Historical Copper- and Lead Alloys at the Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp

292 Pages·2017·23.21 MB·English

H Historical Copper- and Lead Alloys
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C Alloy compositions, corrosion phenomena
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L Proefschrift voorgelegd tot het behalen van de graad van doctor in
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A Patrick Storme
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Promotoren
Prof. dr. Joost Caen
Prof. dr. Karolien De Wael
Faculteit Ontwerpwetenschappen
Departement Erfgoed – Opleiding conservatie-restauratie
Antwerpen 2018

Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy – Conservation/Restoration at the University
of Antwerp, defended by Patrick Storme.

Doctoral committee
Chairman
Prof. dr. Dominique Schryvers, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Science
Supervisors:
Prof. dr. Karolien De Wael, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Science
Prof. dr. Joost Caen, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Design Sciences
Members
Prof. dr. Herman Terryn, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Faculty of Engineering
dr. Monica Favaro, Chemist, Research scientist at the National Research Council of Italy
dr. Goran Proot, Historic books specialist, Università di Udine, Italy

Contact information
Patrick Storme
University of Antwerp – Faculty of Design Sciences – Department of Heritage
Blindestraat 9
B-2000 Antwerp
[email protected]
Research group Heritage & Sustainability

Notes to the reader
Lines in Italic are quotes from literature sources
Words marked with an asterisk * can be found in the Glossary
The abbreviation [Arch.] is used to relate to archival documents in the Museum Plantin-Moretus
The Glossary and abbreviations list are in the Attachments
All photographs were taken by the author unless otherwise indicated

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The image on the cover page is a type metal microstructure of an 80-12-8 % Lead-Antimony-Tin alloy
at 5000 x magnification with a Scanning Electron Microscope.
Faculteit Ontwerpwetenschappen
Departement Erfgoed – Opleiding conservatie-restauratie

Historical Copper- and Lead Alloys
at the Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp
Alloy compositions, corrosion phenomena and conservation recommendations

Historische koper- en loodlegeringen
in het museum Plantin-Moretus, Antwerpen
Legeringsamenstellingen, corrosie fenomenen en conservatie aanbevelingen

Proefschrift voorgelegd tot het behalen van de graad van Doctor in de conservatie-
restauratie aan de Universiteit Antwerpen te verdedigen door Patrick Storme

Promotoren:
Prof. dr. Joost Caen
Prof. dr. Karolien De Wael
Antwerpen, 2018
Foreword
Standing on the sidelines, looking in on my life, I am amazed at how things have turned out. There
seems to have been a succession of coincidences that have led me from one situation to the next. I’ve
always tried to view the world with a sense of beauty. A wide range of interests has taken me to places
and introduced me to exciting people whose existence I could never have even imagined. I was
destined to become an architect until I realised I preferred the applied fine arts. There was never any
need to make choices because there was always something or someone suggesting I do this or that.
There was for example a fellow student who, from out of nowhere, told me to go and study jewellery
design. Even though I’d never heard of this option, I nonetheless went with it and began a course at
the Royal Academy for Fine Arts in Antwerp. When I graduated, my former professor, Wim ibens, asked
me to come and work with him on completing the reconstruction of the shrine of St. Gertrude in
Nivelles. This beautiful 13th century shrine, which was an exceptionally progressive design and became
the template for all the major gothic cathedrals in France, was bombed in the Second World War
leaving only a number of deformed remains. The creation of this replica in silver with gilded parts,
precious gems and enamel turned into a six-year adventure, during which I learned many aspects of
the art of jewellery making and silversmithing. The ground was laid for a love of old and antique
objects.
With this basic training in gold and silversmithing, my work in the area of metal restoration began. In
the early stages of this journey, conservation increasingly caught my attention as a more subtle
discipline within the subject. My job as assistant at the National Higher Institute for Fine Arts in
Antwerp resulted in a partnership with a number of colleagues and the setting up of the Conservation-
Restoration unit in 1988. This education course has since undergone numerous changes, and was
eventually integrated into the University of Antwerp. Research had meantime become very important
within the world of conservation, and because we always endeavoured to keep up with international
standards, the conservation-restoration education evolved into a unique course in Flanders (Caen,
2009).
In the broader field of conservation application and research topics, there was one specific request
from the Museum Plantin-Moretus that attracted my attention. The staff there had discovered
corrosion on some of the lead type letters. Given that this collection is recognised around the world
for its incredible historical significance, research was needed to establish the cause of this corrosion
and to find solutions for the museum. From this moment on, my personal interest in Plantin-Moretus
as a museum, its history, the knowledge and innumerable historical objects grew even stronger.
While I have never held much sway with the idea of destiny, I do believe that coincidences together
with certain initiatives, observations and support from those around me have always been of the
utmost importance. The road that has led me to this point would not have been so easy to travel
without the support of numerous colleagues from the conservation-restoration course. Decades of
teamwork have created a sort of family bond for which I am especially grateful.
The evolution from conservation-restoration to conservation research has also resulted in a more
intense collaboration with the Department of Chemistry. It would not have been possible to start this
PhD without the efforts of my two supervisors, Prof. Dr. Joost Caen and Prof. Dr. Karolien De Wael.
They have supported me on this journey, each from their own specialism, each with dedication and
patience. No less important was the contact with the Museum Plantin-Moretus and its collection, but
to an even greater extent the contact with the people working there such as the director Mrs. Iris
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Kockelbergh, Mr. Pierre Meulepas and Mr. Guy Hutsebaut. With regard to the specific research on the
copper matrices, I received stimulating input from the emeritus director Dr. Hendrik Vervliet and Dr.
Goran Proot, to whom I am immensely grateful.
During the course of the research, I met many people from many different disciplines, all of them
inspirational and helpful. I would hereby like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Olivier Schalm for
the joint reflections on the chemical aspects, Dr. Paolo Piccardo and Dr. Carla Martini for the use and
interpretation of the results from micro-hardness testing, SEM-EDX and Raman, Dr. Lorenzo Rolla for
conducting ICP-OES measurements on my samples, Jean-Pierre Smet for macro hardness
measurements, Dr. Erik Fransen for the statistical work on the XRF results, Dr. Bart Vekemans for his
assistance with the IMMACO standards, Dr. Gert Nuyts for SEM-EDX and Raman measurements, Dr.
Koen Janssens, Dr. Frederik Vanmeer and Dr. Ermanno A. Clerici for conducting micro-XRD testing on
lead corrosion products. It would have been impossible for me to bring this work to such as successful
conclusion without their efforts.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to list everyone I have met in my life, even though they have all played
a role in the choices I have made, in enriching my knowledge and experience, in making me the person
I am today, and in helping me navigate the roads that I have travelled. Last, but by no means least, I
would like to thank my dear wife Kristin, our children Sofie and Steven, family and friends. They have
been extremely patient during the various emotional stages of this journey. To each and every one of
you, my sincerest thanks.

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PAUSE STRANGER: YOU STAND IN A
COMPOSING ROOM
HERE METAL STAMPS CALLED TYPES
ARE ASSEMBLED BY SKILFUL HANDS
INTO THE MASTER-PATTERNS
FROM WHICH THE VISIBLE WORD IS MULTIPLIED
FIVE CENTURIES AGO
THE INVENTION OF MOVABLE TYPE
OPENED A NEW EPOCH IN HUMAN HISTORY
BY RELEASING THE COMMON PEOPLE
FROM THE THRALLDOM OF ILLITERACY
AND SETTING THEIR FEET UPON THE ROAD
TO SELF-GOVERNMENT
YOU WHO TRAVEL THAT HIGH ROAD
TOUCH NOT WITHOUT REVERENCE
THESE LEADEN SYMBOLS OF YOUR FREEDOM
REMEMBER YOUR INCALCULABLE DEBT
TO THE COMPOSITOR
WHOSE PATIENT, NIMBLE FINGERS BUILT FOR YOU
LETTER UPON LETTER
A THOUSAND STAIRWAYS TO THE STARS

Inscription written for the Monotype Corporation, by the great typographer Beatrix Warde, to display
the capitals of their new typeface ‘Poliphilus’.1

1 Piccolo Press Ltd.: Wedding Stationery - Information & Price List, Nairn, 2011.
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Introduction
1 General introduction .............................................................................................................. viii
2 Conservation objectives ......................................................................................................... viii
3 Conservation research ............................................................................................................. ix
4 Objectives of the thesis ............................................................................................................ xi
5 Structure of the thesis ............................................................................................................. xii
6 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... xiii

Chapter 1: The Museum Plantin-Moretus and historical-technical research 1
1.1 The Plantin-Moretus Museum………………………………………………………….…………………….……………4
1.2 History of printing………………………….……………………………………….……………………………………………8
1.3 Historical research ................................................................................................................. 11
1.4 The production of type .......................................................................................................... 18
1.5 Alloy compositions ................................................................................................................. 18
1.6 The casting ............................................................................................................................. 33
1.7 The mould or ‘the instrument’ ............................................................................................... 34
1.8 The matrix .............................................................................................................................. 35
1.9 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 42

Chapter 2: Metals, historical aspects and chemical properties 45
2.1 Historical contexts .................................................................................................................. 48
2.2 Chemical properties ............................................................................................................... 54
2.3 Corrosion ................................................................................................................................ 66
2.4 The museum environment ..................................................................................................... 71
2.5 Historical treatments ............................................................................................................. 73
2.6 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 75

Chapter 3: Measuring techniques 81

Chapter 4: Lead type: production, microstructure and chemical composition 91
4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 93
4.2 Experimental: alloys, analytical techniques and selection of type pieces ............................. 94
4.3 Results .................................................................................................................................... 98
4.4 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 131
4.5 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 133

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