Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts

11/06/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for CCAHA’s first-ever New York City Open House! We were delighted to welcome clients, industry contacts, former colleagues, and emerging professionals to our new location in Chelsea.

The studio, part of CCAHA’s affiliation with The Better Image®, serves as a local hub for photograph conservation, client consultations, and transfers to our Philadelphia lab, connecting NYC with our broader conservation services.

We’re grateful to all who traveled near and far to celebrate this milestone with us!

11/04/2026

Happy ! What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever found inside a book? What’s the longest you’ve spent working on a single object? What’s the most unusual material you’ve encountered?

Today, conservators from CCAHA’s Paper, Book, and Photo teams are on call and ready for your questions. Ask us about fascinating treatments, unexpected discoveries, conservation challenges, or anything else you’ve ever wondered about the field. No question is too obscure!

📷: Paper Conservator Chloe Houseman, of “Conservation Cooking” fame, sharing expert advice with Ginny the museum dog during a Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York Condition Survey at the Howland Stone Store Museum.

11/02/2026

Meet Katherine Miromonti, CCAHA’s new NEA Paper Conservation Fellow! A recent SUNY Buffalo State University Garman Art Conservation Department graduate, Katherine holds an M.A. in Conservation of Art and Cultural Heritage and an M.S. in Conservation Science and Imaging.

So far, her fellowship projects have taken her deep into New Jersey history, from a 1905 railroad blueprint map of Newark and Paterson to 19th-century blueprints of one of the state’s most beloved roadside attractions: Lucy the Elephant. The projects are part of CCAHA’s work with the New Jersey State Archives and Margate City Public Library, respectively.

📸 1./ Katherine surface mending the back of a historic New Jersey map; 2-3./ sharing Lucy the Elephant blueprints with visitors at our recent Open House.

10/30/2026

Happy Halloween from CCAHA! 🎃

10/28/2026

The Revolution extended far beyond the battlefield as courts grappled with questions of allegiance. A 1779 New York statute targeting “Enemies of this State” led to prosecutions of suspected Loyalists, leaving behind a paper trail of the Revolution’s legal and personal consequences.

From 2018 to 2020, CCAHA partnered with the New York State Archives and the NYS Archives Partnership Trust on a Save America’s Treasures project supported by IMLS, NPS, NYSDAR, and the Cromwell Foundation. Our Paper conservators treated hundreds of these early court records, addressing damage from mold, brittleness, and severe iron gall ink corrosion, while our Imaging team digitized them to expand access.

Today, many of these records are available online to researchers and the public, offering rare insights into the lives of ordinary people, including those marginalized during the colonial and early national periods.

Explore the digitized records and educational resources: https://www.nysarchivestrust.org/exhibits/enemies-state

Follow as we go behind the bench to explore more objects and stories that connect us to the nation’s complex founding.

📸 1./ A page from a 1780 treason indictment charging William Johnson of Half Moon with traitorously adhering to King George III, after treatment; 2–3./ A 1778 Loyalist enlistment paper for 18-year-old John Vail, before and after treatment.

10/23/2026

Welcome back to Conservation Cooking with Chloe! Today’s recipe: Klucel G-coated tissue. CCAHA Paper Conservator Chloe Houseman combines thick Klucel G, ultra-lightweight 3.5 g/m² tissue, and a spritz of deionized water to create a versatile adhesive layer. Once dry, the tissue is ready to be reactivated when needed, giving conservators a precise, low-moisture way to repair fragile archival materials.

10/21/2026

Join us in welcoming Lucia Cimarusti, our new Preservation Specialist for Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York (DHPSNY)!

Lucia conducts onsite Preservation Needs Assessments, presents educational programs, and provides technical guidance to collecting institutions across New York State. Before joining DHPSNY, she was the Conservation Assistant in the Objects Conservation Department at The Frick Collection. Outside of work, she can often be found on her bike.

Welcome to the team, Lucia! We’re so glad you’re here!

DHPSNY is a program of the New York State Archives and New York State Library that provides free planning and education services to support archival and library research collections across New York State.

10/20/2026

Arsenic in the archives? ☠️ The term arsenic refers to a toxic element found in soil and many minerals. Historically, it was used in pesticides, medicines, and bright dyes, most famously vibrant greens like Scheele’s, Schweinfurt, or Paris Green.

Before the 20th century, these eye-catching pigments often appeared in book bindings, wallpaper, textiles, and taxidermy. Today, these objects pose contamination risks and require careful handling and specialized storage to keep collections stewards safe.

The Poison Book Project (Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library + University of Delaware) shares identification methods and safety guidance for hazardous pigments in 19th-century bindings: sites.udel.edu/poisonbookproject

🔗 Explore more terms in our Preservation Glossary: ccaha.org/PreservationGlossary

📸 Background image: Safe handling of an arsenic-tinted 19th-century publisher’s binding (Fruits and Flowers of the Holy Land, 1856) using nitrile gloves. Courtesy of Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library / Poison Book Project.

10/16/2026

10/14/2026

It’s Day!

Ever wondered what archivists actually do? Or maybe you’re tackling tricky questions about digitization or oversize collection items. From the most basic to the most technical—ask away!

DHPSNY works with collecting institutions across New York State to support the preservation and access of archival materials. Find more tips and free resources at dhpsny.org/resources.

📷: Amanda Murray and Remsen-Steuben Historical SocietyTrustee Lori Thompson review collection documentation during an Archival Needs Assessment visit at the Remsen-Steuben Historical Society.