Sponsorship

Letter from the Privy Council of Scotland, 1546

Privy seal letters giving Archibald, 4th earl of Argyll, property and goods confiscated from rebels (named) who had slaughtered 50 people in Dumbarton and had consorted with enemies of Scotland in burning various parts of the realm. Trace of applied seal, 14 August 1546.

This paper document has become fragile through being folded, from wear & tear and from mildew, and traces of the seal have broken away. The conservators will strengthen the document with a tissue backing and size. The repaired document will be rehoused in a four flap folder.

Cost of repair and repackaging = £165 (GBP) or $210 (USD)

#AA/02

Rental of Morvern, 1662

This 17th century rental records the various farms, their extent and the income (in stones of butter & cheese) collected by the tacksman for Morvern and delivered to the Chamberlain of Argyll in Inveraray for the use of the 9th earl of Argyll.

This paper document has become fragile through being folded, from wear & tear and from mildew. The conservators will strengthen the document with a tissue backing and size. The repaired document will be rehoused in a four flap folder.

Cost of repair and repackaging = £165 (GBP) or $210 (USD)

#AA/03

Inventories of articles belonging to the Duke of Argyll’s yacht, 1702

Following the death of the 1st duke & 10th earl of Argyll, detailed inventories were compiled of all the deceased duke’s possessions, including these inventories of the articles found on board his yacht, from guns, ropes and sails to a wooden bucket.

This paper document has become fragile through being folded, from wear & tear and from mildew and some of the central fold is missing. The conservators will strengthen the document with a tissue backing and size, filling the gap. The repaired document will be rehoused in a four flap folder.

Cost of repair and repackaging = £165 (GBP) or $210 (USD)

#AA/04

Account for the Argyll crop in 1704

Account of charge and discharge compiled in 1705, detailing the income received by Dougald Campbell, chamberlain of Argyll, Cowal, Lorn, Mull and the Isles, on behalf of the Duke of Argyll for crop 1704. This document gives detailed accounts of the income received from all areas of the estate.

This 3 folio paper document is fragile where it has been folded, from wear & tear and from mildew, and small areas of paper are missing.  The document will be pasted onto a tissue backing and the repaired document will be rehoused in a four flap folder.

Cost of repair and repackaging = £210 (GBP) or $260 (USD)

#AA/05

Petition of the heritors of Lismore & Appin, 1724

Representation and Petition from the heritors of Lismore and Appin describing the “deplorable state” of the parish of Appin where the kirk had no roof. The heritors had resolved to enlarge the kirk, raise the walls, add a jamb and a slate roof which would cost 1200 merks Scots. They list how the vacant stipends had been spent, including to “repair and enlarge the preaching house at Lismore” and ask for financial assistance.

This paper document has become fragile through being folded, from wear & tear and from mildew and some of the central fold is missing. The conservators will strengthen the document with a tissue backing and size, filling the gap. The repaired document will be rehoused in a four flap folder.

Cost of repair and repackaging = £165 (GBP) or $210 (USD)

#AA/06

Letter, 1746

A letter from Archibald Campbell in Inveraray, discussing lands forfeited in the aftermath of the Jacobite Rising, 30 September 1746.

The paper for this letter had clearly become fragile from wear & tear and has been virtually laminated with sticky tape. Removing the tape and the adhesive will be tricky. The conservators will need to test the inks before removing the tape. Once it is removed, they will paste the document onto Japanese paper. The conserved document will be housed in a four flap folder.  

Cost of repair and repackaging = £355 (GBP) or $450 (USD)

#AA/07

Rental of Inverawe’s estate in Ardchattan, 1765

This rental details the farms in the care of Duncan Campbell of Inverawe, and the rents, teinds, kanes, customs and casualties payable for each.

The paper has become extremely fragile with extensive damage from wear & tear and mildew, and parts of the document are missing. The conservators will stabilise the paper, paste it onto tissue to give it support, attach a cover and repackage it in a four flap folder                           

Cost of repair and repackaging = £260 (GBP) or $330 (USD)

#AA/08

Petition, 1798

Petition by Thomas Train, late shepherd in the Mull of Kintyre, for a lease of Innenbeg and Innenmore farms, to enable him to keep his stock and provide for his family.

The paper of this petition is fragile from wear & tear and mildew, with parts of the document missing. At some point a tear has been repaired with sticky tape which has adhered itself to the back page of the folio. The conservators will remove the tape, stabilise the document and support it on tissue. The conserved document will be re-packaged in a four flap enclosure.

Cost of repair and repackaging = £210 (GBP) or $260 (USD)

#AA/09

Emigrants’ roll for Tiree, 1847

Roll of emigrants from Tiree, arranged by township and divided between crofters and cottars. It details the number of family members, sex and age range and whether they were ‘Poor’ or ‘Had Means’.

This paper document has been folded into a bundle and the document is weak where it has been folded. To remove the folds, the conservators will humidify the document and support the tears using tissue.  House in polyester support or four flap folder.          

Cost of repair and repackaging = £165 (GBP) or $210 (USD)

#AA/10

Kilcreggan Pier, 1850  

Plan, section and elevation of pier to be erected at Kilcreggan, Rosneath, with permission of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, 9 April 1850. 

This tracing paper plan is extremely fragile from wear & tear along folds. The conservators will humidify and support it on a tissue backing. The conserved plan will be stored in a polyester support. 

Cost of repair and repackaging = £410 (GBP) or $520 (USD)

#AA/11

Brenchoille Farm, 1901

Plan and elevation of Brenchoille Farm Steading near Inveraray, showing proposed alterations (tinted). May 1901.

A linen drawing which is now extremely fragile on the right edge from water damage. There is also some mould staining. The conservators will clean the plan and repair and stabilise the edge damage using Japanese tissue and paper.  The conserved plan will be stored in a polyester pocket.

Cost of repair and repackaging = £165 (GBP) or $210 (USD)

#AA/12

Fionnphort, 1901

Plans for Fionnphort boat slip and a road to the boat slip from c.1900.

These paper plans have been badly damaged whilst they were rolled. The conservators will unroll them, clean and humidify them and stabilise them so that they can be catalogued and used by researchers. The conserved plans will be housed in polyester pockets.

Cost of repair and repackaging the two plans = £320 (GBP) or $410 (USD)

#AA/13

Campbeltown, 1841

Copy plan of the Burgh of Campbeltown, coloured to show existing and proposed feus and made by John Waterston, a surveyor in Glasgow, in 1841.   

This plan has been backed on linen. It is fragile from wear & tear along the folds and more generally. The conservators will clean it using a latex sponge & goats hair brush, humidify, and store it in a polyester roll.

Cost of repair and repackaging = £260 (GBP) or $330 (USD)

#AA/14

North Bridge, 1870

Plan for a bridge at the north entrance to Inveraray Castle (the private entrance today).          

This paper plan is fragile from wear & tear and has deteriorated due to mildew, particularly on the right edge where areas are missing. The conservators will clean and stabilise the plan, support it by pasting onto tissue and infill the edge damage using Japanese paper.         

Cost of repair and repackaging = £165 (GBP) or $210 (USD)

#AA/15

South Kintyre farms

Sketch plan of the southern portion of Kintyre showing the farms belonging to the Duke of Argyll in the early 19th century.

The plan is on paper, backed on linen. The folds double over, concealing some of the annotations. The conservators will clean the plan using a latex sponge and goats hair brush. Where the folds are doubled over and conceal annotations, they will be relaxed with a water pen.     

Cost of repair and repackaging = £120 (GBP) or $155 (USD)

#AA/16

Callander family photo album

This photograph album includes 19th century photos of the Callander family, their friends and the places they visited. It includes a number of images of their work and travels in Argentina.   

This album is in a particularly fragile state. The front board is loose and the spine half detached. There is mould residue throughout, and this has impacted on some of the photographs which have stuck to the opposite page – this may be hard to reverse. The binding requires cleaning to remove mould residue, new cords will be needed on the spine to reattach the front board.                                  

Cost of repair and repackaging = £1,050 (GBP) or $1,350 (USD)

#AA/17

Carte de visite album

Album of 19th century carte de visite photographs which possibly belonged to the Callander family.

This is a full leather photograph album with gilt edges, bound in the ‘perfect’ style, i.e. without sewing cords. The volume block has split in half. The conservators will clean the pages and check reverse of photographs for annotations, re-align the photographs and carry out any photo border repairs. The text block will be removed from case the case, cords will be attached to the spine and the case will be relined.         

Cost of repair and repackaging = £410 (GBP) or $520 (USD)

The condition of many of these records has deteriorated due to use, fire, flood and old age. We present here a selection of these records which have been prioritised for professional conservation treatment, due to their poor condition or the frequency of their use.

As you will see from this catalogue, conservation is an expensive process, requiring specialist skills and knowledge, equipment and materials. We therefore ask for your support.

Sponsors will receive an ‘adoption’ certificate and your generous support will be recorded in the archive catalogue. Most importantly, you will know that you have enabled a unique piece of Scottish history to be preserved.

Descriptions of each piece and of the work which needs to be done are detailed in the catalogue below, with the costs of repair and repackaging.

Please note that sponsors are welcome to sponsor part of the costs of conserving an item – you don’t have to be able to afford the full cost. We will be extremely grateful for whatever you are able to offer.