TIP #7: Not all dark stains denote an active mold infestation.

Written By Dmitri Schmidt

Just because your paper is free from lignin (remember our old enemy lignin from tip #5?) doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods though. (Get it? Because paper is often made from wood?) Even on higher quality paper that has avoided fading (see tip #6) and toning (tip #5), you may have noticed some brownish reddish (maybe even fox colored) blemishes. If you haven’t seen this before, you can check out the second image above! This is what we call foxing.

The immediate cause of foxing is hotly debated. Depending on who you talk to, they might attribute the damage to mold, oxidation, or even multiple factors at once. Some people don’t even consider it to be damage at all.

What we do know is that repairing foxing is best left to a conservator. DIY efforts are more likely to damage the item further than anything else. So what can you do instead? To preserve the information, it’s recommended to digitize the item, while to prevent further damage make sure the item is stored in proper housing with buffered materials (see tip #4 for more on buffering) and at a low humidity.

Want to learn more about caring for your collection? Check out our webinars on YouTube!

Dmitri Schmidt

Dmitri plays a pivotal role in coordinating Backlog’s outreach efforts. They curate our weekly #FridayFinds and #ArchivalTips social media posts, shedding light on items discovered in our genealogy work and providing tips and tricks to approaching problems in the archives.

Dmitri holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and German Studies from Saint Louis University. During their university years, they dedicated over 1000 hours to interning and volunteering at local St. Louis institutions, including the St. Louis Science Center and the St. Louis University Museum of Art. As the Collections Intern at the Science Center, Dmitri assisted in developing and installing the "Into the Vault" exhibit.

Before joining Backlog, Dmitri served as a Fulbright Grantee, teaching English as a second language in former East Germany. From guiding 11th graders in analyzing pop albums as poetry to discussing the significance of the civil rights movement with 8th graders, they covered a broad spectrum of subjects. While reveling in connecting with students and injecting fun into grammar lessons, Dmitri's deep passion for all things archival eventually drew them back home.

Today, Dmitri works as a Herbarium Assistant at the Missouri Botanical Garden, helping digitize the millions of preserved plant specimens. After being scanned and transcribed, these images aid scholars around the globe in furthering botanical research. Dmitri also serves as the archivist for the Kirkwood Historical Society. They are currently overseeing the “Journeys into Kirkwood’s History” project, which aims to digitize documents related to Kirkwood’s early Black settlements.

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