Foxing, Staining & Iron Gall Ink Corrosion plus Treatments

Nope. Not foxing... Like you wrote, seems like tape (greasy glue) damage... 

If you want to be truly on the safe side, use UV-lamp to check it. If it lights up, then it is organic and alive.

-k-

Thanks for the further response, Mark. Unfortunately, I do not have a UV light, so I guess I will need to look into getting one of those.

In the meantime, I will look for some examples from my collection, and I will post photos here as I run across them. The PB issues are "at bay" for the moment, so I am once again operational, thanks to help from you, Steve, and Nelson (knock on wood!).

More as I find it....

Thanks for your additional response, Keijo.  I understand your point that both temperature and humidity work together in these situations.  We use heating in the winter and air conditioning in the summer to keep the inside temperature around 20°C in the house, but we have not taken any steps to measure or control the humidity.

I also agree neither extremes of temperature and humidity are not good either for people or stamps.  We do what we can to get the best for both (people and stamps!).
 

Anping, thanks for the informative, detailed response! I will check out the Rambler newsletter and try to learn more.

The results you achieved on the illustrated stamp look quite good.

By the way, have you used UV light to tell the difference between foxing (mould or mildew) versus other kinds of staining? Just curious....

Chloramine-T is seriously poisonous stuff. Be sure to read safety instructions first if you try it, and give also some advance consideration of how you get rid of the waste (if you pour it down the drain, it will simply go back to stuff we eat/drink). The less chemicals people use the better (and yes, I admit being 'green tree-hugger, LOL).

I may be blunt here, but IMHO that HongKong stamp would have looked the same even after a normal soak and scrub in warm tap water. At least most of the 'gunk' on the back seems like toned gum and hinge remainders, which dissolves with plain water.

Re, those Canadian stamps... Neither is foxing IMHO. The Queen Victoria seems like it has been in touch with some mouldy paper long time ago, the King Edward looks more like 'burn damage'. But hard to say anything definitive from a photo. You might actually try to smell the stamps (active mould has the earthy odor everybody associates to mold, fungi/foxing usually does not have any distinct odor).

Finally, here's one document which you might enjoy: ritaudina.com/en/2014/12/02/mould-or-foxing-documents-conservation/
(the comments on the page have got some links to UV reactions as well ... many fungis emit bioluminescencen stuff, which depending on the species and UV wavelength used will shine out like beacon in the dark... with non-organic toning/foxing you'll never see the unusual glow)

(and before I forget... For non-organic stains there's a product/technology based on using Tek-Wipes. Just google 'tek-wipe conservation' and you'll get a number of readworthy pages)

-k-

I would look up the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) on Chloramine-T
Different producers will give it varying degrees of issues , some in-depth others rather superficial.
If you see one from Viachem, they tend to be in-depth

It is used in Koy ponds, in low dosage, as it eventually breaks down but contact for humans is of course another matter which the MSDS addresses

Just some left over knowledge from one of my career professions

It's all about dosage. For fish tanks and ponds the recommended dosage is about 2mg/liter - about size of needless tip.



Yikes... For each teaspoon, and you should have about 2500 liters of water to keep it on 'safe for enviroment' level.

(for the record, I'm not a professional on this stuff. I just have an extensive collection of vintage 'paper stuff' besides stamps as well, which has lead me to read and try a lot of stuff).

-k-

The Chloromine T sachet shown in my post was a stock photo from eBay, so I don't know if its concentration level differs from what I have actually used:




As you may be able to see, the sachet shows 100ml and the instructions state that the whole sachet, (I used considerably less) should be dissolved in one third pint water. So based on your comments, it would seem that this dosage level from an environmental aspect, is extreme. There were however, no warnings nor further information given with this product. I use the past tense, because the product is no longer available.

I'm only guessing here, but the effectiveness as a treatment for paper and textiles (as opposed to pond treatment), may well have had to be at the strength stated.

Your comments regarding disposal are worth remembering though. Perhaps, there are alternatives just as effective but less damaging to the environment.

Although this subject has been discussed ad nauseam on various boards and in numerous philatelic and paper conservation articles, I just wanted to describe my experience of a treatment method which I have used on and off for some years.

We are all mostly aware of a condition problem that can affect our stamp collections; called foxing (here in the UK) or rusting/mold (elsewhere). This can be destructive in that it can spread given the ideal circumstances. Although this condition evolves more so in tropical climates, it can also emerge in poorly ventilated and damp storage conditions.

I've had my small share of material affected by foxing, mainly because I collect Hong Kong, which endures a very humid and wet tropical season. There are from what I have seen, more severe examples from countries where air conditioning is the exception rather than the rule; such as India. I have a couple of very early covers from India terribly affected by foxing but where the the damage has gone beyond brown spotting and staining only to exhibit what I can best describes as termite (or silver fish) feeding holes. Perhaps these are indeed caused by such beasties but if so, the combination of humid conditions, tasty damp glue and poor quality paper just destroys this material.

To try to curtail the potential for foxing/mold to spread, I use a substance called Chloromine-T as a chemical soak.

Chloromine-T was readily obtainable in the UK a few years ago under the brand name 'Foxit' from some philatelic outlets. It's purpose was to kill mould spores and at the same time bleach out these blemishes on documents, stamps and silks. But the product strangely disappeared from the market.

In fact, I have only just found one eBay seller who is selling this product again, which I had first used over 25 years ago.

When this product disappeared from the market, I sought an alternative. I found the same chemical for use in sanitising drinking systems, treating poultry related diseases and for eradicating certain skin afflictions in coy carp. The added bonus was being able to buy the crystals in 100g tubs, as opposed to the Foxit, which was packaged in 5g bags at comparatively huge cost.

I use about 2 grams of Chloromine-T in half a pint of water but find I have to vary the amount of the chemical in more severe cases.

I have used Chloromine-T primarily on documents, which has produced some quite amazing results. In addition to the above claimed 'cures', it has also treated smoke impregnated documents; as found in old pictures hung near open coal fires.

As for these documents, I unfortunately didn't take any 'before' images of my document restoration because I had no PC at the time and thus had no apparent reason for doing so. However, I do have 'after' treatment images, which are mainly photographs.

Here is one example of treatment I applied to a very old block print which was badly affected by smoke staining. This took three treatments before the print finally gave up all its staining in tea coloured water.

Once lightly pressed under weight until dry, it was only then that I realised that there were buildings and clouds in the background behind the rigging. But even after the treatment, there is still a slight outline of the smoke staining where the glass once was. So although Chloromine-T has been very effective, it can't perform miracles.






More to follow.......

The second card, which is a 3 cent PSC was printed on whiter card stock than the previous buff coloured 1 cent PSC:


Again, although not perfect, still very good results.