Owner/Authorized agent: Redwood Library 

Artist: John Raphael Smith, after Joshua Reynolds 

Title: A Bachante. 178[?]             Lab. #: 96.48 

Medium: mezzotint 

Support: medium-weight laid paper 

Dimensions: 38.0 x 27.5 cm (trimmed within platemark) 

identifying marks: in plate, below image: 
 

Watermark: none 

Secondary support/mount: acidic (pH 4.5 measured with Merck ColorpHast test strip) laminated blue and white papers; graphite  
 

CONDITION:  Adhered all corners verso to mount. Corners are severely buckled and creased, the paper compressed from the weight of other album pages.  Dirty margins.  Slightly discolored overall. Stained all corners, probably from adhesive verso. A few other irregular diffuse stains in margins and faint foxing. More severe foxing verso.  Diagonal smoothed-out crease halfway along the right edge, running through the corner of the image to the bottom edge, with significant abrasion of printing ink and paper. Other minor abrasions throughout image. Tiny losses of inking in subject's right proper cheek and nose. Abrasion of inscription along the lower edge, with roughened paper.

1. Erased margins and verso with Magic Rub vinyl eraser; some embedded dirt remains. 
2. Float-washed 3 times with margins immersed in slightly alkaline deionized water (pH 8.0, calcium hydroxide added) to reduce discoloration as far as possible. Exposed to filtered sunlight whilst wet to further reduce foxing and stains recto and verso. 
3. Locally straightened creased corners as far as possible with blotters and weights whilst wet, then straightened print under light pressure between matboard and foam. 
4. Applied Winsor & Newton watercolors on fine brush under magnification to losses in inking. 

Date: 5/16/96