Linen Backing is a conservation method used to mount and preserve vintage posters so they can be displayed or framed without compromising value. Damaged posters are stabilized through linen backing and restoration to protect the poster from further damage. Linen backing holds the poster flat and smooth allowing it to be easily handled, stored or framed. For the past 16 years I have been in the lin
en backing and restoration business. During this time my company has linen backed and restored tens of thousands of vintage posters for dealers and collectors worldwide. I am proud to be a part of bringing these works of art back to their original glory. The following article will discuss the importance of linen backing and restoration. Most vintage posters have suffered tears, folds and losses over the years. This makes them look frayed and irreparable. Don’t let this discourage you. An experienced restorer is capable of bringing a damaged poster back to life. Folds can be easily flattened once the poster has been linen backed and tears can be positioned back together. This first step of the linen backing process is the back-bone of bringing your poster back to life. Once linen backed, these folds and tears will virtually disappear when a restoration artist carefully restores color loss using colored pencils and watercolor paints. Losses can be replaced by using a piece of another poster to fill the loss. Most expert restorers have a large archive of scrap posters, which can be used to replace most losses. A properly restored poster can look dramatically better than its former self. Trust an expert
Before you entrust your poster or collection to a restorer make sure you fully understand the techniques that are being used by that restorer. A responsible restorer will only use materials that are acid free and reversible with water. This is an important question to ask before you have your poster linen backed and restored. There are some people who use irreversible mounting adhesives and acrylic paints to restore posters. Acrylic paints and irreversible mounting adhesives will render your poster worthless. Framing a Linen Backed poster
One of the most important thinks to know about framing a vintage poster is how it should be mounted or properly hinged. Most vintage posters need to be mounted prior to framing because of size, condition or fragility. This is where a good linen backer comes in. Although most framers in the country own a dry-mount press, it is important to know that dry-mounting a vintage poster can render the work of art worthless. There are many dry-mount adhesives that have become available over the last 10 years that are advertised as being “Reversible and Archival” but the reality is that the reversibility of these adhesives comes with a price. It not only can be prohibitively expensive to reverse the dry-mount process, but most solvents that reverse these adhesives will also deteriorate the inks in the work of art. There are other dry-mount adhesives that are reversible with heat but the problem is that the adhesive will typically release from the board it has been mounted to and stay bonded to the piece of art. When this occurs, your artwork has been seriously compromised and therefore diminished in value. Although these dry-mount materials may be considered archival the fact that it is so costly and destructive to reverse the dry-mount process the archival mounting process really doesn’t matter. The next thing you should know about framing a vintage poster is that once the poster is properly linen backed by an expert restorer it dose not need any further mounting or stretching. It is easy for most framers who are not familiar with linen backing to think that because a poster is backed to canvas it now needs to be stretched. This is a common misconception. The canvas is there simply to strengthen the backing and protect against tearing. During the linen backing process the canvas tightens on stretcher bars in turn producing a flat product. A poster that has been linen backed can be simply hinged to a piece of acid free foam board using archival tape. The poster should be trimmed to roughly 1/8 inch smaller that the inside dimension of the frame. This is all that needs to be done to a linen-backed poster in preparation for framing. Need More Info? In this article I have touched on a few important things to know about Linen Backing & Restoration. Remember, every poster is different and should be assessed on an individual basis. Before you have your posters linen backed and restored make sure you fully understand what is going to be done to your poster. If you have any questions about linen backing in general or specifics about your vintage poster feel free to contact me at [email protected]
