I have worked on a number of historic liquor bottles with similar issues. If they are old enough, the adhesive used was likely some sort of water soluble paste and soaking the bottle and label in water may loosen it. It can then be cleaned, flattened, dried between Hollytex/blotters/felts/weights, then mended etc. using standard paper conservation techniques. I like to make a 1:1 photocopy (sometimes xerographic, sometimes color, sometimes both) while it is loose and flat, mainly as a record of what the label looks like at the moment. I typically humidify the label a bit and then reattach it to the bottle with wheat starch paste. Sometimes they want to curl off the bottle as they dry, and to counteract that I have a piece of Hollytex ready, slightly larger than the label, and I attach that to the glass bottle with adhesive tape until the paste has dried. The results are usually good and are fully reversible. Good luck, Tom
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Thomas Braun
Head of Conservation and Senior Objects Conservator
Minnesota Historical Society
Saint Paul MN
(651) 259-3382
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-01-2019 09:45
From: Lauren Feltner
Subject: Labels on Glass Bottles
Hello,
I am looking for a way to preserve the labels on these mini bottles (most are glass but there are a few that are plastic). They've been sealed in a cabinet for about 30 years but the cabinet itself is beginning to fall apart and is in need of repair. As such, bottles are being removed and many are starting to lose their label after being exposed to the air. I've seen mention of using Rhoplex as a type of top coat/seal but I was wondering if there were any other methods that could be used to save these labels?
Thanks!
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Lauren Feltner, CA
Processing Archivist/Records Analyst
Archdiocese of New Orleans
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