Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts

Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts CCAHA is a nonprofit facility located in Philadelphia offering comprehensive conservation and preservation services.

We are experts in the preservation of the world's cultural heritage. The Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) is a nonprofit conservation facility specializing in the treatment of works on paper, photographs, and books, as well as state-of-the-art digital imaging services. Founded in 1977, CCAHA serves nonprofit cultural institutions, private individuals, and other collecting o

rganizations. CCAHA’s preservation services staff present educational programs, conduct preservation assessments, and develop emergency preparedness plans. CCAHA also offers fellowships, fundraising support, and disaster assistance.

In preservation, the term delamination refers to the complete or partial separation of layers in an object. This often h...
09/08/2026

In preservation, the term delamination refers to the complete or partial separation of layers in an object. This often happens when cardboard or other layered materials come in contact with moisture or water.

Mounted photographs, composite bookboards, and laminated historical documents can be especially vulnerable. Moisture can weaken the adhesives or other bonds holding their layers together, causing them to lift, peel, or separate.

🔗 EExplore this term and more in our Preservation Glossary: ccaha.org/PreservationGlossary

This week, our Manager of Housing & Framing, Josh Rickards, led a Matting and Framing for Preservation workshop at CCAHA...
09/04/2026

This week, our Manager of Housing & Framing, Josh Rickards, led a Matting and Framing for Preservation workshop at CCAHA for staff and representatives from the Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover, DE.

Over the next few months, CCAHA staff will also be working with the Biggs Museum on a preservation needs assessment and additional preservation training through an NEH-subsidized engagement. We look forward to continuing to work together to support the care of the Museum’s collections.

This summer, CCAHA Paper Conservation intern Sophie Henry helped conserve Flowers, a monumental 51 ¼” × 92” watercolor b...
08/31/2026

This summer, CCAHA Paper Conservation intern Sophie Henry helped conserve Flowers, a monumental 51 ¼” × 92” watercolor by artist Dustan Knight from a private collection. As part of the treatment, Sophie helped surface clean the painting and mend tears with mulberry paper. Here, she carefully inpaints along tear edges, helping to visually integrate the mended areas with the surrounding artwork.

Sophie is a graduate student in NYU’s art conservation program, entering her second year this fall. We’re grateful for her contributions to CCAHA this summer and wish her continued success as she pursues a career in paper conservation!

NYU IFA Conservation Center

These 1841 property deeds, held by Lafayette College’s Skillman Library, document the transfer of land on College Hill t...
08/26/2026

These 1841 property deeds, held by Lafayette College’s Skillman Library, document the transfer of land on College Hill that gave the school its permanent home. Their history is tied to the Marquis de Lafayette, whose 1824 tour of the U.S. reignited the spirit of 1776 across a nation approaching its 50th anniversary. Inspired by meeting the last surviving major general of the Revolution, citizens of Easton, PA, founded a college in his honor, chartered in 1826.

To preserve these records of the institution’s founding, our team surface-cleaned the fragile deeds, washed them in calcium phytate and calcium bicarbonate baths to reduce iron gall ink corrosion and acidity, and lined them with mulberry paper to mend losses and stabilize split creases. After a final round of high-res digital imaging, they were encapsulated in polyester film.

Happy 200th to Lafayette College! (And a special shout-out from our Manager of Communications, Marissa Halderman, a proud Lafayette alum! 🐆)

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

Join us September 17 for an in-person workshop at CCAHA, Workshops at the Center: Preparing Collections Materials for Di...
08/25/2026

Join us September 17 for an in-person workshop at CCAHA, Workshops at the Center: Preparing Collections Materials for Digitization. This hands-on workshop will provide practical tips on safeguarding your collection before, during, and after the digitization process.

Digital Archives Specialist, Kaitlyn Pettengill, will introduce concepts of practical, hands-on preparation of physical materials to ensure safe handling and high-quality capture. You will have the opportunity to practice handling techniques with a study collection of various material types. As a bonus, the workshop will include a tour of CCAHA's conservation lab.

Learn more and register: https://ccaha.org/events/workshops-center-preparing-collections-materials-digitization

Happy ! Celebrated every August 19, this day commemorates the moment in 1839 when the French government purchased the p...
08/19/2026

Happy ! Celebrated every August 19, this day commemorates the moment in 1839 when the French government purchased the patent for the daguerreotype process and declared it a “free gift to the world,” paving the way for the widespread use of photography.

To celebrate, CCAHA staff gathered personal photos around the theme of what “sparks joy.” Take a look at a few moments, places, and everyday details that make our team smile.

What’s a photo in your camera roll that brings you joy? Share it in the comments or tag us so we can see!

Working on an oversized book can be challenging. Not only can it be hard to get your arms around it, but standard equipm...
08/14/2026

Working on an oversized book can be challenging. Not only can it be hard to get your arms around it, but standard equipment is too small. Here the conservator is using bar clamps instead of a traditional sewing frame to hold the book in place while sewing. Large books need sturdier materials such as these vellum tapes to support their movement. This book is part of a series of insurance maps of the city of Philadelphia, held by the Free Library.

Free Library of Philadelphia Free Library of Philadelphia Rare Book Department

In preservation, the term acid migration refers to the movement of acidic substances from an acidic material to a less a...
08/11/2026

In preservation, the term acid migration refers to the movement of acidic substances from an acidic material to a less acidic material through direct contact or exposure to acidic vapors. Over time, acid migration can cause materials to weaken, discolor, and deteriorate.

High summer heat and humidity can accelerate the chemical reactions that contribute to this deterioration. You might see the effects of acid migration when an acidic newspaper clipping discolors the scrapbook page behind it, or when non-archival mat board causes a dark, brittle border to form around a print or photograph.

Using acid-free, lignin-free enclosures and appropriate archival barrier materials can help protect collection materials from acid migration and other forms of deterioration.

🔗 Explore this term and more in our Preservation Glossary: ccaha.org/PreservationGlossary

📸 Background image: Notebook page from the papers of economist Allan George Barnard Fisher, darkened and yellowed by acid migration from the acidic book board. An inserted note protected a section of the page, where the paper remains lighter. Courtesy of the Hocken Blog, University of Otago.

Despite unprecedented challenges facing the cultural heritage sector in 2025, CCAHA continued to make an impact through ...
08/07/2026

Despite unprecedented challenges facing the cultural heritage sector in 2025, CCAHA continued to make an impact through resilience, innovation, and collaboration. Thanks to the support of our clients, partners, donors, and friends, we advanced conservation treatment, supported collecting organizations nationwide, and invested in the next generation of conservation and preservation professionals.

Discover the stories behind our work in CCAHA’s 2025 Year in Review: bit.ly/4xnVQoF

This summer, CCAHA Paper Conservation Intern Sophie Henry helped conserve a late 19th-century poster promoting Ernest Ho...
08/04/2026

This summer, CCAHA Paper Conservation Intern Sophie Henry helped conserve a late 19th-century poster promoting Ernest Hogan and Black Patti’s Troubadours, one of the most influential Black touring musical companies of its era. The poster, from a private collection, is being prepared for exhibition at The Morgan Library & Museum.

As one of the final steps in the treatment, Sophie inpainted areas of loss to visually reintegrate the missing printed design, helping preserve an important piece of Black performance history.

Learn more about the Morgan’s upcoming exhibition, Ragtime: Cakewalk in Pianoland, opening this November: https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/ragtime

The Institute of Fine Arts, NYU

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264 S 23rd Street
Philadelphia, PA
19103

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