Treatment of Maryland State House Dome Restoration
1878 Business Card
(November 2022)
The 1878 dated business card is believed to have been placed in the dome during some repair work on the dome likely occurring in 1879. The 1878 card was uncovered when the team restoring the Maryland State House dome lifted the decorative pediment which covered the dome since that architectural element was placed.
The discovery of this card inside the pediment is mentioned in a Bay Weekly article, along with more clues about past repairs to the dome.
https://bayweekly.com/under-wraps/
When uncovered, the pillar was removed to a nearby building. I then removed the 1878 dated card from the pillar. The activities were filmed by the Department of General Services (DGS) videographer.
https://www.facebook.com/MDGeneralServices/videos/artifact-found-during-the-maryland-state-house-dome-restoration/836404444345078/
This project was very time sensitive, and time was the limiting factor in determining steps taken on this project. The pillar and pediment needed to undergo restoration along with other building elements, and there was a deadline for reconstruction of the building’s dome.
After treatment was complete, the original was scanned and accessioned into Special Collections. A print of the scan on heavy acid-free paper was sandwiched to construct a facsimile of the original card.
The facsimile, labeled as such, and including information about the original, were placed into a Mylar sleeve. The sleeve was installed with the pillar, where the original card was discovered, when the restored pillar and pediment were returned to the State House dome.
The business card, before treatment closeup. The broken piece (bottom), was likely caused by insect damage.
Broken parts (bottom) stabilized with an insert of toned Kozo tissue and wheat starch paste.
Broken parts stabilized with an insert of toned Kozo tissue and wheat starch paste.
Back of the card, showing the stabilization performed with toned Kozo tissue and wheat starch paste.