Tip #19: Red rot is preventable, but not reversible

Written By Dmitri Schmidt

When you’re unfamiliar with historical preservation, the precautions we take seem like a lot of work (and money) for *potential* risks. You might even find yourself asking wondering, do you really need to be *that* careful? So today we’re going to take a look at one of the worst case scenarios caused by not monitoring your storage environment: red rot.

Red rot is the process of your nice 19th and 20th century leather turning into red (or orange) dust that stains everything around it. (Check out the second picture for an example.) Without getting too far into the chemistry, red rot is caused by certain kinds of tanning and bookbinding processes that make the leather acidic and more likely to convert to bleaching agents. Uh oh! And worst of all, the process is irreversible. Double uh oh!

Don’t want your leather bound book to turn to red dust? Monitor the temperature and humidity.

But what if it’s too late? Once you’ve fixed the environmental problems, the best thing you can do is wrap the book experiencing red rot in acid free paper to prevent the residue from staining nearby materials. If you’re looking to replace the leather, contact a conservator.

Want to learn more about other threats facing your book collection? Check out our webinar on YouTube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUZnW3sA-kI

#ArchivalTips #BacklogArchivists #Conservation #Preservation

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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Tip #17: Do wear gloves when handling photographs.