The State Library, located in the 1895 addition to the Bulfinch building, required accurate decorative paint restoration. It was originally decorated with multi-color walls and complicated transparent and semi-transparent glazes on the columns, pilasters, door surrounds and entablature. Successive redecoration campaigns resulted in all of this classical trim being painted a...
Decorated by Joseph Burr Tiffany (a cousin of Louis Comfort Tiffany) in 1888, the library ceiling at Wilderstein was executed in a “Flemish Revival Style” and was intended to represent an illuminated manuscript, composed of foliate branches, stems and leaves, painted and stenciled on old parchment. When we first viewed...
The decorative paint panels which comprise the 50 foot interior domed ceiling had been damaged in certain areas by chronic water leaks. After first repairing the damaged plaster surfaces and removing failed paint, Blackburn matched the existing paint colors and sheen. Thanks to this perfect paint color matching, we were able to make...
The elaborately stenciled Egyptian revival stenciling programs applied throughout the house had all been restored and repainted except for the Billiards Room, located off the front hall stair landing. While the ceiling of the room had sustained little damage, the walls were extensively cracked and chipped due to plumbing issues, as...
The ceiling in the Wetmore Bedroom dates to the period of redecoration under William Morris Hunt. Over the years, a combination of plaster and paint adhesion problems created small but noticeable areas of loose and missing paint and gold leaf. Due in large part to their size and thickness, the...
The headquarters of the Plymouth Antiquarian Society in Plymouth MA performed a finish analysis as part of the reinterpretation of the entrance hall of Hedge House. It revealed that the two doors in this space were originally faux wood grained. While graining...
The Breakers dining room project was completed in several stages. It involved the cleaning and conservation of the fine art ceiling painting "Aurora Welcoming the Dawn," along with conservation of the adjacent wall murals and gold leaf. Additional work involved the cleaning and inpainting of the faux marble overmantel and...
Although the original trompe l’oeil decoration had been painted over in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, peeling paint revealed its existence. Through decorative paint analysis and the creation of a special chemical process, the overpaint was successfully removed, allowing us to save the original decorative paint without damage. As a result, the...
The new branch of the TD Bank in Melrose was to occupy an old bank building which had several murals of historic Melrose homes. We were contacted for mural cleaning as part of the renovation. Using non-ionic detergent and cotton balls, we removed a layer of grime and soot and applied a...
The State House Library contains six arches over the main reading room, decorated with historic gilt coffers and rosettes. Blackburn first applied gold leaf to match the original. This surface was then coated with a red brown glaze, and sealed and toned with orange shellac to conserve the sheen and provide depth to the color....
The gilt ornament and decorative paint on the doomed ceiling had been damaged as a result of a chronic roof leak. So, upon completing the decorative plaster restoration and decorative paint restoration, Blackburn carefully resurfaced the damaged gilt surface, matched the color of the gold and applied the gold leaf where...
This project involved the gilding and restoration of the library's wooden cupola. The windows and decorative woodwork were also repaired using epoxy consolidation, and new members were fabricated to replace those that could not be conserved. As part of the project, Blackburn also did wood window restoration throughout the bulding and repaired the portico columns.
Gold leaf restoration is always a cost-effective maintenance solution, since gold leaf can remain in place for forty years of more. We were contacted by Phillips-Andover School to gild a weathervane that had previously been painted. This was done while staging was already in place on the building, making removal and re-installation...
During the restoration of the Chapel exterior, we were asked to conserve and renew the gold leaf on the four clock dials, including the numerals. We were able to remove the hands and numerals and complete the leafing in the shop. When we installed the numerals, we also leafed the minute...
This project, undertaken for the Erie Club, involved the conservation of two chandeliers/gasoliers fabricated by Archer and Warner of Philadelphia during the last quarter of the 19th century. While one of the fixtures was conserved in situ, the second larger chandelier was removed for conservation offsite. Over the years, much...
Since their installation in 1895, the chandeliers in the Great Hall had never been taken down. Originally, both wired for electricity and piped for gas, the silk covered wiring used in these lighting fixtures had begun to degrade, resulting in short circuits in several of the lamps. In an effort to...
This chandelier conservation project involved the center lighting fixture in the Senate Reception Chamber. We focused on cleaning the metalwork and its glass globes. We were asked to simultaneously rectify a persistent short circuit problem associated with the lights within the globes. We discovered that manipulation of the fixtures caused them...
During the renovation of the Hartford Appeals Court building, two exterior torchieres were excessively cleaned and all natural green patina removed. After careful neutralization of the surface, we applied the patination chemicals necessary to restore the green patina to these two lighting fixtures. This process of ornamental metalwork conservation returned...
The mercury gilt and steel balustrade had been constructed by Allard and Sons. Over time, this gold plate had become discolored and required conservation to prevent its eventual loss. In several places, overly aggressive restoration had all but removed the thin layer of gold, exposing the deeper colored bronze. This...
The Lowell Federal Building, formerly a Post Office, was being renovated for the Middlesex Community College campus library. The arcade, which had served as the customer service counter, was enclosed with heavy bronze sash and panels. Over the years, the centers of several of these sash had been cut out for...