BEFORE TREATMENT
 

An 1843 certificate commemorating the commission of a Naval midshipman was brought into the Lab.  The certificate was made from vellum, a writing surface made of treated animal skin. Because of the nature of animal skins, temperature and humidity changes cause vellum to expand and contract, changing its shape.  The vellum certificate had slipped in its frame and, as a result, rust from the nails holding the frame in place had rubbed onto the document.This certificate arrived in the Conservation Lab in its original frame as shown below.
 

You can see in the picture on the left, the certificate was originally nailed into the frame. In the picture on the right nails are carefully being removed from the frame with a small spatula.
 
 

On the left you can see the front view of the certificate with wrinkles and on the right you can see the back view of the certificate including rust stains and discoloration.

Both views show nail holes in the paper, resulting from the certificate being nailed directly to its original frame.
 

AFTER TREATMENT
 

On the left you can see the certificate has been flattened as much as possible using dehumidification.

In the photo on the right, you can see a close-up of a segment of the certificate showing removal of rust from the nails in the frame. The rust and excessive grime was removed using lightly dampened q-tips.
 
 

After treatment was completed, the certificate was rehoused in a new portfolio, seen above.