PAPER RECORDS

Hokitika Guardian, 7 December 1931, Page 2

PAPER RECORDS

RESISTING DECAY. THOUSANDS OF YEARS. WASHINGTON, 0ct.20. Ways of preserving paper records “indefinitely,” perhaps for several thousand years, are being perfected at the Bureau of Standards. Aicliaeologists of the distant future, uncovering the ruins of ancient American civilisation of the twentieth century, should .be able to find readable documents buried in the tumble down waJls of monuments and great buildings because of this work. It was undertaken especially to ensure the preservation of the names of the 20,01 S men from the District of Columbia who took part in the World War.

It has long been tho custom, it was explained at thfe Bureau of Standards j to place in the cornerstone of a new public building written and printed documents ’in sealed cases which are expected to last as long as the building itself. Unlortunatefy the builders fail to consider sortie of Nature’s more subtle ways of destruction: Recently when P'oli’-fc theatre ill Washington was razed, the i'etbfds in thfe cornerstone only forty-seven yeai* s old, were found undecipherable. They had merely been laid in a aino box. The box had seemed v, a ter tight to the builders, but actually tho papers were found very wet. The box it was explained, was not airtight. it had been placed in a ;i he which was not watertight, rpemng from above and with no provi-ion tor drainage. Water apparently lad collected in the niche and tho air winch surrounded the document had h-a c on>e very* damp.

With tliis example those in cVa'ge of the erection of the National Capital's war memori 1 sought the < ollahoration of the Bureau of Standards. It was proposed to place in the cornerstone a list cf all those from the District who had served in the war, with-the expectation that this list wofikl he preserved long after all other lists of such names might have disappeared. First the Bureau manufactured some special paper, made solely of cotton fibre which is noted for its permanence. On this the names of veterans were typewritten. Then the records were sealed i t an absolutely airtight copper box from which the air had been removed and replaced with the practically inert nitrogen which would not take up moisture. The niche pout-lining the box was so arranged that water would not drain into it. This makes it probable that the names will be preserved at least as loilg as, the structure itself. Written oh p’per, they are likely to endure longer than if they 'were carved on; stone, in this climate, ’QUAKE VICTIMS RECORDED The Japanese Government- has g one to extreme lengths to preserve the names of the victims of the great earthquake of 1923.- The lists were prepared on special paper and wrapped in oiled silk and asbestos. Then they were placed in airtight fused quartz containers within which the air had been replaced with the inert gas argon. These containers wei*e then wrapped in asbestos, over which wa s placed a coating of carborundum It .was-estimated that these precautions would ensure preservation of the names at least 10,000 years. Tins is far more than the age of any records now extant. The method not only ensures against moisture and chemical deterioration of the paper, but against fire. The preservation of records in a moist, temperate climate is a far different problem than from that in ancient Egypt, where tLe oldest papyrus documents known to man have been found. They were merelv buried in the ,sand and there was almost r.o moisure in the air to bring about the chemical destruction of the papyrus.

Studies are also being carried . on at the bureau on the destructability of book paper, which carries the greater part of the permanent record of any age. The strength, chemical purity and stability of sudh paper under an accelerated ageing test are now being determined. The permanence, it is found, depends very little on the material from which the paper is made so long as chemical impurities are kept out and the fibres are strong. In general, hook paper is found poorer for permanent records than writing paper and this is attributed to the mere severe treatment given the fibres to obtain good printing qucXbics.—Copyright.