In 2017, the council of the Mexican City of Puebla asked Carlos Mijares, creator and owner of the EX–LIBRIS® brand, to present a proposal for the conservation and exhibition of the City’s founding documents, including the design of custom display cases. Established in 1531, Puebla, a Baroque architectural blend of American and European styles, is situated at the foot of the majestic Popocatepetl volcano between Mexico City and the Port of Veracruz, and has been a crossroads for both commerce and culture. Its historic center was designated a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1987 and its founding documents joined UNESCO’s Memory of the World in 2015.
Mijares called in a team of conservation experts for the project: Jennifer Bringas, Paola D’Rugama, Judith Gómez and Orlando Martínez-Zapata, and presented an innovative concept. A redwood cedar exhibition case was designed to match the classic style of the City Council’s Palace Library, but with the ultimate conservation technology in the inside.
To preserve and exhibit these documents, microclimate frames with humidity control were used with tarebox® technology, a Mexican development. They also featured conservation quality mounting materials by Lineco® and Optium Museum Acrylic® window frames; a glazing with anti-reflective, abrasion resistant, anti-static and Ultra Violet (UV) light filtering qualities.
The documents required dismounting from their original framing and minor restoration work. Afterwards a colorimetry study was performed for each document to evaluate and record the condition of the inks and pigments.
The newly mounted microclimate frames were placed in the EX-LIBRIS® exhibit cases. These cabinets were made out of redwood cedar, to avoid insect infestation, and sealed with a water-based urethane varnish to minimize the off-gassing on the inside. Both cabinets were equipped with dimmable LED-lighting with a high Color Rendering Index. The cabinets also feature UltraVue® Laminated Glass anti-reflective and UV filtering glazing for additional protection.
The above project resulted in a satisfactory and innovative solution for the preservation and exhibition of these precious documents listed by UNESCO, as Memory of the World.
Click here to view a video of the installation. Video of this project; “EX-LIBRIS® Display cases for the preservation and exhibition of the founding documents of the City of Puebla”. Archivo General Municipal de Puebla, Ayuntamiento de Puebla© 2018.
Featuring technology from: EX-LIBRIS®, tarebox®, Lineco®, Optium Museum Acrylic® & UltraVue® Laminated Glass
About The Author(s)
Carlos Mijares
Carlos Mijares, creator and owner of EX-LIBRIS® brand, has been developing conservation equipment, products and tools since 1989, working with the conservators in charge of the most important collections in Mexico, Central and South America. He is the CEO of Marco Polo, a leading company for Conservation and Preservation in Mexico.