Eventually decided on the frame moulding. Wanted it to look old, but not appear to be at home in a castle. I had many ideas, but settled on this warm, wide, yet delicate moulding. I think it looks great, but might dislike it in 10 years time. Who knows.
This was the first frame I’ve made from scratch using V-nails that professional framers’ use. Initially, I was put off the idea as apparently the machinery is expensive. However, I took a chance on a small hand-levered bench tool and it works perfectly. Just needs a bit of care and time, but the V-nails go in perfectly. Really pleased, as I can do any frame from now on.
Choosing the shade of cream mountboard mat proved to be very tricky. The different shades of white/cream and how they appear in different light and depending on what angle you look at the card is frustrating and the choice of shades is limited when choosing the ultimate cotton museum card. I settled on this Ragmat Shoreline. Really pleased with this shade, as it blends in perfectly and doesn’t make the 400 year old map look brown. A too light a shade, the picture looks too modern and the map stands out too much. The Ragmat cotton museum card is front and back. This card is also buffered with chalk alkaline, so over the years, any acid absorption from the air is neutralised. Artbak backing board (acid free and ph buffered) and the glass is the usual Artglass AR99 museum grade. Whole package costs a lot, but this is conservation of the map and not just for presentation. Takes a fair amount of time and research to do this, but now I know, I’m doing frames a lot faster and my supplies are here ready to use.