Posted by Richard Illing on March 11, 1998 at 18:15:38:
In Reply to: print restoration posted by R. Devereux on March 11, 1998 at 15:31:57:
: I recently purchased a woodblock print which is in
: good condition, but has noticeable fading, especially
: in the dark colors. (Black areas have faded to brown)
: Is there any type of restoration that would improve
: and darken the coloring of the print?
: Also, I've read about restoration treatments that
: deacidify prints, which in turn brightens and restores
: the original color and reduces foxing. Would these
: treatments work on woodblock prints, which (if I'm correct)
: are printed with water-soluble inks? (rather than oil-based
: ink like most other prints)
: One last question - how does restoration affect a
: print's value?
: Any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
By and large restoration of Japanese prints should either be left to professionally trained restorers or avoided. An exception can, I think, be made where white/pale grey has turned black, or orange turned dark-brown, where careful application of hydrogen peroxide can return the darkened pigments to their original colours. Amateur attempts to 'wash' a dirty print often leads to alteration of the texture of the paper and all attempts to 'freshen' the colours of a faded print with added watercolours are usually readily detectable and tend to detract from the value of a print.
The darker colours that have faded to brown usually started out as purple, pale blue tends to fade to beige, greens fade to blue and bright reds fade to orange. It has been pointed out elsewhere that we are only temporary custodians of these attractive ephemora and should take care to ensure that undue extra damage should not ensue. Probably the greatest danger comes from excessive light (hanging framed in direct sunlight, scannig/photocopying/photography) or storage in mounts that are not acid-free. A faded or browned copy of a print may be preferable to a damaged print through inexpert restoration. Your local museum should be able to give advice and/or put you in touch with a trained restorer.