Foxing - Does it get worse?

[Red84]

If a book has foxing on it, will it continue to get worse? Or, does the mold growth stop once you take it out of the environment that caused the issue in the first place?

[joe_collector]

The way I understand it, the foxing is the result of the mold/fungus dying, so no, that specific growth will not get any worse but new growth could start.

[passion4comics]

Foxing is a chemical reaction from light. Once you remove it from the source of damage the foxing will stop. Unless it is in contact with another item that will chemically react with the paper. In my opinion, it’s more related to oxidation. I had a print framed with non-acid free matting and it foxed the hell out of it heavily where the mat came into first contact with the print and then faded off. This was a chemical reaction, not mold. I had to send the print out to be dipped which took month.

 

To quote the great Wikipedia" “The causes of foxing are not well understood. One theory is that foxing is caused by a fungal growth on the paper. Another theory is that foxing is caused by the effect on certain papers of the oxidation of iron, copper, or other substances in the pulp or rag from which the paper was made. It is possible that multiple factors are involved. High humidity may contribute to foxing.”

 

[Red84]

Thanks guys

[joe_collector]

Foxing is a chemical reaction from light. In my opinion, it’s more related to oxidation.

 

Actually, I was reading online where a conservation lab did a recent test and a) found the presence of these fungi in cases of paper foxing and b) performed a reinoculation test using these fungi and they produced the same brown spots.

 

So regardless if there are other random factors (like iron in the paper, humidity, etc.), the presence of fungi seems to be required to get the "brown spot" reaction.