Arts & crafts. History & Heritage. Collection Care. Disability Awareness. Monty my dog. @NYHGS. Own views except RTs
North Yorkshire
Joined April 2012
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I’m excited to announce that after going part time at the BL I am now also working as a freelance preventive conservator and consultant. For further information on services I offer please do check out my new website wattspreservation.com
Emily Watts retweeted
Here further tears are being repaired to stabilise the letter for handling. The letter was also rehoused to further protect it.
Emily Watts retweeted
The detached section was repaired and tears were consolidated. Gelatine was used for the repairs due to its low moisture content—this was to preserve the iron gall ink with which the letter was written.
Emily Watts retweeted
Conservation treatment included the removal of pressure-sensitive tape, which was originally holding a detached section of the letter together.
Emily Watts retweeted
Following acquisition, the letter from Mary, Queen of Scots, to Jacques Bochetel, Sieur de la Forest, 26 June 1568 (Add MS 89480) came into the conservation studio to undergo minor conservation treatment. Below are some timelapse videos of the treatments being carried out. 🧵
Following hot on the heels of our ★★★★★ Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens exhibition, we're delighted to announce the acquisition of two documents relating to Mary, Queen of Scots’ imprisonment in England. Find out more: bit.ly/3NE0adJ
📜Add MS 89480
ALT Handwritten letter from Mary, Queen of Scots, to Jacques Bochetel (1568)
Emily Watts retweeted
In a water incident, getting books & paper dry as quickly as possible is important. This is to prevent secondary levels of damage such as mould. To help dry items we use blotting paper, which absorbs water. We also use fans & wind tunnels to speed up the drying process. (7/7)
ALT Wet books are being dried inside tunnels made from table tops and plastic sheeting. There are fans are at either end of the tunnels to speed up the drying process.
Emily Watts retweeted
Our response preparation also includes having the necessary equipment we need in key strategic locations around our stores, in our salvage trollies. The salvage trollies are then backed up with further equipment and consumables we might need in a central salvage store. (6/7)
ALT A red metal trolley which contents includes tools and equipment ready to respond to a fire or flood at the British Library.
Emily Watts retweeted
We regularly train in responding to incidents with table top and practical exercises. The teams are trained in minimising the impact of an incident, rescuing collection items away from the risk, and collections first aid. (5/7)
ALT Members of the Boston Spa emergency salvage team during a practice exercise. Three people are protecting collections from water by covering shelves with plastic sheeting and using absorbent socks to soak up and divert water.
Emily Watts retweeted
Secondly, if a fire or flood does occur we have our response planned and ready to be implemented at all times. Members of our emergency salvage teams are on-call at both sites 24/7 & will work with colleagues in our Estates & Security departments to respond with incidents. (4/7)
Emily Watts retweeted
Some of our stores in London have an Inergen system, which is a method of oxygen displacement, reducing the amount of oxygen in a room so if there is a fire it is extinguished. We also have leak detection systems to alert us to any water ingress. (3/7)
Emily Watts retweeted
Firstly with our storage facilities, for our purpose built stores we use a number of options to prevent fire and flood. These range from our low oxygen automated storage buildings in Yorkshire. The oxygen is kept to below 17% which prevents combustion. (2/7)
ALT National Newspaper Building, British Library, Boston Spa, Yorkshire. A low oxygen automated storage facility.
Emily Watts retweeted
Q: How do you deal with the aftermath of disasters such as fires, floods?
A: Being prepared for such events is key! We do this in a number of ways. (1/7)
#AskAConservator
Emily Watts retweeted
If you are curious to what @Conservators_UK thinks are the must-have traits for conservators, have a read of this interesting Icon article - (7/7)
icon.org.uk/resource/so-you-…
Emily Watts retweeted
Choices: As with many colleagues of mine, I have had to make tough choices during my career. I’ve chosen to do what makes me happy. This means that I have managed to keep my enthusiasm and passion for my work high over the years. (6/7)
Emily Watts retweeted
Attitude: I am really stubborn. I practice, practice & practice again until I have the result I want. A glass-half-full mindset has helped me to keep going when I made mistakes & to overcome difficult moments when things were not going as I planned (it is hard sometimes!). (5/7)
Emily Watts retweeted
Experience: I worked for years in short contracts for institutions and private conservation studios in Italy, the UK and Austria. The uncertainty was frustrating and stressful, but I also realised how lucky I was to learn from so many experts. (4/7)
Emily Watts retweeted
Skills: Working as an artist, before joining conservation, helped me greatly in developing my manual skills, to hone fine motor skills and to get to know the characteristics and behaviour of paper. (3/7)
Emily Watts retweeted
In my opinion, to carve out a career in conservation it’s not only the skills gained and experiences acquired that can open the door to a successful career, but also the right attitude and choices play an important role. (2/7)
Emily Watts retweeted
Q: Are there particular experiences, skills or choices we make that you feel opened the door for you to carve out a career in conservation? Must-have traits for conservators? Any advice?
A: One of our book & paper conservators responded to this question. (1/7)
#AskAConservator