Ink Fading on Old Documents

[Hypno-Toad]

When the ink on an old document like the Declaration of Independence fades, what exactly is happening? It seems unlikely that the ink molecules are leaving or evaporating so how does it happen? Does the ink simply change color to a lighter shade? If so, can it become totally invisible? Can it be returned to a more visible state? Does it soak deeper into the document and so become less visible?

What gives?

[Amateur_Barbarian]

In some cases, it is a case of ink molecules vanishing - the bonds between them and the paper weaken and they become an almost invisible rain of dust.

The compounds in ink can also chemically change over time. Some iron-based inks (which are common in older eras) can actually “rust” away, the ferrous compound combining with oxy and breaking down.

Plus illuminati, of course.

[johnpost]

oxygen along with light can destroy the pigment molecules that give the color. they don’t have to go anywhere, the just stop interacting with visible light in the same way.

[Duckster]

@Hypno-Toad

When the ink on an old document like the Declaration of Independence fades, what exactly is happening?

One later theory as to why the Declaration was aging so soon after its creation stems from the common 18th-century practice of taking “press copies.” Press copies were made by placing a damp sheet of thin paper on a manuscript and pressing it until a portion of the ink was transferred. The thin paper copy was retained in the same manner as a modern carbon copy. The ink was reimposed on a copper plate, which was then etched so that copies could be run off the plate on a press. This “wet transfer” method may have been used by William J. Stone when in 1820 he was commissioned by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams to make a facsimile of the entire Declaration, signatures as well as text. By June 5, 1823, almost exactly 47 years after Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration, the (Washington) National Intelligencer was able to report “that Mr. William J. Stone, a respectable and enterprising Engraver of this City, has, after a labor of three years, completed a fac simile of the original of the Declaration of Independence, now in the archives of the government; that it is executed with the greatest exactness and fidelity; and that the Department of State has become the purchaser of the plate.”

– snip –

During the years that the Declaration was exhibited in the Patent Office, the combined effects of aging, sunlight, and fluctuating temperature and relative humidity took their toll on the document. Occasionally, writers made somewhat negative comments on the appearance of the Declaration. An observer in the United States Magazine (October 1856) went so far as to refer to “that old looking paper with the fading ink.” John B. Ellis remarked in The Sights and Secrets of the National Capital (Chicago, 1869) that “it is old and yellow, and the ink is fading from the paper.” An anonymous writer in the Historical Magazine (October 1870) wrote: “The original manuscript of the Declaration of Independence and of Washington’s Commission, now in the United States Patent Office at Washington, D.C., are said to be rapidly fading out so that in a few years, only the naked parchment will remain. Already, nearly all the signatures attached to the Declaration of Independence are entirely effaced.” In May 1873 the Historical Magazine published an official statement by Mortimer Dormer Leggett, Commissioner of Patents, who admitted that “many of the names to the Declaration are already illegible.”

America's Founding Documents

[Hypno-Toad]

On a related note(s), what were ancient and medieval inks made of? When did good, non-fading ink come along?

[tellyworth]

Iron gall ink was commonly used as writing ink for centuries. It’s still used today for certain official documents. It’s very long lasting and doesn’t usually fade (though in some cases it can damage the paper). The wiki page has some details about its chemistry.

[Michael63129]

@Hypno-Toad

On a related note(s), what were ancient and medieval inks made of? When did good, non-fading ink come along?

Pencils? Yeah, not ink, but graphite doesn’t fade away, although it can be smeared or erased (but won’t on a protected document). I have seen this myself; even when covered with plastic lamination (I make my own labels by writing on paper then coating it with a thin film of hot melt glue, then a thin layer of plastic, like the sort in clear plastic bags), pen can and does fade over time but not pencil.

[Jonathan_Chance]

I have some 17th century documents, and the ink on those (and the wax seals) is still fairly easy to read. Of course, they’re on vellum and hide rather than paper. That may lead to less fading.