Deep History, Deepening Collaborations

45 Saved from the Flames Revenue Accounts for Dublin Port By Jessica Baldwin, Senior Conservator (National Archives, Ireland) In the aftermath of the 1922 fire, the staff of the Public Record Office of Ireland salvaged over 25,000 sheets of paper and parchment from the rubble in the Four Courts complex. Miraculously an almost-complete set of accounts for Dublin Port, dated April 1818, was among the survivors. The fact that these vulnerable paper records survived is extraordinary, especially when you consider that the vast bulk of the books and papers from the ‘revenue side’ of the exchequer collection in the PROI was reduced to ‘mere flakes’, according to the report of the Deputy Keeper of the PROI after the fire. With support from Dublin Port Company, many of these surviving Dublin Port records have been carefully conserved in the past two years. Over 700 documents have now been repaired and can be safely handled and studied. The first step in the treatment of the records was to carry out much needed surface cleaning. This time- consuming process ensured that potentially damaging granular dirt was removed, often revealing text that had been hidden for a hundred years. Paper is surprisingly resilient and, when necessary, the records were carefully washed to remove soluble and often acidic staining. The majority of the records were creased and crumpled as they appear to have been buried under the debris of the building. These heavy creases were removed using humidity and gentle pressure between blotters and boards. Once cleaned and pressed, paper repairs were applied. The need to strengthen and support the paper had to be balanced with ensuring that the text was legible. Different types of tissues and repair papers were tested to find a compatible match, and adhesives and their applications were trialled and refined. The amazing survival of these records, and the remarkable conservation work carried out on them, presents us with a snapshot of Dublin Port at the end of the Napoleonic wars. We see hundreds of named individuals, often members of the same families, working in a bustling international port. In amongst ships carrying linen exports and wine imports, we encounter fishing vessels, their catch carefully described and the crew members listed. Over 500 receipts for salaries and pensions, possibly recording the entire staff of the port, reveal the economics of this part of the city with fascinating clarity. These rare pages set out, in intricate detail, the operation of Dublin Port in 1818, and explain its integral role in trade between Dublin and other ports in Ireland, Britain and the wider world.