ART

Acid from the glue and paper used to mount “The Birds of America,” a set of engravings by 19th-Century naturalist John James Audubon, are slowly destroying the 150-year-old prints, according to University of Illinois librarian Bill Henderson. The Champaign, Ill., university hopes to raise $100,000 to reverse the decay on the 435 prints, bought in 1948 for $10,000. Henderson said that without restoration, the prints will become so brittle that the paper will crumble and they will be destroyed within the next 25 to 50 years. Under the university’s plan, the restored prints at the university will be matted, meaning they won’t be glued to any surface, he said.