Interim Report
PA-24052-02
Joseph Urban Stage Designs: Stabilization and Access
Project Director, Janet Gertz
Columbia University
July 22, 2003
Joseph Urban Stage Designs: Stabilization and Access
The goal of this two-year project is to improve and enhanced physical and intellectual access to the collection by:
§ stabilizing and rehousing 328 extremely fragile set models made during Urban’s New York theater career from 1914-1933 so that they can safely be examined by researchers;
§ photographing a selection of the models so that digital images can be made;
§ creating approximately 2,545 digital images of the set models and related design documents;
§ linking the images to the existing online finding aid.
Once the images are linked, researchers will be able to move from the narrative description to the list of design materials for a specific production and then click on the images of those materials. The project will build on standard methods of archival intellectual control and will follow emerging standards for digital library access. The stabilization and rehousing techniques are straight-forward, cost-effective, and will be carefully documented for others to use. A successful execution of the rehousing plan described in this proposal will not only make the Urban set models available to researchers for the first time, but will also demonstrate how other institutions with theater collections might handle their own models in a cost-effective way and thereby encourage preservation of more of these unique resources.
During the course of the year several researchers have visited the Conservation Lab to view models that were in process of being treated. The Dahesh Museum has expressed interest in using two of the re-housed models in the coming year.
As the first step of the project, staff from the Libraries Systems Office converted the existing machine-readable finding aid into a MS Access database. A numbering schema was devised to allow every object in the collection to receive a unique identification number indicating the series (Ziegfeld, Metropolitan Opera, etc.) and production to which it belongs. These numbers will serve as the core of the filenames for the digital images and will provide links to the images when they are mounted online. The database also allows Conservation to track the pieces of the models while they are being treated and to make notes about condition.
The collection contains 328 three-dimensional scale set models. Some 60 of the models are assembled on wooden platforms and can be viewed in the round. The remaining 268 models were disassembled and collapsed by Urban’s studio and stored in flattened bundles wrapped in brown paper tied with Wiener Werkstätte ribbon. The 60 assembled models are in reasonably stable condition and a number have undergone restoration, but they all lack appropriate protective housing. The others vary in condition, but all consist of multiple pieces that require cleaning, repairs to major breaks, and creation of custom-designed trays to hold the pieces safely within storage boxes.
Georgia Southworth, an experienced conservation technician, was hired to carry out the work of the project under direction of Head Conservator Maria Fredericks. She has completed construction and labeling of the storage boxes to protect 53 of the assembled models, using acid-free corrugated board in double thickness where necessary to support the weight of the wooden platforms on which the models are displayed. The protective boxes are constructed with a drop front to permit ease of viewing without removing the set model from the enclosure. The remaining seven assembled models will be rehoused over the summer.
Georgia also began work on the disassembled models and as of June 2003 has completed 138 of them. The procedure for these is to:
1. Vacuum the exterior of each bundle using a HEPA vacuum cleaner. Open and inventory the contents of each bundle. Compare the list of contents to items listed in supporting documentation and the finding aid.
2. Fill out a brief condition survey form on the contents of each bundle, noting the nature and location(s) of any instability. Note recommendations about conservation work that should be undertaken before the object is considered for exhibition, loan, or any handling other than viewing the model parts within their protective housings.
3. Using white vinyl eraser in block and grated form, surface clean stable model pieces as needed to eliminate the heaviest deposits of sooty particulate. (Surface cleaning is carried out on the spot to eliminate transfer of soot when the pieces are handled, to keep the work area clean, and to arrest the chemical deterioration caused by the presence of the soot.)
4. Make simple Japanese paper and starch paste repairs to support major breaks where necessary to allow rehousing. (Most breaks and other repairs are simply noted in the condition report and left for post-project treatment. Only problems which impede rehousing are being addressed during the project.)
5. House the contents of each bundle using archival-quality materials.
a. To the extent possible, keep components of each spatial layer of a model together (e.g. backdrop, wings, or proscenium).
b. Select the correct size of prefabricated, acid-free corrugated board storage boxes and support trays, based on the size of the largest individual components of the model.
c. Fit individual objects in place on the trays with corner-pieces made from non-abrasive closed-cell polyethylene foam cut deep enough so that the height of the foam exceeds the height of the object to ensure that the object cannot slip out of the corners during handling. Adhere the corner-pieces to the trays with 3M 415 double-sided tape. Use prefabricated die-cut right angle Volara foam corner-pieces wherever possible; hand cut corner-pieces for irregular shapes as needed to ensure a snug fit. Place large groups of very small pieces or fragments carefully together in polyethylene zipper bags and attach the bags to the trays.
d. Attach corner pieces made from archival corrugated board to each tray, built up high enough so that another tray can rest on the corners without touching the objects housed on the lower tray.
e. Cover the top layer within each box with a loose sheet of silicone release paper to reduce the penetration of any dust into the contents of the box.
6. Label each box with the finding aid ID number for that model. Attach warning labels about careful handling.
In the course of the project she has dealt with a wide variety of media used by Urban in constructing the models, including paper, cardboard, plastic, wood, metal, glass, plaster, fabrics, cellophane, electrical components, and even human hair.
In order to include digital images of the assembled models in the finding aid, the project is creating 4x5” color transparencies. As of the end of June, the 53 rehoused models have been photographed. Photography will be completed in July.
Rodman Williams was hired half time as project assistant, responsible for preparing all materials for digitization. He is working through each production in turn, verifying that the materials match what is listed in the finding aid and making corrections and additions as needed. He then pencils the ID number on each item, selects those items that are appropriate for scanning based on a set of guidelines, and delivers the materials to the Reprography Lab.
Digitization of notes, initial sketches, photographic prints of stage sets, and other documents relating to the stage models is being carried out by the staff of the Reprography Lab in the Preservation Division using a UMAX Mirage II flatbed scanner with an optical resolution of 700 x 1400 ppi. The maximum scannable area is 11.4" x 17". The scanner captures 36-bit color images and 12-bit grayscale images. System images are 24-bit RGB for color and 8-bit for grayscale. All equipment is calibrated and quality of system performance verified before each digitization session. Recommended targets for resolution (AIIM Scanner test Chart #2, IEEE Std 167A.1-1995), grayscale and color are used as appropriate (in this case Kodak Q-60R1 for reflective media). Color and grayscale bars and rulers are included in images as appropriate. Staff are following NARA recommendations for scanning handwritten/drawn color documents at 300dpi 24-bit color and photographic prints at least 5000 pixels on the long dimension in grayscale. Files are uncompressed TIFs.
Rodman reviews each image for quality assurance before it is accepted for the project. Images are inspected for completeness, orientation and skew, sharpness when viewed on the monitor at 100 percent, and color and tonal depth and contrast. All metadata is checked for accuracy and completeness. The images are then written to CDs for interim storage. To date 1,584 images have been created. Digitization of the 4x5” transparencies will be carried out by a service bureau during Year 2 once all photography is completed.
Initial planning for this phase has begun. The actual work of mounting and linking the images will take place in Year 2.