From Left to Right: Caricature of The Earl of Durham by Leslie Ward, Chromolithograph, published in Vanity Fair 24 December 1887.
Caricature of William Christoper Leng by Leslie Ward, Chromolithograph, published in Vanity Fair 8 March 1890.
Caricature of Sir John Christopher Willoughby by Leslie Ward, Chromolithograph, published in Vanity Fair 6 September 1884.
Before Treatment images of a series of three Chromolithographs torn from original copies of Vanity Fair.
These three lithographs have been in my family since their original publishing. My great grandfather was a collector and saved these three prints which hung in my grandfather’s house until approximately 2006. Since then, these framed lithographs have been stored in my father’s non climate controlled attic until I found and removed them for cleaning in 2019. All three of the lithographs were framed with acidic matte board as well as a corrugated cardboard backing in direct contact with the paper. The framing also had a layer of craft paper on the verso with the original framer’s stamp and handwritten names of the charicatures. My grandfather was a heavy smoker and all of the lithographs had been subject to years of smoke in his home as well as broad changes in relative humidity and temperature fluctuations while stored in my father’s attic.
The lithographs were removed from their original frames and examined. Under raking light, it was easy to see that the lithographs had at one time been rolled and then creased. Other than a thin layer of surface grime and the smoke discoloration, the lithographs were stable and in relatively good condition.
The corrugated cardboard backing was removed from the lithographs, but left dark staining on the verso of each due to off-gassing. Unfortunately this chemically altered the paper causing irreparable damage as seen here. Due to the brittle and smoke damaged nature of the cardboard, it was discarded.
Treatment consisted of removing surface grime with a smoke sponge and then washing the lithographs in DI water baths. Each lithograph needed several baths in order to remove as much of the smoke as possible.
While soaking, the animal glue holding the old hinges was saturated and easily removed. The craft paper covering the back of the frames was also removed for cleaning.
After soaking, the craft paper has released a large amount of smoke.
After washing, each lithograph was placed between dry sheets of blotter paper and pressed for drying.
While drying in the press, the image of Christopher Leng developed a small crack in the middle of the figure. To stabilize this crack, a small strip of Japanese tissue was adhered the back of the crack with wheat starch paste. After the crack was stabilized, the crack was in-painted with watercolors.
The craft paper on the back of each framed lithograph was also pressed for drying after DI water baths to preserve the original framer’s stamp as well as the names of the caricatures in what I believe to be my Great Grandfather’s handwriting.
Once dry, the lithographs were given new hinges of Japanese tissue for future re framing.
Overall I consider this treatment to be a success. Although the staining from the cardboard was not completely removed from back of each lithograph, the yellowing from years of cigarette smoke was significantly reduced allowing for the original color to be seen more clearly.
*Doesn’t the Earl of Durham remind you of a young John Cleese from Monty Python’s “The Ministry of Silly Walks” sketch?
