Preserving cultural treasures

Whether it’s historical buildings or precious old papers and documents , experts rely on GELITA® RESTORATION Gelatin to preserve and restore them.

The naturally elastic binding properties of GELITA® RESTORATION gelatins make them the ingredient of choice for many professional restorers when treating valuable or artistic stucco work. For fine trowel work, warm gelatin is applied to the surface of the render with a fine brush. Combined with various sanding sessions, sculptural work can be returned to its previous perfection.

GELITA is proud that its RESTORATION gelatins have been used to restore the Semper Opera in Dresden, Germany, and the Pont Alexandre III – the longest bridge in Paris.

The complicated paper restoration process has its own requirements – and GELITA gelatins fulfilla number of them. Since the 1850s, paper has mostly been manufactured from wood pulp. However, the acid-based wood glue becomes brittle with time, threatening precious books in archives and libraries and making them vulnerable to decay.

Gelatin has been used as a "natural adhesive" to restore damaged pages or re-glue them. In addition, it can be used to fix the colors and content of historical texts. Even the famous sheet music from Dresden that was severely damaged by the catastrophic floods of 2002 were fully restored with the help of gelatin. Also in the restoration of photographs, glass plate negatives, for gluing furniture and music instruments, gelatin is frequently used and perfectly suited.