Revisiting the Treatment of a Pair of Malby Globes at the Marriott Library, University of Utah

Abstract

Historic globes are fragile objects. Few survive without some evidence of change to the varied materials used in their fabrication, including damage to the globe shell, loss of the paper or design media, staining, entrenched grime, discoloration or loss of the protective varnish, or poor-quality repairs. While an improvement in condition is the primary focus of treatment and the foundation of an improvement in appearance or legibility, filling losses to complete the cartographic record can have a major effect on the integrity of an historic globe. When designing a conservation treatment, it is critical to compare how a particular globe could appear relative to its individual condition, and how that globe should appear relative to other examples of the same edition. This talk presents the use of digital photography, image manipulation, and archival printing as a means of filling losses on the surface of globes. It focusses on the pair of mid-nineteenth century large diameter Malby globes on view in the University of Utah's Marriott Library Purchased in England by F.D. Richards, an apostle in the LDS church, the pair was brought by pioneer wagon to present to the University of Deseret as magnificent educational tools and marvelous symbols of academic scholarship.
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