Characterization of an early 20th century Chinese manuscript with foxing stains

Abstract

Foxing spots are reddish-brown, brown or yellowish in irregular shapes, commonly discovered on paper materials. However, effects of the spots on degradation of Chinese papers have rarely been reported. In this study, a 20 th century Chinese manuscript with few foxing stains was explored. This manuscript is made of 80% chemical softwood pulp and 20% mechanical softwood pulp, on which foxing spots are surrounded by a clear rim of fluorescence illuminated by UV light. Paper areas with the foxing stains are more acidic than the un-foxed. However, no obvious difference of cellulose crystallinity identified by XRD (X-ray diffraction) were found between paper areas with and without foxing spots. Also, characteristic peaks of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of paper areas with and without the spots do not show obvious difference. Fungal identification of the spots demonstrates that fungi belong to the genus Alternaria tenuissima and Alternaria solani . This research extends our understanding of foxing spots on Chinese archives and informs further preventive conservation.