Frank Ligterink

Rijksdienst voor Cultureel Erfgoed · Ministerie van Onderwijs Cultuur Wetenschap

Within a research project focusing on the dramatic colour changes in Van Gogh's pen-and-ink drawings, interpretation of the analytical results requires a thorough understanding of late 19th-century ink manufacturing. Our laboratory had the unique opportunity to acquire a set of 90 historic ink bottles still containing ink. In this study, their chem...

A new method using solid-phase micro extraction (SPME) in combination with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS) has been developed to determine the concentration of volatile compounds within the solid matrix of book papers in a non-destructive way. The method involves sampling the headspace between two adjacent pages in a closed book, u...

Local mending of ink-corroded areas with a water-based adhesive bears one serious risk: too much moisture transports invisible, detrimental compounds like iron(II)ions and acids out of the ink lines into surrounding paper areas, spreading ink corrosion. Several common mending techniques are compared, the least detrimental was further developed to a...

This paper describes the evaluation of the lighting policy that the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, Netherlands, developed for the display of its nineteenth-century Japanese woodblock prints. Colour measurements during one year on exhibition showed changes that exceeded the limit of one 'just noticeable change' in 50 years specified in the...

Cleaning of paper objects can be very complex due to various combinations of contaminants. Conventional chemical and mechanical cleaning methods suffer from the common phenomenon that the foreign matter is diluted into the substrate rather than removed. In these cases, and where high spatial accuracy and localized treatments is necessary, laser cle...

Conventional cleaning methods (mechanical, wet) are not always sufficient for the restoration of brittle papers, fissures and sensitive inscriptions. Partial cleaning of paper in the vicinity of sensitive media, such as water-colour, is particularly difficult because of the lack of precision using conventional techniques. In these cases, where high...

Cleaning of paper objects represents one of the most complex cases of laser ablation, since low volumes of dispersed material phases are evaporated while a sensitive and fragile fibrous organic matrix has to be preserved. Conventional chemical and mechanical cleaning methods suffer from the common phenomenon that the foreign matter is diluted into...

Paper is one of the most important materials in cultural heritage given its extensive use as the data carrier for religious, artistic and scientific records. For both aesthetic and conservation reasons, cleaning of these materials is often needed. Current paper cleaning methods using conventional means are not always sufficient, e.g. for the local...

The silver mirroring that can be seen on many historical silver gelatin photographic glass plates is typically observed to be distributed in certain specific and distinct patterns. A study of these patterns gives information on the causes of silver mirroring and on the detailed nature of the degradation mechanism. This article presents two mathemat...

The silver mirroring that can be seen on many historical silver gelatin photographic glass plates is typically observed to be distributed in certain specific and distinct patterns. A study of these patterns gives information on the causes of silver mirroring and on the detailed nature of the degradation mechanism. This article presents two mathemat...

Changes in the fluorescence of an additive-free cotton cellulose paper in which a wet-dry interface has been created by capillary action using distilled water under static air have been characterised spectroscopically. Fluorescence was measured on the surface of the paper at the wet-dry interface, where a fluorescent tide line developed. Measuremen...

A simple mathematical model is presented that predicts the decay time of the internal relative humidity (RH) of backboard-protected canvas paintings when subjected to external RH fluctuations. The model takes into account the permeance of the canvas and the hygroscopicity of the enclosed materials. Predictions from the model are tested experimental...

Investigation of paper discolouration in a large number of books showed a clear connection between individual stains and other, more extended forms of paper browning. On this basis a redefinition of the phenomenon of foxing is proposed. Further observations indicated that foxing appears to develop as a spatial process in any stack of paper in the c...