The Folger Library has one of the largest and most important collections of drawings by George Romney, contained in sketchbooks and oversized albums. The drawings in one of the sketchbooks, executed in iron-gall ink, are severely damaged by ink corrosion: there are fractures, losses and the paper is disfigured by discolouration and offsetting of the image, particularly in heavily inked areas. Our goal was to find acceptable treatments to stabilize the fragile areas, reduce discolouration and to arest the ink corrosion so that the sketchbook coul be rebound in its original leather and marbled-paper binding. The treatmentof iron-gall ink has been problematic for conservators for many years. Not only is there disagreement about the cause of the ink corrosion, acidic components present in the ink recipe, or the accelerated degradation of the paper caused by the catalytic action of iron ions, but there is virtually no consensus among conservators on how to stabilize and treat the damaged areas. Research into this subject has focused on recent studies by European conservators; based on the detrimental effects of iron ions in iron-gall inks, a treatment has been developed that involves cooking the ink-corroded paper. Extensive tests were carried out to determine the effect of this treatment on the iron-gall ink and the paper substrate. The author addresses the problem of securing, friable areas. The paper outlines the physical and chemical results obtained before and after treatment and discusses their ethical significance.