You could use a removable spray mount (Super 77) or something similar and glue a light weight canvas to the back to give it support, but still keep the wooden dowels on the map to give it that old school look
Great find by the way.

Contact a professional paper conservator. You can find one in your area by going to www.conservation-us.org.

Find a vintage poster shop (like Retro Gallery in Houston) or any of the IVPDA members. They all know paper restoration experts around the country, one of the best is in Portland. Essentially what you want done is linen backing, the map is removed from its backing and mounted on linen using a water soluble paste. Its museum quality paper preservation. They can also clean it for you and repair the tears. I've had loads of posters go through the process in much worse condition than your map and they all came through great including tears and missing sections.

Good luck!

You don't do anything. You take to a restorer. If you are in DC, I believe the Old Print Shop in Georgetown can help.

please don't use a commercial spray adhesive--they are typically highly acidic, and will cause further deterioration (embrittling, yellowing, etc) over the years. you should definitely consult a professional restoration or conservation place to help you with your needs. they may determine that the piece is not super valuable, in which case you could do some basic page repairs and frame it with UV-protectant glass. or they could recommend a full repair.

I know some people have already said it, but I'm going to say it again:

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD, DO NOT APPLY A SPRAY ADHESIVE TO THE MAP.

Take it to a restoration/archival preservation specialist, if you really want to do it right. They should be able to give you a range of options, depending on how much the piece is worth and how much you want to spend/are able to spend.

Do yourself a HUGE favor: take it to a professional framer (aka someone that has certifications in framing [www.pmai.org] - NOT the framing department at Michael's or the like) - they can be sure that the map is mounted using preservation quality materials (including non-acidic matting and UV protective glass). It's going to be expensive, but if you're serious about wanting to preserve it (and display it) it's really the only viable option.

When choosing a place for display do your best to ensure that it does not receive direct sunlight or is exposed to other conditions (like extreme temperature changes, fluctuation in humidity, exposure to pollutants like smoke, etc).

If you cannot afford to have it professionaly framed, I suggest buying a preservation quality box to house it until you can afford to have it done. http://www.gaylord.com/ is a good resource for such boxes.

Carrie, here--thanks, everyone, for your input! Yes, I'm certainly going to consult a professional with one of the organizations mentioned above--I wouldn't dream of trying anything myself. Does anyone happen to know what such repairs might cost, out of curiosity? Framing is probably out of the question as it is such a large piece--and I think it would really alter the charm of a school map, too. We're completely in love with it, as my husband is half-Belgian and we just bought a small farm here in the mountains of NC. Pretty excellent coincidence to find such a map, no?

This post cracked me up because my husband and I have an almost identical dilemma about an old, slightly mildewed schoolmap of Louisiana.
Is yours too tattered to simply hang it from the dowels? If it is still relatively strong, you have to decide how much you're willing to spend. We love our map, but after getting a quote of $850 for framing it, we decided that instead, keeping with the schoolhouse theme, we would just mount it on cork using very large pushpins: http://www.schoolsin.com/unframed_premium_natural_cork_boards/GHE-12UK46.html
Ours no longer has the dowels to hang it, for starters, and for another, it seems to me that it is not a precious thing and thus its imperfections are part of its charm. If it costs hundreds of dollars to preserve, you have to ask yourself if it's really necessary. I can furnish a whole room for $850! But everyone has their personal priorities...BTW we have a huge US map from 1957 on its wooden dowel in my 5 yo's room and it's fabulous!

For a lower cost the piece could simply be large format scanned and reprinted by any print shop, keeping some of the damaged paper look while allowing you to actually store the map away safely. From there just plakmount it (I did this with a large modern 4'x6' map) It is pretty inexpensive (under $100) and it has mounting areas for screws/nails carved right out of the fiberboard mount

I'm having a similar problem with two WWII RAF maps with linen backings. I don't think they're anything valuable, but I like them and I would hate to see them deteriorate. I bought cheap poster frames from Ikea, then called around for quotes on custom cut acid-free mat boards and backings. Oh my god, some of the quotes I got were ridiculous. Some of the framers wanted close to $200 for two sets of mats and backings. I finally found an art supply store that would do it for $100, but I can't imagine the cost of sending the things to a paper restoration expert and then to a framer.

Framing it could easily cost $800, as one person said. Though for that size, you'd want acrylic glazing and not glass. It's much lighter and actually clearer since it does not have the green (iron) tint. There are museum-grades that virtually eliminate reflection, too.

I would frame it if you want to preserve it, but I agree it would take away some of its charm.

If all you want to do is enjoy it as long as you can, get it professionally (key word: conservation) mounted, and have the paper sprayed with a product like Archival Mist that will neutralize the acids in the paper. Enjoy it out in the open, but realize that moisture and UV rays will eventually cause it to deteriorate. Maybe in 1 year, maybe in 5.

What a beautiful map. I have quite the soft spot for maps. They make such beautiful art. I purchased a map of Beacon Hill and had it framed at Caswell Galleries on Charles Street and they did a wonderful job. Recently I have been working with Boston Art out of the Design Center. They are art consultants and are used to working with all types of media including items that have been damaged. I would check them out. And if you have time check out my post at www.findthepretty.com on Maps as Art: http://findthepretty.com/2010/05/maps-as-art/

Gorgeous map.

I'm a museum collections manager (sorry this is going to be long!).

Ideally, take it to a conservator who will probably line it and encourage you to frame it properly with an acid-free mount and backboard to buffer it from the environment. They will probably charge you an hour's work to look at it and give you a quotation (be slightly wary of those who don't charge for a quotation, it sometimes means they don't look at it properly). Lining a piece that big is several days work so will cost hundreds. Framing will also be a similar amount because your framer can't use standard card to cut the mounts from.

If you can't afford that... it is possible to be pragmatic, the secret is just not to do anything that will damage the map further and prevent it being properly conserved in the future. It looks from these photos that if you hang it from the dowels the main problem is you'll put it under stress and the tears will get worse. So you need to support the torn areas. But not with spray mount! Get some archival (which means it won't yellow with age) water-based (which means it will be reversable if the map is printed, if it's hand coloured be more careful) pva glue - bookbinders use it, it's not too hard to find - and gently glue the torn areas back to the backing paper using the minimum of glue. If the backing paper is missing, get some *thin* japanese paper (which doesn't yellow with age) and gently glue patches on the reverse using the minimum of glue. Don't make them so big they add to the weight significantly, be careful they don't put extra stress in the paper. Document this photographically so if you do take it to a conservator in the future they'll understand what you did where and be able to reverse it easily.

Then hang it out of direct sunlight. It's belgian so it'll be used to a moderate humid atmosphere - probably around 55% humidity. Try and find somewhere for it in your house for it that is stable-ish, not too damp, not too dry. Away from heat sources like radiators or incandecent lights. Don't put a picture light over it.

Best not to put it into a cheap frame where it's sandwiched straight against glass or perspex, it's more likely to get damp in areas and suffer from foxing. At 4x6 you'll probably struggle with any frame anyway. Dust it gently with a feather duster regularly - don't vacuum it or use spray of any sort.

Honestly, if you do that it'll cope for at least another 10 years. By which point you'll know if you want to spend lots of money on it or sell it on.

Can you just hang it as is? on the rods the way it was meant to be displayed? I have a very old map on wooden rods and I wouldn't dream of displaying any other way. Mine is made very sturdy and I think any of the discoloration is part of the charm. As long as you don't hang it in direct sunlight I'm sure it will be fine.

philippat, your thorough response has made my day! That was exactly the information I needed--what I might be able to do to mitigate the effects of aging while saving up the funds to hire a professional for a full-on conservation effort. I will try to be the best custodian possible until then. Thanks!

So wonderful to come across this! My hubby and I just purchased a 1950's old hanging map of the USA on wooden dowels and I was looking for advice on hanging. I will certainly be checking back at this chain for tips as I go. Carrie, your Belgian map is lovely! Best, Annie from DC.