Profile profile for jellis

Janice Stagnitto Ellis

Senior Book & Paper Conservator
Conservation

Master of Science degree and Certificate in Library and Archives Conservation from Columbia University
Bachelor of Science degree in Business administration and Art History from Rutgers College.

Role in Museum: 

Responsible for the conservation, preservation, storage and exhibition of paper-based artifacts such as documents, art on paper and historic books. Surveys paper-based objects going on exhibition or loan to assess their condition and determine treatment needs. Responsible for the cleaning, stabilization and repair of artifacts in preparation for exhibition and loan. Supervision of contractors and interns and management of the day-to-day operations of the Paper Conservation Lab.

Projects: 
  • Girlhood (It's complicated)
  • The Muppets take American History
  • Illegal to be you: Gay History Beyond
  • Everyday Luxury -Silk Quilts
  • Special Olympics at 50
  • American Enterprise
  • Places of Invention
  • The American Revolution: A World War
  • American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
  • Many Voices, One Nation
  • All Work, No Pay
  • Religion in Early America
  • Object Project
  • Draper Spark!Lab
  • The Value of Money
  • FOOD: Transforming the American Table
  • Superheroes
  • Elephants and Us: Considering Extinction
  • Giving in America
  • The First Lady of Song: Ella Fitzgerald at 100
  • Art in Industry
  • Advertising War: Selling Americans on World War I
  • What is a Puppet?: A View of the Puppet collections at the NMAH
  • American Stories
  • Executive Order 9066
  • Hear My Voice: Alexander Graham Bell and the Origins of Recorded Sound
  • Artifact Walls and History Highlights cases
  • ADA: 25 Years of Disability Civil Rights
  • On the Water: Stories from Maritime America
  • America on the Move
  • Creating Icons: How We Remember Woman Suffrage, National Museum of American History
  • Smithsonian's American Women’s History Initiative
  • 1913: The National Woman Suffrage Parade, National Museum of American History
  • Not Lost in Translation: The Life of Clotilde Arias
  • 1939
  • Pictures for Everyone: Nineteenth-century Photographs, Prints and Posters
  • The First Ladies, National Museum of American History. November 2011 permanent installation
  • September 11: Bearing Witness to History
  • The Kennedys: Portrait of a Family
  • Thomas Jefferson’s Bible
  • COBOL
  • Within These Walls
  • Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963
  • The Cosmos in Miniature: the remarkable star map of Simeon De Witt
  • Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors: Photographs by Gertrude Käsebier
  • The Price of Freedom: Americans at War
  • The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise
Professional Affiliations: 
  • American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Professional Associate
  • Washington Conservation Guild

Publications

"Conservation." In The Jefferson Bible, Smithsonian Edition. Smithsonian Books, 2011.

Chapter describing the unique features and conservation treatment of “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth Extracted Textually from the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French & English”, a book made by Thomas Jefferson for his own use, and now usually known as the Jefferson Bible.

"Books." In Conservation Resources for Art and Antiques. Washington Conservation Guild, 2001.

A guideline for collectors on art and antiquities conservation, and what to expect when seeking book conservation services.

"Aloft in a Balloon: Treatment of a Scrapbook of Early Aeronautica Collected by William Upcott, 1783-1840." AIC Book and Paper Group Annual 1997, v. 16, p. 9-13.

A description of the conservation treatment of a scrapbook of early aeronautica in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum’s rare book collection.

"The Shrink Wrap Project at Rutgers University Special Collections and Archives." The Abbey Newsletter 1994, v.18, no. 3.

A description of the use of shrink wrap to protect 30,000 rare books during a collection storage renovation.

"The Shrink Wrap Project at Rutgers University Special Collections and Archives." AIC Book and Paper Group Annual 1993, v. 12, p. 56-60.

A description of the use of shrink wrap to protect 30,000 rare books during a collection storage renovation.

"Caring for your Collections: Protecting your Books from Deterioration and Damage." Orator, Smithsonian Institution, National African American Museum Project, Volume 1, No. 1, February 1993.

Guidelines for the general public on preservation recommendations for books.