anyone out there have any good ideas on how to put old nautical maps on a wall?
now hold on before you say “tape” or “tacks” !
i found a bunch of old nautical maps, i should say charts, that were my aunts, all of the East Coast…they have her notes and scribbles on them from when she was sailing the Atlantic..has since passed away..
what i would like to do is put all of them up in the stairway at my house, kinda like wallpaper…walls are wood bead board, the wall is on right, two floors high, left is open to living room.
thoughts? questions?
p.s. once i figure how to work the dig camera i will post pics on what i’m working on.
Replies
Get them framed by a quality framer ( not this home building kind of framer) and insist on acid free matting and backing..
a good frame job and they will last a LONG time..
use the picture hangers like in motels so they stay on the wall if need be..or if ya want to take them down and show them in better light, let them be removeable.otherwise a few well placed lights will hilight them well
framing is a must
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
You can do it yourself easy enuf...you want "acid free foam core" as the backing...no cement...and make a frame with UV-resistant light glass.
An art supply store will have everything you need.
“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.
Looking at an expensive process to do what some folks are saying. Right now old charts are not terribly valuble unless they're before 1900. If they're not valuable, have them drymounted onto acid-free mat board. Spray with acrylic picture varnish to protect. This is a reversible process if you ever need to undo it. Heat will release the drymount and solvent will remove the acrylic varnish without damage to the paper. Then you can mount with decorative furniture tacks in the corners or make a grid of thin strips of 1/4 wood, put the charts in the openings and cap with wider 1/4 stock. This should cost maybe $10 or 15 per chart. Or, you could dispense with the drymount and just put acrylic sheet in front with the wood grid. Just make sure nothing on the wall behind will strike through and damage the paper. Cedar or pine has oil and resin that will discolor the paper. Wax paper is an OK barrier. Hanging zillions of pictures in frames would be a pain and not look all that great. A real "gourmet" mounting process, cleaning and de-acidifying, hinge mounting, framing will cost at the very least $100 per chart. If they're worth nothing, wallpaper paste will work. Scanning them and having them printed on large-format inkjet paper or canvas is nice. $5 per square foot minimum. A 4 by 20 foot mural is close to a grand with lamination. Couple hundred bucks without lamination.
Someone recommended to me decoupage supplies, but I've never tried it. Of course, it would not be used for something valuable.
SInce they're old, drywall screws would be historically inaccurate. Since they are nautical, how aboiut dryrot screws {G,D&R}
How old? They themseles may be on an acid based paper and have a limited life without proper treatment.
Try calling any local museums and see if you can get a referral to someone who can give you professional advice on appropriate amount to spend.
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There are photographic shops that can take a small picture and blow it up to the size of a wall. Some will even "posterize" these prints and mount them on large boards that can be hung on a wall.
Why not hang copies and store the originals?
Gord