how to stabilize a paper label?

[NOLA_Ken]

I found this old whiskey bottle hidden in a wall some years ago. I've never done anything to it because the label is really brittle and I don't want to destroy it. Without the label, it's just another amber whiskey, so I'd like to preserve it if possible.

Just wondering if anyone has any knowledge of how to go about cleaning it up, softening the paper and reattaching it?

 

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[Clay Diggins]

Years ago the Metropolitan Museum and the British Museum conducted a lot of research in paper conservation. The ultimate cleaning method was found to be a repeated soaking in distilled water without any other cleaning solutions or brushing.

The object is to gently expose the paper to very cold water alternated with lukewarm water in a large stainless steel vat. Soak times per cycle are in the range of 24 - 100 hours depending on the amount of debris and staining. The paper has to be supported on a thin porous frame much like a silkscreen frame. There is a trick to getting the paper into and out of the water baths without disturbing the form of the paper.

I don't know how to date your bottle exactly but it's later than 1890 so your paper is probably sulfide rather than rag. In that case the original starch based glue would probably be the best and most historically accurate way to reattach the paper once it's cleaned.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Nice preservation information!