best judge this
for yourself as every repair is different.

After all the repairs have been made I then place the paper back into
the trash bags and put into the bag a small container with a solution of
"Thymol".  This will prevent mold form growing.  Allow 7 to 10 days before
removing.  Thymol is poison and should be handled with extreme care.

This is only the highlights.  I suggest that before trying to make
repairs to paper that you read the book "The Care of Prints and Drawings"
by Margaret Holben Ellis, ISBN #0-910050-79-1.  This is a very good
introduction to paper restoration and conservation.

A good source of supplies is "Talas", 568 Broadway, N.Y., NY 10012.
Their catalog cost $5.00.

Tom Fenn
Kansas City, MO