The impetus for this book was the desire to systematically organize the extant literature on the conservation of cultural property made of wood, from its beginnings before the Christian Era to the year 2000. Various published reviews and monographs, including Holzkonservierung (Wood Conserva tion) published by the senior author in 1988, have appeared over the years, especially in English and in German. They have provided exemplary treat merit of individual areas or aspects of wood conservation, but a comprehen sive, up-to-date exposition of historic and current developments has been lacking. The diverse professional fields of the authors, as well as their insights into methods of conservation and restoration of wood artifacts in Europe, North America, and Asia provided a solid basis for the success of this under taking. One of the goals during the examination of the literature was that not only well-known conservators and scientists from countries that are leaders in wood conservation should be represented, but that less well-known, often not as readily accessible contributions should also be included. Only in this manner was it possible to draw a comprehensive picture of the national and international state of wood conservation. The Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (AATA) of the Getty Institute were very helpful in our efforts to evaluate as many publications as possible.

A handbook (a "how to" book) for conservators and restorers Classical and modern materials and methods for the conservation of wood artifacts in museums, historical monuments and archaeology Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Klappentext

This handbook is the most comprehensive, up-to-date source of information on the history of wood conservation, on the structure and properties of wood, on organisms causing deterioration, on methods of diagnosis of wood condition, on materials and methods of wood preservation, on consolidation of deteriorated wood, and on wood adhesives. Although it provides many techniques of wood conservation in detail, it goes far beyond the scope of a "recipe book" by giving an overview of the use of particular materials and methods as they apply to dry as well as wet or waterlogged wood. Access to the enormous wealth of information is facilitated by separate indexes for trade names, pests, and conservation materials. The latter, together with their methods of application, were gathered from the literature and organized chronologically. For liquid preservatives, fumigants, and consolidants, these listings are preceded by important data on each of the materials.

Inhalt
1 History of Wood Conservation.- 2 Wood Structure.- 3 Wood Properties.- 4 Corrosion Behavior of Wood.- 5 Biological Deterioration of Wood.- 6 Diagnosis of Wood Condition.- 7 Liquid Wood Preservatives.- 8 Fumigants.- 9 Physical Control Methods.- 10 Biological Methods.- 11 Consolidants.- 12 Adhesives and Gap Fillers.- Chemicals and Materials Index.- Trade Name Index.- Index of the Scientific Names of Organisms.