Sir William Johnson: Major General of the British forces in America

stained and torn mezzotint engraving of a man in military uniform standing next to a cannon before conservation treatment

mezzotint engraving of a man in military uniform standing next to a cannon after conservation treatment

Sir William Johnson: Major General of the British forces in America, 1756, by Charles Spooner (ca. 1720-1767).

This rare 18th-century mezzotint engraving was conserved in 2009. The engraving was formerly owned by the Riggs family, a member of which, E. Francis Riggs (1851-1910), donated the funds for the construction of Riggs Memorial Library in Healy Hall. Sir William Johnson was a distant relative of E. Francis Riggs’ mother. Conservation of the engraving included: surface cleaning; separating the engraving from its acidic backing and treating aqueously to reduce acidity; reducing staining and discoloration; mending tears and breaks with Japanese paper; filling in paper losses with matching western paper; and retouching areas of loss with Winsor and Newton watercolors.