pgh1890
CONSOL Energy Mine Map Preservation Project

CONSOL Energy Inc.
National Mine Map Repository, US Dept. of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation & Enforcement
Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection
University Library System, University of Pittsburgh

OVERVIEW
&
STATISTICS


SURVEYING

TREATMENT

SCANNING

RESOURCES


CONSOL
CONSOL Energy Inc.

PA DEP
Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection

NMMR
National Mine Map Repository,
US Dept. of the Interior,
Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation & Enforcement


ULS
University Library System, University of Pittsburgh




humidification eric vacuuming muslin mending
dry cleaning dry cleaning

Treatment

Mending & Re-lining

During Treatment After Treatment

Maps that are torn or have large pieces missing are cumbersome to handle, transport and scan.

After the old backing is removed, the paper map can be repaired with long-fibered tissue and paste
.
Standard Coal company map in pieces
Standard Coal company map after mending

A partial re-lining with long-fibered tissue and linen.

partial re-lining
Map before partial re-line
map after re-lining

Significant areas of loss are mended with muslin patches and Beva D-8.
map before mending
map after mending

 After the map has been stabilized, it has enough flexibility to roll onto a large diameter core in order to transported to the scanning facility.
Before mending After mending
Maps with torn and deteriorated backing are re-lined with long fiber tissue and muslin.

washing
flap before re-lining
flap after re-lining


Dry Cleaning

The methods used to clean a map vary depending upon the physical condition of the map and how dirty the map is.

Some maps are heavily soiled with an oily grime that requires careful dry cleaning with eraser crumbs.  
During Treatment
After Treatment
during grime removal
after grime removal

Most maps have a coating of surface dirt, mainly consisting of coal dust.  The surface dirt is removed with soot sponges and dust cloths.
b580o9 bt b580o9 at

The canvas backing of a map is cleaned using a vacuum with HEPA filter.  If the map is severely creased or is too fragile to be vacuumed dust cloths are used instead. 
vacuum back of map
dirt on back of map


Humidification & Flattening
178_bt_front
A map that has been stored tightly rolled over the years (picture at left) can crack and break when unrolled.  In order to unroll these maps safely without causing additional damage the maps are placed in a humidity chamber. 

As the map absorbs humidity inside the chamber it relaxes and is able to be carefully unrolled a section at a time without cracking. (below left)

Once the map is completely unrolled it is taken out of the humidity chamber and placed between felts to dry flat. (below right)
178humid1 178flat


Tape Removal & Adhesive Reduction

Many maps were previously repaired with various kinds of pressure-sensitive tape. The tape must be removed, and the adhesive reduced in order to adhere a new mend over the tear.


Old tapes and glues applied to the back of a map become rigid over time causing the map to crease and crack. The old tapes and glues are removed and the map is re-lined with long fiber tissue.
During treatment
After treatment
before removal of patch after patch removal, flattening and re-lining

After removing tape from the front of a map any remaining adhesive residue is reduced.   The white residue in the picture is covering up part of the drawing and after removal the drawing is visible.

before adhesive reduction
after adhesive reduction



Last Updated 3/22/2011
ULS Preservation Department