lithographs – Hulstein Antiques

cleaning of a print

Before and after picture of a cleaned lithographic print

This is a lithographic print by B Bokhorst. It was pressed on woodpulp rich, modern paper. This paper tends to yellow fairly quickly. With yellowing and high acidity comes brittleness of the paper so it’s best to clean this paper to be able to preserve it. Before the wash I sprayed the plate with some denatured water and 3 percent bioethanol. The ethanol penetrates the paper much faster than water which prevents the tearing of the paper fibers on a microscopic level

I washed the print in a solution of denatured water and some calcium hydroxide. and after drying and pressing the plate I mended some folds with Kozo paper and purified wheat starch glue. I filled in small damages and missing color with pencils. Since the litho closely resembles a pencil drawing it seemed like the right choice.