Paper substrates are highly vulnerable to catastrophic events such as flooding and fire as well as vandalism. Physical damage and partial losses of the paper objects are generally unavoidable due to such events, and thus conservation treatments are usually mandatory. As physical deterioration of the paper is severe in that case, its chemical properties are recognized less important in general. However, it is valuable to understand chemical changes of the paper substrates induced by a disaster for better preservation and for a judgment to which extent the conservation treatment has to be performed. In the present study, we have obtained a rag paper object which partially survived from a fire and analyzed its chemical properties by means of various analytical methods. The molecular status of the cellulose as well as low molar mass degradation products were measured. As many of the applied analytical methods (SEC, GCMS, DESI-MS), required only micro-sampling, we could perform mapping of the object by various chemical parameters. Comparison to an identical duplicate provided a more profound understanding of chemical changes in the event of fire. Hence, benefits and limits of conservation treatment can be discussed.

Analysis of paper surviving from a tragic scene

249th National Meeting (2015)

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