All posts by Deborah Rossi

About Deborah Rossi

Deborah Rossi is the Conservation Technician at NEHGS. She is responsible for the conservation and repair of the Society's book and manuscript collections. Deborah received her training at the North Bennet Street School in Boston.

Conserving Catholic records volumes

Collections, News, Technology, ,
Sample page from a Saint Patrick volume of marriage records.

If you have heard about our Historic Catholic Records Online project, in which NEHGS is digitizing and making accessible the sacramental records of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, you might be wondering what has been happening over the past few months with the volumes that contain the records.

There is a regular supply of record volumes coming in and going out, and for those volumes in need of conservation, a lot can happen as they are prepared for scanning. Our Conservation Lab has received many volumes in seriously poor condition. Take, for example, this volume from Saint Patrick’s in Lowell, Massachusetts. It contains marriage records from 1836 to 1872. Continue reading Conserving Catholic records volumes →

Beautiful boxes

NEHGS Collections, ,
Rossi 1
Drawing of Clam Shell box.

When you stop to think about it, boxes make for very special enclosures. I’m sitting here, typing this blog and thinking of the many ways boxes are utilized on a daily basis. For example, there are mail boxes, tool boxes, boxes made for chocolates, shipping boxes, bread boxes, hat boxes, and shoe boxes. The list is long and impressive. Continue reading Beautiful boxes →

Conserving some NEHGS treasures

Research Methods

Hancock broadside

One of the things I like most about my job at the Society is that, because we are such a small operation, we tackle a wonderful array of projects. For example, for the past month I have been cleaning and backing this 29” x 42” broadside. It was an  announcement made/published by T.G.H.P. Burnham on 6 June 1863 to protest the already-begun demolition of the John Hancock mansion. Sadly, the protest amounted to just that; where the mansion once sat is now the west wing of the early twentieth-century addition to the Massachusetts State House. To my knowledge, the only surviving external piece  of John Hancock’s home is the stairs, later incorporated  into the embankment of Jamaica Pond and leading to the former Perkins estate. Continue reading Conserving some NEHGS treasures →

Conserving an historic family tree

Research Methods
Detail of the Lathrop family tree frame
A representative family tree in its original frame, showing the piece, backing board, wooden panel, and glass and frame. Courtesy R. Stanton Avery Special Collections, NEHGS

NEHGS is always looking to acquire family trees to add to our collection.  They come to us through donation or purchase, and their condition on arrival varies from pristine and framed to dirty and frayed.  Many a family tree crosses the threshold of the Society’s new Conservation Lab, where it is cleaned and repaired, resulting in a piece which can be safely stored or displayed. Continue reading Conserving an historic family tree →