Difference between revisions of "Salvaging Damaged Collections"

Revision as of 16:21, 28 January 2021

Statement of Purpose

This page is where resources and documentation for salvaging, repairing, or conserving damaged collections can go.

Introduction

Saving specimens from large scale damage may need an set of information than conservation due to regular wear. Large scale events, such as floods and fires can also require fast action on the part of collections staff. This page is where these type of salvaging techniques for damaged collections can be gathered.

Contributors

Mariko Kageyama, Genevieve Tocci

Water Damage

Water Damaged Herbarium Specimens

Video broadcast from 16 September 2020 on repairing plant specimens after flooding

Broadcast by NHK and based in the herbarium at Makino Botanical Garden, Japan.
https://movie-a.nhk.or.jp/sns/ijP/b0g0o63z.html
Video broadcast is no longer available. Japanese and English text transcribed and translated by Mariko Kageyama.

Transcript and Translation

『貴重な植物標本を救え』（NHK 2020年9月16日放送）７分６秒

“Rescue invaluable plant specimens” (broadcast on 16 September 2020 on NHK) 7’ 6’’

https://movie-a.nhk.or.jp/sns/ijP/b0g0o63z.html

（スタジオ）
(Studio)

続いてはカメラマンリポートです。
Next is Cameraman Report.

高知市の牧野植物園では，今年7月九州地方を襲った記録的豪雨で水に浸かり痛んだ植物標本を修復する作業が行われています。
At Makino Botanical Garden in Kochi City, staff is working on restoring damaged plant specimens immersed in flood water after record heavy rainfalls that hit the Kyushu Region this past July.

未来に残すべき貴重な記録である標本を試行錯誤を重ねながら修復する取り組みを取材しました。
We highlight their trial-and-error efforts to restore specimens, valuable records that should be saved for the future.

筆を使った繊細な作業。泥で汚れた植物標本の修復作業が行われています。
Delicate handwork using a brush. The restoration work is underway for plant specimens contaminated with mud.

[高知　県立牧野植物園]
[The Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden]

高知市の牧野植物園です。
Makino Botanical Garden in Kochi City.

（標本展[Exhibition of Plant Specimens] の入り口）
(Entrance to the “Exhibition of Plant Specimens” at Makino)

[NHK高知　大和田純平の報告]
[Report from Junpei Owada, NHK Kochi station]

日本の植物分類学の父と言われる牧野富太郎を記念して作られました。
The botanical garden was established to commemorate Tomitaro Makino, who is known as Father of Japanese Plant Taxonomy.

植物標本の所蔵や研究も行う，日本でも珍しい植物園です。
Makino is one of the rare botanical gardens in Japan as institutions holding a herbarium collection and conduct collection research.

[牧野植物園　藤川和美研究員]
[Dr. Kazumi Fujikawa, Researcher at the Makino Botanical Garden]

牧野植物園の藤川和美さんです。ミャンマーをはじめ世界各地で植物の調査をし，標本作りは30年になる植物分類学者です。
This is Dr. Kazumi Fujikawa of Makino Botanical Garden. She is a plant taxonomist who has conducted botanical fieldwork in Myanmar and other parts of the world, and she also has thirty-year experience in preparing specimens.

「世界共通の名前である“学名”をつける時に必ず１点の標本という（も）のが必要になります。その名前の証拠となる植物，そういったものを示す確かなもの，それが標本です。」
“When naming a plant with a ‘scientific name,’ which is a universal name used in the world, a single specimen is always required. A piece of plant that serves as evidence of that name, one that can ascertain such name, is what we call a specimen.”

[令和２年７月豪雨　熊本人吉]
[July 2020 heavy rains in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto]

今年７月に熊本県を襲った記録的豪雨。人吉市を流れる球磨（くま）川が氾濫。
川のすぐそばに建つ人吉城歴史館も被災し，保管されていた植物標本が泥をかぶってしまいました。
Record heavy rains that hit Kumamoto Prefecture this past July. Kuma River running through the Hitoyoshi City flooded. Among other structures that have suffered from the flood, Hitoyoshi Castle History Museum stood right by the riverbank and got its herbarium specimens covered with mud.

[人吉城歴史館　金子尚央館長]
[Mr. Hisao Kaneo, Director of the Hitoyoshi Castle History Museum]

“この‥”
“This . . . (inaudible)”

人吉城歴史館の金子ひさお館長です。
This is Hisao Kaneko, Director of the Hitoyoshi Castle History Museum.

「こちらのいちばん奥のスペースが植物標本を（ですね）保存していたスペースになります。絶滅したもの（であります）とか新種のものも入っていたということで，非常に（あの）悲しい気持ちになりました。」
“This innermost space is where we used to house the plant collection. It was supposed to include extinct species as well as new species, so I felt very sad about the damaged specimens.”

（ダンボール箱を開封）
(opening a cardboard package full of herbarium specimens)

「ああ，でもけっこう泥ついてる。」
“Uh-oh, they’re quite dirty with mud.”

被害を受けた標本はおよそ３万３千点。全国35の博物館がボランティアで修復を進めています。牧野植物園では，４２１点を修復しています。
Approximately 33,000 specimens have suffered flood damage. Thirty five museums nationwide are volunteering to share the restoration work. Makino Botanical Garden received 421 of them for treatment.

「どうしようかね，これーっていう感じ。」
「カビがすごい。」
「カビと虫食いですね，これはね。」
“Wow, look bad . . . what can we do with them?”
“Terrible mold.”
“These look mold and insect pest.”

泥やカビで汚れた標本。このままではその価値を失ってしまいます。
Specimens contaminated with mud and mold. They may lose their value if they are left untreated.

[標本ラベル：Sagara Higo / June 21 1964 / K. Mayebara 「マエバラ」]
[Specimen label: Sagara Higo / June 21 1964 / K. Mayebara]

標本のラベルには「マエバラ」の文字がありました。
Specimen label reads “Mayebara.”

（前原勘次郎の写真）
(picture of Kanjiro Mayebara)

熊本県の植物学者前原（まえばら）勘次郎が明治から昭和にかけて作成したものでした。前原と牧野富太郎は今からおよそ100年前に植物標本の識別を依頼するなど，交流を持っていました。
This was one of the specimens prepared by Kumamoto’s local botanist Kanjiro Mayebara during the period from the Meiji through Showa eras. Mayebara and Tomitaro Makino had been acquainted with each other through scientific exchange such as requesting identification of plant specimens about 100 years ago.

[牧野植物園　藤川和美研究員]
[Dr. Kazumi Fujikawa, Makino Botanical Garden]

「標本を，（その）宝物っていうか，大切に思う，そういった心ですよね。植物を愛する（というか）深い絆で結ばれていたんじゃないかなって思いますね。」
“I wonder they both had a sort of mindset that saw specimens dear to their heart, like treasure . . . I guess they were deeply bound by shared love of plants.”

「ああ，これは，周りが泥ついてるの，あとカビが。やっぱりこれ水没した後のカビだと思いますね。」
“I see . . . edges covered with mud. . . and also mold. I think this is mold that grew after the sheets got soaked in flood water.”

エタノールを使い，標本についたカビを取り除いていきます。
They are removing mold on the surface of the specimens using ethanol.

「すごいですね，これね，ほんとに。」
“They really look bad, don’t they?”

標本を痛めないように霧吹きの強さを調節し，筆やピンセットを使って慎重に泥を落としていきます。
台紙から剥がれた小さな破片も貴重な標本の一部です。一つ残らず，ていねいに保存していきます。
They adjust the nozzle pressure of a sprayer to avoid further damage to the specimens, while removing dirt gently off the sheets using a brush and tweezers.
Plant pieces that fell off the sheets are valuable parts of the specimens. They are all carefully collected one by one for preservation.

「虫に喰われた分がすごく多いので，ちょっとこれは難しいケースというか。これが最適，今やっているのが最適かどうかっていうのはわかりませんね。試行錯誤の中でね，やってます。」

“Because a significant portion of the salvaged specimens has been infested with insect pest, I’d say this is a rather challenging case study. The way we are currently doing for cleaning is the most appropriate way or not? We are not sure. We are just doing by trial and error.”

汚れを取り除いて乾燥させた標本を確認しますが，一筋縄ではいきません。
Checking the condition of the specimens that were rinsed clean and dried, but things don’t always go as smoothly as expected.

「ああ，やっぱりむずかしいねえ。むずかしいねえ。」
「これ，もう一回あれですね，洗浄ですねえ。」
“Oh well, it’s not easy, not an easy task at all.”
“See, this will need another round of cleaning.”

一度の洗浄では落ちない汚れ，きれいになるまで作業は続きます。
Contamination may not come off by rinsing just once. The work continues until the specimens become cleaner.

届いた時には無残な姿だった標本も，粘り強く泥やカビを取り除き，乾燥させるまで最低3日，ようやく元の姿を取り戻しました。
These specimens used to be in miserable shape when they arrived at Makino, but now after a series of treatments, taking at least three days to tirelessly remove mud and mold and then dry, they have finally regained their original appearance.

[牧野植物園　藤川和美研究員]
[Dr. Kazumi Fujikawa, Researcher at Makino Botanical Garden]

「標本というのが未来にも続く，そういった財産である，宝物であるっていう思いがありますので，それを残していくっていうのはやはり，まあ我々の役割であり，使命であると。」
“It’s our belief that specimens are our asset that ought to be passed down to the future. They are our treasure. After all, it’s our role and mission to preserve them.”

[NHK高知　大和田純平の報告]
[Report from Junpei Owada, NHK Kochi station]

前原や牧野の思いがつまった貴重な標本は失われることなく後世へと受け継がれていきます。
Precious specimens that embody Mayebara and Makino’s spirits have avoided permanent loss and will be passed down to the future generations.

（スタジオ）
(studio)
スタジオには，取材した大和田カメラマンです。お願いします。
Back in the studio, Cameraman Owada who covered this story is here with us. Welcome.

いや，この藤川さんたちの本当にていねいな修復作業ですけれども，本当に時間が，手間もかかりますよね。どのくらいの期間かかっているんですか。
Wow, impressive to watch Dr. Fujikawa and her team’s really careful restoration work, but it seems really time-demanding and also requires a lot of attention. How long has it taken for the project?

はい，牧野植物園では，修復作業が先月下旬から始まり，今月いっぱい続くということです。今も全国の博物館や植物園で修復作業が進んでいます。
Yes, at the Makino Botanical Garden, the restoration work began late last month, and it is supposed to continue throughout this month. Currently the restoration project is in progress at multiple museums and botanical gardens around the country.

標本というのは，植物を分類する上では本当に重要なものなんですよね。
We learned that specimens are really important things in studying plant taxonomy.

はい，作業にあたった研究者は，一つ一つの標本をまるで宝物かのように大切に扱っていました。牧野植物園では，今回の修復作業が初の試みとなりますが，これまで長年標本を取り扱ってきた経験を生かして，標本を見事に蘇らせました。修復した標本は，人吉城歴史館が復旧するまで，それぞれの博物館や植物園で大切に保管されるということです。
Yes, the researchers in charge of the task were treating each specimen as if they were precious treasure. At the Makino Botanical Garden, this project is one of their first attempts to restore flood-damaged specimens, but they have successfully revived the specimens using their experience with managing specimens built over the years. Those restored specimens are going to be well taken care of in each of those participating museums and botanical gardens until the Hitoyoshi Castle History Museum resume its operation.

ここまで大和田カメラマンとお伝えしました。
The story reported with Cameraman Owada, thank you.

Conservation process of water-damaged frozen specimens

This article covers techniques assessed and used to treat water damaged herbarium specimens from a pipe break in the Harvard University Herbaria. The specimens were all immediately bagged and frozen, so all research and techniques is for frozen water damaged specimens.

Peters, M. Conservation process of water-damaged herbarium specimens at the Harvard University Herbaria. Collection Forum (2014) 28 (1-2): 8-15. https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-0005-28.1.8 ^[1]

References

1. ↑ Peters, M. Conservation process of water-damaged herbarium specimens at the Harvard University Herbaria. Collection Forum (2014) 28 (1-2): 8-15. https://doi.org/10.14351/0831-0005-28.1.8