This plat map was mounted on a period muslin fabric. Dirt contaminates are across the surface and cloth frays, crease marks, and border deterioration have affected its stability. Acid stains have caused discoloration, and some instances of the coloring, writing, and stamp-marks have deteriorated.

Testing has begun on all colors and the lead writing. These tests show that some color is friable. The map will be removed from the muslin, as it’ll be easier to deep clean both when they are separate. Acid baths will neutralize and lift the staining. Paper repairs to the areas where the structural integrity is challenged will be made by incorporating new paper of a similar quality. Where necessary in-painting will return the colors to their original state, and the frays along the border will be kept how they are. Once the map and the muslin are ready, they will be re-lined together.

Albert Goodwill Spalding was an American baseball pitcher, manager, and executive in the early years of professional baseball. He co-founded the A.G. Spalding sporting goods company, and following his retirement as a baseball player, he became the president and part-owner of the Chicago White Stockings. He would later call for the commission that investigated the origins of baseball and credited Abner Doubleday with creating the game. He also wrote the first set of official baseball rules. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, a posthomous honor, having passed in 1915 at the age of 66.

Albert Spalding’s 1871 Boston Red Stockings baseball card