Eastern View of the City of Charleston S. C.

Art

Historic Charleston Foundation

Name/Title

Eastern View of the City of Charleston S. C.

Entry/Object ID

2004.018.001

Description

Lithograph, hand-colored. Entitled, "Eastern View of the City of Charleston S.C." Marine scape or maritime view of Charleston Harbor from Castle Pinckney with White Point Garden and the Battery at the left. "EASTERN VIEW OF THE CITY OF CHARLESTON S.C."/ [FRONT]/ {In script} "To the Hon the Mayor. Aldermen, & Citizens of Charleston, this series of Views are very Respectfully Dedicated by/ Wm Keenan. Engraver & Lithographer" S H Mellen Printer along lower edge of plate underneath the image, Left: "Drawn from Nature by William Keenan" Center: "Entered according to act of Congress in the Clerks Office for Charleston Distric." Right: "Lithographed & Published by W. Keenan 250 King cor Hasell St."

Artwork Details

Medium

Paper, ink, Lithograph

Collection

Historic Charleston Foundation Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2004.018.

Source or Donor

Ravenel, Katharine

Acquisition Method

Gift

Made/Created

Artist

Keenan, William

Date made

1828 - 1855

Place

City

Charleston

State/Province

South Carolina

Country

United States of America

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Location

lower right

Transcription

Wm. Keenan

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Graphic Documents

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Search Terms

Engravings, Charleston Harbor (S.C.), Castle Pinckney (Charleston, S.C.)

Other Name

Lithograph

Dimensions

Height

20-1/4 in

Depth

1-1/4 in

Length

30-3/8 in

Dimension Notes

Matt opening: 11 1/4 " x 21 3/8" Paper size (approx.) 17 5/8 x 27 7/8"

Location

Building

NR 303 A

Date

March 31, 2023

Excellent

Notes

Support: The support had surface dirt. The paper was oxidized, brittle, and discolored from aging with acid mat burns from two separate mats. The support was creased in many places , torn at right edge and lower left corner, cockled, and abraded, especially in the sky. The top margin has ben trimmed off to the image. Medium: the medium was abraded from the paper damages. The watercolor had been damaged by exposure to light. Mount: The mount was of poor quality, acidic board and was damaging the support . The support paper was adhered by a sheet of sticky adhesive, much like double-sided tape. The is a fairly modern technique. The adhesive was softened in tolunene. The paper was adhered around the edges, but not completely in the center of the picture due to cockling.

Conservation

Treatment

Conservator

Susan A. Nash

Notes

Scope of work: Treatment Tape/Mount Removal: The support was removed from the mount by removing the top layer of the cardboard together with the adhesive layer and the print. The adhesive was worked off from the verso using toluene and spatula and scalpel. Cleaning/Washing/ Buffering: The surfaces were drycleaned with eraser. The paper was washed in alkaline tap water to remove acids and stains. The paper was aqueously buffered with a solution of diluted saturated calcium hydroxide water. Upon drying, calcium carbonate is formed in the paper fibers to buffer against future acid formation. The increased the life of the paper. The paper was then bleached under flourescent lights with 3% hydrogen peroxide added as a catalyst for about 90 hours, both front and back. A great deal of discoloration was removed , revealing more of the blue color, but the discoloration in the sky was not completely removed. This may be because the adhesive from the mounting had soaked into the paper and "fixed" the discoloration. This area did not wet up very well in water. Cosmetic/Repairs/Backing: The support was humidified and flattened. Tears were repaired with Japanese paper and cooked wheat starch adhesive. Lossed were inserted with a similar Western paper. The paper was given a reinforcing backing of Japanese paper/starch paste, and stretch-dried to flatten it. stains were blended using gouache, especially in the upper sky and along the bottom edge. Light gouache over the darker discoloation actually made the sky look blue. The lossed were inpainted using watercolors.

Provenance

Notes

Collected By: Mrs. Ruth Geer The cardboard backing read, "This belongs to (scratched out Dr. Charles Kettner from) Ruth T. Geer September 2002/ Mrs. "G" The donor was the daughter of Ruth T. Geer.

Outgoing Loans

Loan Out

Created By

admin@catalogit.app

Create Date

December 22, 2004

Updated By

sferguson@historiccharleston.org

Update Date

April 5, 2023