We recently had the privilege to provide conservation treatment for the will and estate documents of Thomas and Anna Clemson. Clemson University was founded by Thomas Clemson in 1888, when he bequeathed three-fourths of the Fort Hill Plantation and $80,000 in other assets to the state of South Carolina for the purpose of founding a college. This collection of historical documents is extremely important to the University, as they dictate how the University is governed and run up to the present day.
The collection had been stored for many years folded up and inaccessible to the public. As part of an agreement with the local courts, these documents have been placed on permanent loan to Clemson University’s Special Collections and Archives Department, and the University arranged to have conservation treatments performed on the collection to help preserve it for future generations.
Conservation treatment involved carefully humidifying and flattening each document individually, treating the paper to reduce acidity, and mending with archival tissue to repair tears and infill losses to the paper.
Upon completion of conservation treatment, the will documents were encapsulated individually in polyester film and placed on custom archival matboard supports for safe handling and placement inside their new exhibition case in the Special Collections and Archives Department. The estate documents were placed in groups inside protective polyester film L-sleeves for safe storage and handling as well.
It is truly an honor and privilege to be a part of preserving Clemson University’s legacy so that this important collection can be appreciated for many more years to come.
Above, Japanese mending tissue is applied to a tear in a document in preparation for mending and stabilization.
Above, wheat starch adhesive is applied to the mending tissue.
Visit the links below to see more information regarding this project:
https://digitalcollections.clemson.edu/explore/collections/clemson-will/
https://libraries.clemson.edu/specialcollections/thomas-green-clemson-will/
