Melbourne Conservation offers the following repair and restoration services:
Conservation treatments – repair and restoration of damaged items such as photographs, documents, books, works of art on paper, posters, maps, plans, ceramics and other objects.
Book repair – repair of torn and damaged pages, reattachment of pages, reattachment of covers, repair and resewing of text block with linen thread, and repair of spines.
Conservation mounting and framing – photographs, works of art on paper, tapestries and other craft are framed using conservation materials such as museum mount board (100% cotton), which is acid and lignin free. Museum mount board is suitable for permanent use with framed items and will not acidify over time as normal mount board does. Normal mount board is only acid free at the time of purchase, it is unlikely to be acid free in 20 years time.
Conservation mounting of badges – a range of badges can be placed on museum mount board for storage or display.
Removal of photographs from adhesive albums – photographs and other memorabilia can be completely stuck in these old albums. Adhesive albums, commonly called magnetic albums, were commonly used from the 1960’s to the 1980’s and are still sold today. These albums tend to turn yellow or brown along the edges and the adhesives used in the strips can also turn yellow or brown over time. These albums are not suitable for long term storage of items.
Scanning of photographs, colour transparencies (slides), negatives, and glass plates – digital copies can be made of your analogue photographic material. Digital copies are saved as TIFF files and photographic digital restoration can also be carried out.
Treatment of mould affected items – items that are mouldy or wet can be treated to remove mould spores and make the item save for handling and storage.
Cleaning to preservation standards – a range of objects can be cleaned safely so that damage is not caused by the cleaning process, and residues are not left on the item, which can cause deterioration in the long term.
Custom archival storage boxes and enclosures – archival storage boxes or enclosures are made from preservation grade materials. These enclosures can be made to suit any sized document or object. Preservation materials will ensure that the storage container will not cause deterioration
Storage and display advice – a lot of deterioration is caused by unsuitable display and storage. Items often need restoration because they have been stored and displayed in unsuitable environments.
Preservation planning and advice – preservation plans are often needed to apply for different grants and Melbourne Conservation Services can provide preservation plans and other reports.
Significance and Conservation assessments – can be provided for your collection. This may be required for grant applications or to ensure the long term preservation of a collection.
Preservation seminars and workshops – Melbourne Conservation Services can come to your workplace or club and provide seminars and workshops to staff, volunteers, and the public on how to best preserve their collection. Seminars can be provided during work hours, or in the evening or on weekends.
To provide an accurate quote Melbourne Conservation Services will generally need to view and assess your items in person. Assessments and quotes are free. Some items may not be able to be restored totally, but can be preserved so that there is no further deterioration.
