Pressure-sensitive tape, and the four years it took to undo
· job 96 · an 1870s atlas, 54 × 38 cm
Someone had taped four hinges in the 1970s or 1980s. The tape came off in a day. What it left behind took four sessions spread over six weeks, and two of the map leaves remain weaker than they should be.
What was there
| Tape | Four strips, roughly 45 mm wide, yellowed to a deep amber, applied across the hinge on both sides |
|---|---|
| What it was holding | Four detached map leaves, each previously sewn in at the fold |
| Damage from the adhesive | Dark staining through to the recto on three leaves; the fourth had a tide of adhesive that had run into the printed plate |
| Damage from removal attempts | Two leaves had thin fibres lifted along the fold. Someone had pulled, not lifted |
The sessions
Session one: mechanical removal with a spatula at the lift angle, warm. Most of the carrier came away. The adhesive did not.
Session two and three: solvent on a swab, worked from the verso, in small areas, with a blotter change every few minutes. On the three stained leaves the stain lightened by maybe a third. It did not go away. I did not chase it further; the paper had already given up enough fibre.
Session four: re-hinging. Japanese tissue, thin, wheat paste, hinges placed so that the leaf hangs from two points instead of the original single fold. The atlas now opens with the leaves behaving normally, and the joints are visibly present, which I prefer.
What I would do differently
- Do sessions two and three before attempting any mechanical removal at all. The lifting was what cost me the two damaged folds.
- Test the solvent on the printed plate first. On the fourth leaf I found out by finding out.
Six-month check
Done 11 March 2024. All four leaves hold. Two are weaker than they should be and I have written on the record that they should never be opened flat again. That note is the reason this entry is still published: I want the weakness recorded rather than hidden.
Job number 96. The tape was applied maybe forty years before I saw it, and its whole cost landed on me.