wood backboards

[stephen34]

Really old pictures in for refurbishment/repair sometimes have thin wood as a backboard. One in the shop right now has 1919 on the painting. How common was this and when did the practice end? Surprisingly, the art work is often fine in spite of proximity to wood acids etc.

[prospero]

They stopped using them when plywood was invented. In older pictures everything was acidic so wood slats didn't do much more harm than the old strawboard that pics were generally stuck to. I've seen old prints on board where there is a nasty brown streak corresponding to the gaps in the wood slats. Sometimes right though to the front. Goes to show that the atmosphere does more damage than the wood if acidic board is exposed to it for long periods.

[Ricky]

I've Just Finished Re Framing These Victorian Pastels & as you can see they have the thin wood board & the strawboard backing these were circa 1860, there was some damage but overall they wern't to bad,
having said that the artwork paper was very brittle I was petrified it was going to crumble to bits as I handled it but with patience & care, Job Done.