Notes
The object is a varnished map, lined overall to canvas. The varnish is darkened and degraded, giving the surface of the map a moderate overall surface gloss and fine pebbled texture.
Preliminary tests indicate that the varnish is soluble in acetone.
The primary paper support had severe mechanical damages overall. At some point, the map was folded in half horizontally through the center. It was then repeatedly folded through the vertical center, so that the final size of the folded object was about 10 x 4” in size. There are major breaks along the primary folds, the earliest and therefore sharpest of the folds, and within the canvas beneath. There is major loss and wear to the perimeter of the paper and along all breaks, tears, and folds. There are a few scattered abrasions.
The paper is discolored overall, and there are multiple large dark orange/brown liquid stains through the center of the bottom right quadrant. There are a large number of small black stains scattered throughout the object, concentrated especially along the right edge, which were caused by fly specs on the verso of the canvas.
There are multiple pieces of cellophane tape scattered across the surface of the map. All yellowed with a rubber-based adhesive, the tape has failed and the pieces are readily detaching. There does not appear to be any significant staining related to these tapes, which may be because the varnish layer prevented the adhesive from penetrated into the paper or because the the staining is obscured by the discolored varnish.
The iron gall ink inscriptions appear to be in good-to-fair condition, exhibiting some slight haloing. The applied watercolor also appears to be in good condition. There is possibly some fading in the reds and yellows, though the dark paper tone and varnish make this difficult to determine. The greens are likely copper based and exhibit the brown tonality shift typical of aged verdigris. Preliminary testing indicates that all applied media are stable in water, water/ ethanol, ethanol, and acetone.
The canvas lining is in poor condition, with multiple breaks and tears, many of which
correspond to mechanical damages to the paper primary support. It is highly discolored, with multiple stiffened distortions throughout. It is detaching from the verso of the paper in several areas, especially in association with planar distortions. Visible on the verso of the canvas are brush strokes of the adhesive used to secure the paper to the fabric.