Before cleaning

Our paper conservator, Ted Stanley is in the process of cleaning several hundred French botanical prints from Estampes pour servir à l’histoire des plantes, Paris: Imprimerie royale, [1700s]. The engravings by Abraham Bosse (1602–1676), Nicolas Robert (1614–1685), and Louis de Châtillon (1639–1734) were discovered by Prof. Volker Schröder in great need of attention. With only washing, no bleaching, the plates have been beautifully restored to their original condition.

Several plates from this collection will be on view during the Versailles on Paper exhibition opening next February 2015 in Firestone’s main gallery. Sincere thanks to Ted Stanley and to Volker Schröder for their assistance in this project.

After cleaning