Broken printing plates made whole
Gluing metal? You would imagine that a broken metal object would need to be welded back together. Not necessarily. These damaged printing plates were made whole using glue—though not the stuff you used in grade three.
A treasure trove of artifacts
Having recently blogged on the conservation of a 19th century printing press, it seemed appropriate to write a blog on the conservation of printing plates that may very well have been used on this press. In May 2013, the Museum acquired for its National Currency Collection more than 650 engraved steel dies (printing plates) from the British American Bank Note Company. (Read more about this acquisition.)
But, we couldn’t place the dies in storage straight away. There were assessments to be made, labels to be detached and a little clean-up was called for. Each die was wiped down with mineral spirits and soft cotton swabs to remove a dark, greasy substance that covered the surfaces—evidence of their past use as security printing plates. During this cleaning process, we discovered that eight dies were broken in half, likely from past printing activity. After further evaluation, we decided to repair the breaks.
Conserving the plates
Artifact preservation is the non-invasive act of minimizing and preventing future damage or deterioration. Artifact conservation has the same goal but with the addition of hands-on treatments such as cleaning and repairing.
In heritage conservation, broken metal objects can be reassembled with an adhesive most commonly used for repairing glass and ceramics. This adhesive, known as HXTAL, is a two-part epoxy resin which, through a chemical reaction, hardens after mixing. It works well with dense materials as it creates strong, tight bonds and has the added benefit of neither swelling nor discolouring over time.
Each die was reassembled, held together with thin strips of painter’s tape and then placed upright in clamps. Small drops of HXTAL were then applied along the break with the tip of a wooden stick. Capillary action then draws the glue into the break. The next day, any remaining adhesive was removed with swabs and wooden sticks lightly dampened with acetone. This is important because after 24 hours, HXTAL will become too hard to be removed without the potential of damaging the object. The dies were then left in the clamps for an additional week until the adhesive had fully cured. The final step was to create custom mounts for each die to ensure they are properly supported while in collection storage.
It is both our pleasure and our duty to preserve items such as these dies for the future. They are a glimpse into our economic and social history as well as into printing traditions that reach back nearly 600 years.
Curators Begin Removal of Artifacts
By: Graham Iddon
The doors were barely closed following Big Top Farewell event before Chief Curator Paul Berry and his team began emptying display cases that had been sealed shut since 1980. The biggest task involved removing more than 2500 bank notes from the room we knew as Gallery 8.
Notes from the Collection : 2013 RCNA Convention Winnipeg
By: David Bergeron
Another convention of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association (RCNA) wrapped up in July. This year the convention was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was the first time in over thirty years that the RCNA Convention made a stop there.
First Artifacts to Leave the Museum: And they were big
By: Graham Iddon
Before the museum closed for renovations on 2 July, technicians began to remove the heavier artifacts in late May. First to go was the strong box. Built of ¼” thick welded steel plates, this trunk was used by the Bank of Upper Canada in Toronto between 1821 and 1866.
Director’s chair : “I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello.”
By: Ken Ross
Most of us know the first part of Alexander Graham Bell’s take on opportunity: “When one door closes, another one opens…” What we often don’t recall is the second half of that quote, where he says: “…but we so often look so long and regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”
Remembering Alex Colville (1920-2013)
By: Raewyn Passmore
The Staff of the Currency Museum was saddened to learn of the passing of artist Alex Colville who died on 16 July at his home in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He was 92. One of Canada’s most celebrated painters, Colville is not as well-known as a sculptor but if you look carefully through your pocket change you might just find an example of his work.
Farewell to the Currency Museum c.1980
By: Graham Iddon
The roots of the Currency Museum go back to 1959 when the then Governor of the Bank of Canada, James Coyne, proposed the idea of establishing a currency collection that would reflect the colourful monetary history of Canada. By the time the go-ahead was given in 1963 by Coyne’s successor, Louis Rasminsky, the collection’s mandate had been expanded to include world monetary history, banking and production artifacts and a numismatic library.