Going Out/ View Of The Berkeley Hunt Kennel Cheltenham   

Identification and bibliographical details

Title/descriptive signifier: Going Out: View Of The Berkeley Hunt kennel Cheltenham  

Artist: Robert Grwikshank 

Date of work: 1826

Technique: Hand coloured engraving (etching, aquatint)

Dimensions (mm): 256 (w) x 163 (h) (landscape)

Composite materials: off-white, medium-weight machine-made woven paper

Provenance: City and Guilds of London Art School Archive

Historical context and details of research: 

This is an original hand coloured engraving drawn and engraved by Robert Cruikshank, and published by Sherwood & co. 1825. 

Before treatment photodocumentation:

Description

This is a hand-coloured engraving, rectangular in shape, and has a maximum approximate size of 256 x 163 (mm). The material is an off-white, medium-weight machine-made wove paper that was mounted and framed.

Condition

Fair - conservation needed (it may deteriorate further without any conservation interventions)

Under the frame, the object was adhered to the mounting board from the recto with animal glue, and it left marks on all corners of the object. A brown line going along all four edges was caused by acid migration from the window mount into the paper of the artwork. There was a loss along the edge of the bottom centre and a tear along the edges. The object was discoloured overall. 

Treatment description

1. De-framing 

The object was taken out of the frame by removing nails using pliers. 

2. Mounting removal

The object was mounted from the recto and adhered with animal glue around the corner of the object. It was removed by brushing warm tap water around where it was glued. When it was softened enough, the substrate was lifted using a bamboo spatula. 

3. Wet surface cleaning

The object was first float washed, supported by a blotter to reduce soluble deterioration products. 

Then the print was immersed in warm water supported by a blotter to further remove soluble deterioration products.

After washing, the object was control dried and then pressed overnight.

4. Spot bleaching 

The object was spot-bleached along the acid-migrated line with 5% Hydrogen peroxide with 10 drops of Ammonia as a buffer to make the solution pH 10. It was brushed over the lines and blotted out repeatedly. 

After spot bleaching, the object was placed on the desk, and the bleach was sprayed overall, from verso to recto. 

After washing, the object was dried overnight. 

5. Infill 

Machine-made woven paper that has the same thickness as the object was colour-matched to the object with watercolour. Then, the loss was infilled with toned Western paper. 

Requirements/ future recommendations

The print should be mounted on museum boards or stored in the Melinex pocket for safe storage and display. The print should be kept away from direct sunlight to prevent fading or discolouration. The relative humidity should be between 45-55% RH.