Journal Article

In 2012 the Rev. Krzysztof Kluk Museum of Agriculture in Ciechanowiec, Poland, sent their 19th century herbarium for conservation treatment. The condition of the object was so poor that it could not be subjected to any analysis or even digital documentation. The bound herbarium had broken covers, dismantled construction and weakened spongy paper support with a lot of tears and losses. The specimens were either seriously damaged, missing or under serious risk of destruction. Over a half of them had fallen off their places and could be found in the area of the spine, often mixed within pages. The owner wanted the object to be displayable and safe for handling. Close work between the conservators and ethnobotanist was required to ensure a full and complete understanding of the bound herbaria as a whole, but also the individual specimens. Sever treatment was undertaken including many typical paper conservation solutions and re-arrangement of puzzle-like assemblage of specimens based on
interdisciplinary consultation. The description of the treatment is a pretext to consider the methodology and standards concerning the care and conservation of botanical material.