Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark Saunders on February 21, 2022 at 6:44am

Yes 

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Permalink Reply by Bruce Juice on February 21, 2022 at 10:24am

Why would you get rid of John's sig?  Unless it is not John's sig? 

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Permalink Reply by michelle on February 21, 2022 at 10:27am

The John sig is supposed not to be authentic, whilst the other 3 are good

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Permalink Reply by Bruce Juice on February 21, 2022 at 11:47am

Then you should have titled your post "How to get rid of Neil Aspinal's signature?" unless you believe it's John's? 

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Permalink Reply by michelle on February 21, 2022 at 2:53pm

I didnt know it was Neil's only that it was  deemed non authentic.  Had I known it was one of Neils I would not have posted 

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on February 21, 2022 at 11:22am

It was signed by Neil Aspinall. I would leave it as-is.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on February 21, 2022 at 11:35am

Agree 100%. Leave alone. It is what it is - don't make it something it was not.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on February 21, 2022 at 11:53am

This would be alteration, not restoration or even stabilization. It is editing.

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Permalink Reply by Eddy on February 21, 2022 at 12:19pm

michelle - Good points are made here for the case of not removing the "John" signature.  Still, ink is removed by professional conservationists for various reasons.  Some collectors have had ink inscriptions removed from pieces so that just the signature remained or stray ink marks removed.  Since it's your item and you asked about if it's possible...the answer is "yes".  Is it advisable?  That's something that you as the owner/collector would need to ultimately decide.  

There are professional conservationists who do this kind of work and you could consult them as to the pros and cons.  I'm familiar with a couple who are expertise in this area specifically with higher end paper collectibles.  You can message me if you care for their business contact info. or I can post here...or not. 

Again, I'm not recommending either way.  Just addressing your question.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on February 21, 2022 at 12:31pm

This is NOT conservation. Consolidation might allow for the removal of something that will get worse and the reversible addition of an archival substrate - such a linen backing on a poster to hold it together. Posters in truly high condition can sometimes lose value with a linen backing.

This is just editing. I'd never go near an altered item - especially one like this.

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Permalink Reply by Eddy on February 21, 2022 at 12:36pm

That's your opinion Eric and you are entitled to it.  Your last line that you would never personally go near it is valid but is not necessarily true and absolute for every collector.  I was only responding to michelle's original query.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on February 21, 2022 at 12:56pm

The meanings and confines of what may and may noy be done re professional conservation are not an opinion. There are strict guidelines as to what can and can't be done in each instance. Removal is done especially when the porblematic part can get worse, not to improve eye appeal. Removal would be called for...to get a forged signature off a genuine Rembrandt, not to make is look better. Any inpainting or addition must remain obvious and must be easily reverisible. Removal of any original part is a last resort, not part of Conservation. There is a code of ethics for this work.

Conservator-Restorer

The activity of the conservator-restorer (conservation) consists of technical examination, preservation, and conservation-restoration of cultural property: Examination is the preliminary procedure taken to determine the documentary significance of an artefact; original structure and materials; the extent of its deterioration, alteration, and loss; and the documentation of these findings. Preservation is action taken to retard or prevent deterioration of or damage to cultural properties by control of their environment and/or treatment of their structure in order to maintain them as nearly as possible in an unchanging state. Restoration is action taken to make a deteriorated or damaged arterfact understandable, with minimal sacrifice of aesthetic and historic integrity.

Conservator-restorer work in museums, in official heritage protection services, in private conservation enterprises or independently. Their task is to comprehend the material aspect of objects of historic and artistic significance in order to prevent their decay and to enhance our understanding of them so as further the distinction between what is original and what is spurious.

Conservation  

All measures and actions aimed at safeguarding tangible cultural heritage while ensuring its accessibility to present and future generations. Conservation embraces preventive conservation, remedial conservation and restoration. All measures and actions should respect the significance and the physical properties of the cultural heritage item.

Preventive Conservation

Preventive Conservation are all measures and actions aimed at avoiding and minimizing future deterioration or loss. They are carried out within the context or on the surroundings of an item, but more often a group of items, whatever their age and condition. These measures and actions are indirect – they do not interfere with the materials and structures of the items. They do not modify their appearance.

Examples of preventive conservation are appropriate measures and actions for registration, storage, handling, packing and transportation, security, environmental management (light, humidity, pollution and pest control), emergency planning, education of staff, public awareness, legal compliance.

Remedial Conservation

All actions directly applied to an item or a group of items aimed at arresting current damaging processes or reinforcing their structure. These actions are only carried out when the items are in such a fragile condition or deteriorating at such a rate, that they could be lost in a relatively short time. These actions sometimes modify the appearance of the items.

Examples of remedial conservation are disinfestation of textiles, desalination of ceramics, de-acidification of paper, dehydration of wet archaeological materials, stabilization of corroded metals, consolidation of mural paintings, removing weeds from mosaics.

Restoration

All actions directly applied to a single and stable item aimed at facilitating its appreciation, understanding and use. These actions are only carried out when the item has lost part of its significance or function through past alteration or deterioration. They are based on respect for the original material. Most often such actions modify the appearance of the item.

Examples of restoration are retouching a painting, reassembling a broken sculpture, reshaping a basket, filling losses on a glass vessel. 

Conservation measures and actions can sometimes serve more than one aim. For instance varnish removal can be both restoration and remedial conservation. The application of protective coatings can be both restoration and preventive conservation. Reburial of mosaics can be both preventive and remedial conservation. 

Conservation is complex and demands the collaboration of relevant qualified professionals. In particular, any project involving direct actions on the cultural heritage requires a conservator-restorer (see ICOM-CC's The Conservator-Restorer: a Definition of the Profession and ICOM's Code of Ethics for Museums.

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