This French book of hours was re-bound in the nineteenth century, but that binding had not stood the test of time. Both boards had detached, and the sewing was breaking in several locations. The nineteenth-century binder had also misplaced a bifolio, causing the text to be out of order. Several leaves were missing from the text block, as determined by both structural and textual evidence.
Following disbinding, media consolidation was performed on the more fragile areas of manuscript text. Thorough brush-testing was performed under microscope to find fragile areas. A very thin gelatin solution was applied by brush to flaking media. First, a single drop of ethanol was applied next to the flake to jump-start the capillary action. Then a drop of gelatin was applied immediately after, allowing it to move under the flake and adhere. For the more friable areas of media, gelatin was applied using an aerosol generator.
A cut-away binding model was made as the structural proposal for the re-binding. The model was made in a gothic style with conservation-grade materials, as well as with a concertina guard of Japanese paper. The model helped determine the need for the treatment binding to have a hollow spine, which would help access the gutter of the small text block.
False parchment was fashioned from acrylic-toned Okawara Japanese paper, which was sized with gelatin, pressed, and burnished. This was used as replacement material for the missing leaves in the text block.
Using the fifteenth-century sewing stations, the gatherings were sewn onto four double cords in a herringbone stitch. A Japanese paper concertina guard was incorporated into the sewing. After lining the spine, a simple back-bead endband was sewn to strengthen the text block and assist the spine opening.
Boards made of layered matboard were shaped to the slope of the shoulders, and channels were cut for the cords to pass through. After pulling the cords through their channels, they were pegged into place. The linen flanges were then adhered to the inside of the boards.
An alum-tawed calfskin was cut to size and edge-pared. The book was then covered, with no paste applied to the spine area to create a natural hollow (or “baggy back”)—this allowed the text block to keep its flexible opening action.
A cloth-covered clamshell box was fashioned to hold the newly bound manuscript. A secondary compartment holds the removed 19th-century binding materials, and a pressure lid will prevent the parchment text block from expanding.
The Frederick Douglass Collection is a small group of historically significant manuscript documents pertaining to Frederick Douglass, previously owned by the Auld family, his enslavers during his early life. The group includes Hugh Auld’s copy of the 1845 bill of sale of Frederick Bailey; letters to Hugh Auld regarding Douglass’ purchase of freedom; two letters from Douglass to the Aulds; and correspondence between Helen Douglass and the later owner of these materials.
These items were previously mounted in a scrapbook when they were a private collection, and some of the mounting papers were still adhered to the documents. The former collector had also applied mends to some tears on the documents using thick paper that covered areas of text. It was decided that all of these—the mounting papers and mending papers—should be removed.
Scientific analysis, using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, determined that all of the papers were applied with a starch-based adhesive, which meant they could be easily removed using water.
Strips of gellan gum were cut to the exact size of the papers being removed. This softened the adhesives and released the unwanted papers without wetting the documents themselves or disturbing the iron-gall ink.
Once the old mending papers were removed, they were replaced with new, minimal mends. The paper used for the new mends is nearly invisible once applied; it is made of a combination of kozo (a type of Japanese mulberry) and nanocellulose. Like the old mends, the new ones were applied with a starch paste, so they can be easily removed in the future if necessary.
This was a multi-year project overseeing the care of 165 pre-1700 English-language texts in preparation for digitization for the EarlyPrint Library project. The items ranged from single-leaf broadsides to thick Sammelbände.
An item-level survey was conducted to characterize the condition and readiness of the materials for digitization. The primary goals were stabilization to prevent further damage and increased access to the texts—the digitization process requires an opening angle of at least 100°. Sixty of the items required treatment of some kind.
Many of the bindings were original or contemporary to the imprints; the goal for these was stabilization with minimal invasiveness. Loose boards were reattached, and tears were mended. A small minority of bindings required re-backs.
Other materials were in later bindings or library bindings, many of which were acidic and impeded text-block opening. Several were washed, resized, guarded, and sewn into new wrappers or bindings.
Atlas Photographique de la Lune was published in twelve volumes over the course of fifteen years (1896-1910). It includes twelve volumes of text, alongside twelve volumes of large-scale heliograph photogravures depicting the moon's surface. Each plate also possesses a translucent tissue overlay with a key mapping out the geological features seen in the photogravure.
This copy was suffering from many ailments: curled plates, water staining, and heavily damaged tissue overlays. Treatment involved humidification and flattening of all of the plates, mending the plates with Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste, and mending the tissues with "optically cleared" heat-set tissue to minimize increases in opacity. Several plates were also washed in alkalized water to remove staining.
Each volume was housed in an alkaline-buffered folder reinforced with barrier board. Large-scale "photo corners" were made to hold the volume's contents (seven plates and six tissues). All tissues were placed in polyester L-sleeves. A pair of two-piece archival boxes were retrofitted to hold the folders.
This seventeenth-century binding had detached boards and damaged leaves. The original spine leather was gently lifted from the text-block to access the sewing; it was protected by a facing of Japanese tissue applied with Klucel G. Cord extensions were created using linen thread passed through the original sewing stations. These threads were frayed and inserted into the split boards.
Color-matched Tyvek was used as the initial re-backing layer, with channels cut for the raised cords. The spine leather was adhered over the Tyvek, keeping the original shape of the tight-back structure.
Paper mends were also performed on the early leaves of the text-block, which had suffered the most damage.
A series of five 1930s Soviet propaganda posters were in a heavily degraded state and too delicate for exhibition. Each underwent table-washing, using deionized water alkalized to pH 8.5 with calcium hydroxide. Old, acidic backings were removed, and a new lining of Japanese tissue was adhered with wheat starch paste using the hikkake dropping stick. Significant losses were filled and color-matched using acrylic paints and artist's pencils.
An old leather re-back on this eighteenth-century tight-back had degraded to the point of falling away. After removing the previous re-back leather, the frayed board corners were consolidated and covered with color-matched Japanese tissue. The boards were re-attached with aero-linen, which was adhered to the spine and inserted into the split boards. New endbands were sewn where the originals had been lost. Archival calfskin was color-matched and edge-pared before being applied as a new re-back. A leather spine label was also stamped with gold foil.
Buckminster Fuller made 200 mimeographed copies of his “4-D Time Lock” essay in 1928, long before he became famous as a designer and inventor. This copy was put into a case-binding in the 1970s, glued up with correspondence between Fuller and another architect. The decision was made to separate the mimeographed text (which was also staple-bound) from the typed and handwritten letters.
The case was cut away from the text-block, and gellan gum was used to soften the glue (likely a PVA) holding together the different elements. The staples were removed from the essay. The cover pages were washed in alkalized water and lined with Japanese tissue, and paper mending was completed throughout the text-block.
The glue from the 1970s binding was sufficient to hold the essay together as a sort of "perfect binding," whereas the staples had caused the delicate pages to break along the margin. The original black cloth spine covering was mimicked with color-matched Japanese tissue.
A cloth-covered clamshell box was fashioned to hold the essay, with a slot to hold a post-bound portfolio containing the correspondence leaves in polypropylene sleeves.
This large-format rolling map required both treatment and a creative housing solution. The intaglio image was printed onto four separate sheets of paper, which were backed with canvas prior to being mounted on the wooden frame and roller. The tight rolling diameter had caused distortions and delamination, especially in the line of weakness at the horizontal joint between sheets, where dramatic peaking was occurring.
Two narrow strips of a heavy Japanese tissue were color-matched and adhered to the canvas lining along the horizontal joint. These provided a counteracting force that flattened out the peak. The paper was then re-adhered to the backing with wheat starch paste.
The housing took inspiration from the Japanese futomaki tradition used to hold hanging scroll paintings and prints. A large Ethafoam cylinder (6" in diameter, 70" in length) was shaped using a custom-made loop knife, cutting a cylindrical channel through its length at a diameter slightly larger than the map’s roller. The Ethafoam was then covered in a soft-grade Tyvek. The map’s roller was inserted into the channel, and the map was wrapped around the futomaki with alkaline-buffered paper. A custom two-piece box was retrofitted to suspend the futomaki.
This volume had split entirely in half, right down the middle of its spine. It also had broken board hinges. A previous treatment had used Japanese tissue repairs on the hinges, applied to the exterior and interior. However, the repairs' adhesion had degraded, and the paper strips were falling off.
The old repairs were removed using gellan gum as a poultice to reactivate the adhesive. After the degraded spine leather and spine lining were removed, a new lining was adhered. First, a layer of Japanese tissue was used to consolidate the spine, then a layer of aero-linen was applied with flanges for the board reattachment. Additional sewing was performed across the text-block split through three sections on either side of the break. The split also received an extra layer of lining to counteract peaking.
This book was originally a tight-back, but a hollow would help it perform better. Thus, a tube hollow of handmade paper was applied to the spine, along with false raised bands to mimic the original structure. Archival calfskin was dyed, pared, and applied as a re-back with wheat starch paste.
When it came down to the lab, Frank Lloyd Wright's celebrated portfolio was in disarray. The two four-flap enclosures were damaged beyond use. Many of the delicate tissues were damaged, with some partially or fully broken away from their corresponding plates. The housing was inappropriate and causing further damage.
First, the plates were separated from the four-flap enclosures and placed in alkaline-buffered folders. Mending was carried out on all plates: wheat starch paste and Tengujo repairs on the heavy paper and heat-set repairs on the tissues.
With the curator's input, we decided not to reattach any tissues that had broken away from their plates; these were protected in polyester L-sleeves. Tissues that were still partially attached were reinforced with heat-set tissue. Those plate/tissue pairs were protected in a two-flap enclosure of alkaline-buffered interleaving tissue.
A two-piece archival box was retrofitted to hold each volume. The stack of plates in their folders sits on the bottom in a tray with handles; the corresponding four-flap enclosure sits on top in a second tray.
This 19th-century volume was half-bound in goatskin, with a tube-hollow spine and false raised bands. Due to the glossiness, bright color, and pronounced texture of the goatskin, I thought it would be a good candidate for attempting a re-back using a cast-composite leather replica.
The process of making acrylic-based cast composites was introduced by Sarah Reidell and Grace Owen-Weiss at the 2010 AIC Annual Meeting. First, a mold negative is produced by casting a piece of leather in silicone rubber, which captures the delicate texture of the animal skin. Acrylic paints are then cast into the mold in layers, with a support (paper, cloth, etc.) laid into the final layer.
A set of cast-composite samples was made using a variety of supports to find the ideal system: Tyvek, Tengujo Japanese tissue, Hollytex non-woven polyester, Teflon film, and aero-linen. The aero-linen support was found to be ideal for this project because it was the most robust option and exhibited sufficient flexibility.
The cast composite was cut to shape, and the underside was sanded at the turn-in areas to increase flexibility. It was adhered under the original leather on one board. Once dry, it was worked repeatedly around the false raised bands with a Teflon folder in order to stretch and shape the material.
The cast composite was adhered over the spine with a mixture of wheat starch paste and Lascaux 498-HV acrylic adhesive. The wheat starch paste allowed for a longer open time, and the water content softened the acrylic composite for shaping.
