| Abstract: | Summaries. There are many things we do not know about the deterioration of paper, and the effects conservation treatments have on paper. However, we cannot stop doing conservation treatments because of this, as Cardinal Newman said, 'A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault with what he has done.' If pH was the only variable in changing the rate of deterioration our task would be easy and all aqueous deacidi-fying processes would more or less equally effective. Complications arise from other causes, e.g. the fact that metal ions such as calcium and aluminium can enter into the reaction scheme and change the stability of the paper to oxidation by acid hydrolysis and perhaps by other means. While much useful evidence can be obtained from performing accelerated ageing tests on paper deacidified in various ways, these tests are unreliable and can lead us to false conclusions. Thus we must rely heavily on the analysis of good-quality old papers to guide us in the right direction. Calcium and magnesium carbonates have been incorporated in paper for many hundreds of years and confer stability on these papers. It is this historical evidence that gives weight to the opinion that while other deacidifying treatments may seem to be as effective, the incorporation of calcium and magnesium carbonate should be used in preference to other chemicals. Of course, in many cases it is expedient to use one of the newer methods and these, so far, have produced acceptable results. It is to be hoped that in the next few decades we will have sufficient information about paper degradation to make a better judgement. As Julius Caesar said, 'Good reasons must, of force, give place to better'. |
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