Storing your Rare Maps, Prints & Books

Maps and other works of art on paper

Collectors may elect to store their works of art on paper framed on the wall, or flat in a drawer (or a combination of the two!).

Flat-packed

If storing flat, we recommend a mylar or melinex sleeve to protect the work, contained within a nonporous drawer or box. We buy our sleeves from Conservation Resources (conservation-resources.co.uk)

We, obviously, encourage all collectors to buy a plan chest. This is primarily so that we can sell you more maps. If you do want to buy a plan chest, we can recommend www.thebigorchard.com.

In the frame

A framed work of art requires the following five elements:

1. A hinge

The work needs to be attached to a mount to support it within the frame. Some framing facilities will hinge works on paper with tapes backed with pressure sensitive adhesives. These tapes can shrink and release over time, causing the art to drop off the mount board.

It is preferable to hinge works using archival paper and reversible wheat starch paste, rather than tape.

A hinge is a thin, flexible piece of archival paper. The paper used for hinging is of a lighter weight than the artwork, so, if dropped or manhandled, the hinge will tear rather than the work of art, protecting it from damage. However, the adhesive should be strong enough that it will not detach from the mount board.

There are two main methods of hinging a work of art:

• T-Hinge: A T-hinge consists of two rectangular pieces of paper, with a larger rectangle overlapping the smaller one to create a T shape. This method is often utilized for artworks whose edges will be covered by a mat.
• V-Hinge: A V-hinge consists of one rectangular piece of paper that is folded lengthwise. This method is used most commonly for artworks that appear to float inside a frame. We use V-hinges for most of our works.

2. A mountboard

A piece of acid-free board is required to separate the work of art from the (usually wooden) frame back. Sometimes collectors also like a “window mount” to frame the work of art from the front as well and cover the edges of the paper. This has become less fashionable in recent years and we prefer to omit a front frame to a mount so that the whole of the work can be viewed as an object.

3. A frame

We use both metal and wooden frames.

Metal

Our metal frames may be aluminium, stainless steel, or brass. The metal is cut, welded, and finished with etched, brushed, or polished effects. Aluminium can also be powder coated any colour for a hard waring, eye catching finish. Aluminium frames are stronger, more robust and lighter than their wooden counter parts, making them the perfect solution for large scale works.

Wood

We use a wide variety of woods from beech, cherry, lime, maple, oak, pear and walnut, often painted to complement a work or its environment.

4. Glazing

Picture framing glass, sometimes called “conservation glass”, or “museum quality glass” usually refers to flat glass or, more often these days, acrylic, or “plexi”, used for framing artwork and for presenting objects in a display box.

Glass glazing

Due to widespread availability and low cost, Soda Lime Glass is most commonly used for picture framing glass. Glass thicknesses typically range from thin 2-2.5mm. Clear glass has light transmission of approximately 90%, absorption of about 2%, and reflection of, give or take, 8%. Whereas absorption can be reduced by using low-iron glass, reflection can only be reduced by an anti-reflective surface treatment.

Acrylic glazing

Some types of acrylic glass can have the high light transmission and optical quality of glass. Acrylic is also light weight compared to glass, and is shatter-resistant, making acrylic an attractive choice for framing large, oversized works of art. In general, acrylic sheet scratches easily and retains a static charge. Some manufacturers add dyes to acrylic glass to filter the UV light transmittance, and its surface can also be treated with both anti-static and anti-reflective coatings.

UV protection

Standard soda lime glass actually provides some UV protection, absorbing about 97% of UVB rays; however, UVA rays, which also cause damage, can still penetrate the glass.

Generally we recommend conservation or museum-quality glazing that has a special coating that eliminates 99% of the UV light that can cause fading. This premium glazing is also optically very clear and will keep framed pieces looking brighter for many years.

If you are unsure as to whether a piece of glass has a UV filter on it or not, you may check by holding the work up towards the light. If you can see an “orange peel” ripple effect then it is likely that the glass has a UV coating.

5. Fitting Up

In order to ensure that a work of art is preserved appropriately, it is imperative that it is installed in its frame by a professional in a clean room. We recommend and use both Darbyshire and P.R. Elletson for our specialist framing.