The use of enzymatic gels in the conservation treatment of Mendelssohn’s ‘Green Books’

Conference item

This paper discusses the conservation treatment of the incoming correspondence of the German musician and composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847). It presents the challenges encountered during the conservation of this collection of letters, which were strongly adhered together and presented fugitive inks on delicate papers. After several trials and experiments, a tailored enzymatic treatment was developed to detach the letters from each other. The enzyme trypsin was incorporated into agarose gel and used to treat animal glue, whilst the enzyme α-amylase mixed with water, in tandem with humidification through Gore-Tex, was used to treat starch paste. The letters were then stabilised with a gelatine-coated remoistenable tissue and rehoused in archival folders, ready for digitisation.

Authors: Delattre, C; Bearman, J; Choi, YL; McPherson, L; Stiglitz, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: ICOM-CC Publications
• Host title: Proceedings of the 20th ICOM-CC Triennial Conference (ICOM-CC 2023)
• Publication date: 2023-09-23
• Acceptance date: 2023-09-07
• Event title: 20th ICOM-CC Triennial Conference (ICOM-CC 2023)
• Event location: Valencia, Spain
• Event website: https://icom-cc2023.org/
• Event start date: 2023-09-18
• Event end date: 2023-09-22
• ISBN: 978-2-491997-79-3
• Language: English
• Keywords: enzymes; trypsin; α-amylase; paper conservation; digitisation; agarose gel; 19th-century correspondence