Japanese Hinging
The art work at CDM is hinged onto the back rag board with Japanese papers and
cooked wheat starch which is preferred by conservators because of its minimal
damage to the paper and its' reversible qualities. The number of hinges required
depends on the size, shape and condition of the paper. One should use as few
hinges as possible as long as they provide adequate support to the artwork. The
thickness of the hinge should never exceed that of the paper to which it is
applied. There are two types of hinges.
T-Hinges is the most commonly used hinge at the Library of Congress to attach
paper art onto rag mats. The Japanese papers are prepared by using a wet sable
brush to draw the shape of the hinge as seen in photo 1. The papers are
then torn away so that the long fibers create a feathered edge seen in photo
2. The wheat paste is boiled and cooled for the adhesive. Once the hinges
are applied to the back of the art work special weights are used for the drying
process seen in photo 3. When that is completed, the top hinge is cut and
adhered to finish the T-Hinging process seen in photo 4. This T-Hinge is
very strong and is routinely applied to those art works whose edges will be
covered by the window of the mat. The cross hinge does not need to be feathered
since it does not touch the art work.
V-Hinges: When art work is to be floated either in the window or on the mat alone, a
V-Hinge is used so that all edges of the artwork are seen. The V-Hinge gives the illusion that the art work is floating on
to the mat board. The same process is used to adhere the V-Hinges to the mat
board as in the T-Hinging.
Photo
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Photo 2
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Archival Mylar corners: Archival corners are appropriate for photographs and certain types of animal
skin. The crest in the photo looks to be done on vellum and Mylar corners
were used because of it’s breathing capabilities and sturdiness. 3M two sided
acid free tape is used to adhere the corners to the back rag board.
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