To give paper strength and to enable it to receive writing ink without feathering the

basic cellulose is treated with sizes and fillers. In early papers the size was usually
gelatine, an animal substance which may lose some of its body in time but does not
break down so as to damage the paper. However, in more modern papers the sizing
agent is often alum rosin, which is acidic and will contribute to the deterioration of
an already acidic paper. Fillers are usually derived from china clay or chalk and
are, therefore, often alkaline and tend to counter any acidity in the paper or
atmosphere. Since papers used as supports for manuscript and typescript inks often
have a high filler content, archival papers are often less seriously affected by acid
deterioration than library books, though duplicated and printed documents,
especially newsprint, and even manuscript and typescript records on inferior paper
may be seriously affected. .


1.4 Traditional paper repair. Where paper has been damaged, traditional repair
techniques (see 5 for a more detailed treatment of these) require the use of a good
quality, new, mould-made paper of equal weight and similar colour to the original.
This paper is used in such a way that its 'grain' runs parallel to the 'grain' in the
original paper. Where it will be abutted on to the old paper, it is 'needled' or scored
to outline the precise shape required and then carefully torn rather than cut as this
enables the fibres of the old and new to interweave. An alternative technique uses
Japanese tissue rather than standard paper. The principle types of repair are:
a) mending, in which tears in the paper are pasted together;
b) infilling, in which pieces of the new paper are carefully made to match holes in
the original, using a light-box to draw the precise shapes in the new paper before
tearing, and are then pasted in place;
c) framing, which is the reverse process in which a frame is made to surround a
sheet of paper which has been damaged at the edges;
d) backing, in which a new sheet is pasted on the reverse of the old sheet; where
holes or damage to the edges exist backing should be used in association with
infilling or framing, otherwise the differing thickness of paper will create a
weakness in the repair; this technique can only be used when there is no text on the
reverse of the original sheet, although when there is only a small amount of text,
backing may be permissible provided that 'windows' are provided to expose that
text or thin, transparent Japanese tissue is used.
5.1.5 Traditionally a vegetable (rice or wheat starch) paste (sometimes with
additives to combat fungal growth and deter pests - these additives should not be
otherwise