How to preserve writing in books, magazines, &c.? (Ink, graphite)

Sometimes a rare item is notable not for the work itself but because it has been read and/or written in by someone famous. In these cases, what issues might arise and what can be done to improve the long-term preservation of the writing?

For the purposes of making this question answerable in one answer rather than an ever-expanding list of rare writing materials, this question is about (1) inks commonly used since the introduction of print and (2) graphite.

1. Alan Thomas II

• preservation
• special-collections

Comments

• 1. Alan Thomas II: I'm not sure what an appropriate scope is to make this to balance a proliferation of questions (if each is too narrow) and a proliferation of answers (if so broad that there are too many separate cases to consider); suggestions are welcome.
• jonsca: See how it goes, but I think this is fine. If there happen to be some special cases that come up peripherally and they deserve more attention, you can always formulate another question around them.

Answer by user998

I'm Graphical Materials Librarian, working with a state of the art rare book room. In this case, what's important to preserve is not just the ink or graphite itself, but the paper it is on, which is in greater danger. Generally speaking, you want to store pulp paper out of UV light, between 50 & 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and 45-55 percent humidity. Stiffening the paper with board or keeping it flat is also good. See any book on disaster response

Comments