Tom & Jerry Animation Cel
Object: Animation cel, cel background and window mat
Produced by: Fred Quimby, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc.
Directed by: William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Animation by: Ed Barge, Michael Lah, Kenneth Muse, Irven Spence (uncredited)
Music by: Scott Bradley
Layouts by: Harvey Eisenberg (uncredited)
Background art by: Robert Gentle (uncredited)
Object Date: 1946 (est.)
Materials: Cellulose acetate film with PVAC, alkyd or gum arabic paint, ink, paper board, watercolor, pressure sensitive tape, rubber cement adhesive (est.)
~~~
Description: The object is a Hanna-Barbera hand painted animation cel depicting Tom and Jerry playing croquet from Springtime for Thomas which first aired on March 30th, 1946. The object consists of 3 parts: the animation cel, the painted background, and a window mat.
Condition: Overall, the object is structurally unstable and in poor condition. Each of the three components that make up this object has its own condition issues unique to the materials of which they are comprised. The most pressing condition issues include paint delamination and loss, cockling of the cel substrate and structural instability to the window mat.
Personal Context and Significance:
The animation cel, background and window mat were brought to WUDPAC, as part of a Winterthur-run conservation clinic.
Treatment
Purpose of Treatment
The purpose of treatment is to stabilize the painted elements on the cel and compensate losses to create a more complete picture. Additionally, the window mat should be mended for visual coherency and structural stability. Analysis should be conducted to determine the composition of the substrate and paint layers, which will help to inform treatment.
Treatment (completed)
1. Pre-treatment examination and photo documentation.
2. Conducted solubility testing and FTIR analysis - concluded paints are gum based and the cel is cellulose nitrate.
3. Surface cleaned cel.
4. Cleaned the cel background and removed tape.
5. Consolidated paint on cel.
7. Compensated losses using mulberry paper toned with Golden Fluid Acrylics.
8. Cleaned and mended the window mat using mulberry paper and wheat starch paste.
9. Conducted after treatment photodocumentation.
10. Constructed a passe-partout style storage housing in which the object can be returned to the owner and safely displayed.
Photography
Treatment Photography
Before Treatment
After Treatment
}