preservearchives:
Ratified Indian Treaty #8, more commonly referred to at the Treaty of Fort Pitt was recently treated in the Conservation Laboratory. Signed in what is present-day Pittsburgh in 1778, it is the first treaty negotiated between a Native American tribe and the United States after its independence. This fragile record had been laminated between sheets of thin tissue and cellulose acetate film, probably in the mid-20th century. The red resin seals at the bottom right had been cut from the record before lamination and reattached afterwards. Prior to lamination a number of pieces of pressure-sensitive tape had been used to repair tears. Conservation treatment included reducing the lamination through immersion in a series of acetone baths to dissolve the cellulose acetate and release the tissue layers. The pressure sensitive tapes were removed after delamination. Next, the record was immersed in a series of deionized water baths to reduce discoloration and acidity. Remaining treatment steps included realigning the record which was in a number of pieces after delamination; lining the document with Japanese mulberry paper adhered with wheat starch paste, infilling losses with cotton and linen paper pulp, toning the infills with watercolors, and reattaching the resin seals.
[RG 11, Ratifed Indian Treaty #8]