Looking Good at 150: The Treatment of the Alaska Treaty of Cession Documents for the Alaska Sesquicentennial

Seth Irwin

Seth Irwin Paper Conservator and Principal, Irwin Paper Conservation, Maynard, MA

Abstract

In the fall of 2017, to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the purchase of the Alaska territory from Russia, the Alaska State Museum will be putting on an exhibit of the documents that were an integral of the purchase of the territory in 1867. This exhibit is the product of a joint effort between the Alaska State Museum, the Alaska State Archive, and the Alaska Historical Library. At the beginning of 2017, the Alaska State Museum brought up paper conservator Seth Irwin to the brand-new paper lab at the new Alaska State Museum, to ‘break in’ the brand-new paper lab and treat the documents. This talk will discuss the background of the exhibit, what was involved in bring the new paper lab to up and running status, and the treatment of the documents for the exhibit.
Click on Video link on the right to view presentation.

Author Biography

Seth Irwin, Paper Conservator and Principal, Irwin Paper Conservation, Maynard, MA

Seth Irwin is a book, paper, and photo conservator who holds a Master’s in Art Conservation specializing in paper conservation from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. He also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Photography from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. In 2010 he started his private practice, Irwin Paper Conservation. In 2011 and 2012, Seth worked on a fourteen-month project with eleven museums throughout Alaska. In 2012, Seth was hired as the first full time Paper Conservator for the University of Hawaii library, while continuing to work privately as the only private practice paper conservator for the State of Hawaii. In 2016, he moved to the Boston area to devote all his time to his practice. At the beginning of 2017 he worked on a three-month project with the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, treating Treaty of Cession documents for the Alaska State Museum’s Sesquicentennial Exhibit opening this Fall. This is the project for which he will be talking on today. He has published papers with the American Institute of Conservation, International Preservation News, and E-Conservation Magazine. Seth has also presented papers at many conferences including both AIC and WAAC.