The Nor'-Wester : conservation and preservation of a fragile piece of Manitoba's history
Before treatment :
The newspaper is very fragile along the spine. The newspaper is discoloured from the tape. There are also some pieces missing from this page.
The binding on this volume needs to be taken apart carefully to not cause further damage to the newspaper pages
During treatment :
The pages are separated, washed, and set out to air dry.
A washed page (left) is compared to an unwashed page (right). Also pictured are a used blotter and samples of clean and used washing water.
Treatment of ink stains requires a special process with a poultice.
After treatment :
The missing pieces were replaced, torn edges repaired, and pages rejoined.
Any tears were repaired so that they are no longer at risk of increasing in size.
When this page was cleaned and repaired, the conservator had to be careful to preserve the signature and the stamp in the top corner.
As seen in these photos, larger pieces were also replaced. The page is now more stable and less likely to suffer further damage.
The front page of the first issue of the Nor'Wester, on display during the launch of the 200th Anniversary of the Selkirk Settlers display in the Provincial Archives of Manitoba, September 2012.
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The Nor'Wester is the first newspaper published in the Red River Settlement in Manitoba, starting in December 1859.
There are only three locations in Canada known to have a complete run of this newspaper: the Legislative Library of Manitoba, the University of Calgary, and l'Université de Montréal.
The very fragile state of the Library's copy required significant conservation and preservation work to be done by Dalley-Froggatt Heritage Conservation Services. This work included unbinding, cleaning and repairing the pages, and reinforcement of the damaged sections. All images of the work are courtesy of Dalley-Froggatt.
Legislative Library
