I just had to share this beauty of a box that was made by conservation technician, Chris Voynovich, to house the Public Library’s collection of Marguerite Lloyd’s diaries. These ten diaries are part of the library’s Genealogy & Local History Department. Marguerite Lloyd was the daughter of Major Harlan Page Lloyd, the former law partner of Alphonso Taft, the father of President William Howard Taft.
Chris created this lovely cloth covered clamshell box with two removable trays that each house 5 diaries. The compartments for the two smaller diaries have a custom fill to accommodate for their smaller size. All the diaries have received a polyester jacket and the linen tabs under each volume make them easy to remove and handle.
Jessica Ebert (UCL) – Conservation Technician, Lead Photographic Documentation Tech
Category Archives: Enclosures
Comics by Chris
Check out the latest comic creation from our conservation technician, Chris Voynovich [PLCH], inspired by a recent enclosure project for Hebrew Union College…
“Loving the Japanese Style Cloth Covered Four Flap Enclosure with Bone Clasps” by Chris Voynovich
Want to create your own one page wonder of this fantastic comic?Go right ahead, print double sided to include The Preservation Lab information and links —OnePgWonder_JapaneseStyle4FlapWithInterior
The slow march towards the digital age…
Our colleagues in the Classics Library sent us an interesting housing project. The goal, to secure and keep together a textbook and accompanying electronic content.
The additional electronic content was not in the form of a URL for on-line supplements, nor a DVD, but a small shiny USB drive. The drive was originally attached it to the book at 
the end of a long silky bookmark adhered to the text block. A neat idea, but the drive was almost impossible to use attached to the anchor of the heavy book.
Ah, the mashup of the old and new!
Our solution was to make a simple corrugated enclosure with a volara foam compartment and a photographic surrogate on the end of the bookmark. The surrogate directs users to the compartment holding the USB port. Additionally, a message in the item record alerts library workers to “check for one USB device”.
To me the pleasure of this item is that it illustrates so clearly the tension between the easy functionality of the book and the limits of its fixed form. It also speaks to how slow the march towards the digital age feels – illustrating a change in technology without much of an improvement, such as the move from DVD to USB storage.
[And here is where I lament that I STILL don’t have a hovercraft or a robot maid.]
Though many of us have vowed to get out of the prediction game, let me predict in 10 years our students will marvel at this USB device the way they do now at floppy disks and zip drives.
LONG LIVE THE BOOK!
Enclosure by Jessica Ebert, conservation technician
Holly Prochaska (UCL) —- Preservation Librarian
The Preservation Lab…in the news
Check out this new article about the work of the Preservation Lab by our collaborator Melissa Norris, with assistance from Ashleigh Schieszer, Jessica Ebert, and Kevin Grace at https://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/source/preserving-taft/.
Isn’t Preservation just so cool!
Ashleigh Schieszer works on Taft’s maquette. (Photo credit Jessica Ebert)
And for our loyal followers a bonus image of the housing of the William Howard Taft letters…
Encapsulated binding by Chris Voynovich, design by Ashleigh Schieszer (photo credit Jessica Ebert)
Slipcase Race
One of the Lab’s big projects recently has been to help the University of Cincinnati’s Classics Library with preparations for a move of a large section of their collection’s rare books. Moves like this are a great opportunity to assess the condition of a collection, and to provide enclosures for more vulnerable materials so they are protected in transit and beyond. In this particular case the Librarian also requested the lab maintain visibility of the original books as much as possible.
There are quite a few vellum books in the Classics Library collection. Vellum bindings are generally pretty sturdy, but may become brittle over time. They can also expand and contract quite a bit more than other types of bindings, depending on the relative humidity where they are stored. The Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of Technology has a fun time-lapse video demonstrating this effect – the book looks as if it’s haunted! Given time this expansion and contraction can cause distortion.
Hard-sided slipcases do make it possible to protect most of a book while keeping its spine decoration and information visible, but they are not generally a preservation go-to. They can abrade the edges and covers when pulling the book in and out, and they don’t usually hold up over time because it can be difficult to insert fingers around the book to pull it out if the case is tight, resulting in a broken box or, alternatively, damaged endcaps.
A soft-sided slipcase can work well for vellum-bound books. The vellum is smooth, so abrasion is not a concern. The flexible sides give a little when reaching fingers in to remove a book, so the box won’t eventually fail and there is no need to grab the book from its endcap, damaging it. The cloth allows the book to breathe and flex somewhat, while at the same time preventing it from expanding too far at the fore edge, and squeezing its neighbors.
With a deadline looming we needed to figure out a way to produce soft-sided slipcases quickly and easily. Our solution was to create a template in an Excel spreadsheet, allowing us to simply plug in the book’s measurements and know exactly what size to cut the cloth and where the creases need to be, without needing to have the book handy.
We measured several books where they were, then took the measurements back to the Lab, where we used the spreadsheet to make a handful of slipcases. I was holding my breath when the time came to unite them with their books. Much to my relief they fit perfectly!
Check out this picture showing 4 vellum books – the one on the left was already housed in a hard-sided, cloth-covered, board slipcase, while the 3 on the right are in the brand new soft-sided cloth slipcases. The books are protected, but the spines are still visible. Win, win.
Now that we know it works it’s time to go ahead and make the rest of them!
We’d like to share the Excel spreadsheet used to create these slipcases – Soft-Sided_Slipcase_template. Try it out and let us know what you think!
Veronica Sorcher (PLCH) – Conservation Technician
18th Century Poetry Pamphlets
This past April, during one of the UCL Special Collections meetings, the Lab received a new stabilization/housing project; a collection of Latin poetry pamphlets translated into German from 1830-1917. This collection of 79 volumes is part of the Classics Library’s collection. While the Lab will be treating and housing all 79 volumes, the collection is being brought to the Lab in small, manageable batches. The first batch received by the Lab were pamphlets bd.66 to pamphlets bd.79.
After consulting with the Lab’s conservator, each pamphlet was evaluated and treated individually. The condition of each pamphlet greatly varied; some pamphlets were in good condition, with only small tears along the outer joints of the paper cover. Other pamphlets were in poor condition, with missing covers, detached covers, split textblocks, torn or missing covers.
After the first batch of pamphlets was evaluated and treated, four stabilization treatment types were established for future batches. According to the condition of the pamphlet, from good condition, fair condition, poor condition, to severe condition, each pamphlet received either no treatment, a minimal treatment, a minor treatment, a major treatment with stabilization though encapsulation, respectively. For future batches received by the Lab, the same treatments will be applied with small variations when needed.
No treatment: For any pamphlets in good condition do not require treatment, these pamphlets will simply be surface cleaned and receive a polyester film jacket.
Each image below shows an example of the treatments mentioned above. Click on the photo to view the full size image:
Fair condition/ minimal treatment: This group of pamphlets were in fair condition. There were minor tears on the cover that were mended.
Poor condition/minor treatment: This pamphlet was in poor condition. The cover was torn and detached and the textblock was broken with loose gatherings. The cover was mended and the textblock was repaired. The cover was reattached to the textblock.
Severe condition/ Major treatment – stabilization through encapsulation: This pamphlet was received in severe condition. The covers were detached from the textblock and showed major losses. The textblock was stapled and the staples had corroded overtime which stained the paper. The staples were removed and the textblock was sewn. The covers were encapsulated and sewn onto the textblock using Usu Mino tissue hinges.
Once the treatment of the first batch of pamphlets was concluded, the pamphlets were housed together in a custom made corrugated clamshell box with a clear spine. This model of a modified corrugated clamshell box will be used for the future batches of these pamphlets that the lab receives from the Classics Library.
Modified corrugated clamshell box with a clear spine.
Modified corrugated clamshell box with a clear spine.
At the moment, I am working on the second batch of pamphlets; pamphlet bd. 50-bd. 65. On this second batch most pamphlets are in poor condition. The covers are detached and some pamphlets have missing covers. However, the textblocks are in good condition. Below you will find a sneak peak of this ongoing treatment.
Pamphlets bd. 43 – 49 – small portion of the second batch of pamphlets received by the Lab.
Catarina Figueirinhas (UCL) — Sr. Conservation Technician
Photographic Documentation: Jessica Ebert (UCL) — Conservation Technician
Fun with PhotoDoc – Edition 4
The amazing enclosure made by our very own conservation technician, Chris Voynovich, for volume 1 of the W.S. Porter Collection.
We very recently returned a two volume collection of photographs taken by William S. Porter, known as the W.S. Porter Collection, to the Public Library. William S. Porter is known in Cincinnati as one of the two photographers responsible for the 1848 Cincinnati Panorama (you can read more about and even explore this amazing daguerreotype panorama here). Volume one of the collection consists of 7 cased photographs (including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes) and 1 non-cased tintype, all reportedly taken by W.S. Porter, while volume 2 consists of one framed daguerreotype of W.S. Porter and a preservation print of that photograph. When these photographs arrived in the Lab for treatment, many of the cases were damaged (especially along the spine – some broken completely, one previously “repaired” with tape, etc.), the framed photograph needed re-packaging, and the collection needed two custom enclosures (vol. 1 & 2) to safely store all the photographs.
(Left) Before “bench” photos of one of the cased photographs labeled “John Wesley Lever”, (Right) After photos of the mended case.
Now, as anyone who does photographic documentation will tell you, taking treatment documentation photos of photographs is a pain, especially on the copy stand (i.e. from above) and especially when you were trained in-house in a book and paper lab. Glass objects just aren’t as common around these parts. During PhotoDoc glass just acts as a mirror, reflecting all your light and even your camera lens and obstructing the actual photograph you are trying to capture. But we knew that we wanted some good quality photos of the photographs to print as surrogates and to also use in the enclosures. Black foam core and an Olfa rotary cutter to the rescue! Using these two supplies I created a non-reflective black surface to place around the camera lens to help reduce reflections and absorb light.
In order to mount this black foam core on the camera lens I measured the diameter of our lens and the distance from the edge of the lens to the neck of the copy stand when the camera was in place.
The foam core allows enough flexibility for the deflector to just slide past the UV filter and snap into place securely.
With the black non-reflective board in place, I was able, with guidance from our conservator, to get some pretty good shots of the photographs to be used as surrogates. The photos were also printed out and attached to the back of individual tuxedo boxes for each cased photograph. Instructions to “store face down” were placed on the front of each tuxedo box to assist patrons in proper storage. (The glass on all of these photographs is degraded and if stored face up the glass can actually weep onto the photograph causing significant damage, therefore cased daguerreotypes/ambrotypes/tintypes are generally stored up-side-down to prevent further damage to the actual photograph). All of the tuxedo boxes for volume 1 were housed within a two-tiered clamshell box with two removable trays made by our resident “Box Master”, Chris Voynovich. It should be noted that it’s a miracle this enclosure made it out of the lab and back to the Public Library, because several staff members were so enamored with it and thought it would make the best jewelry box! I mean, it kind of would, wouldn’t it?
Here are the images I was able to obtain using my homemade non-reflective board:
Jessica Ebert (UCL) – Conservation Technician
Nineteenth Century Buddhist Religious Treatise
In August of this year, the Lab received a Palm leaf book from Archives and Rare Books library during one of our usual monthly meetings. This item was brought to the Lab to receive a new enclosure for a better long-term preservation storage and easier access. Along with a new enclosure, the Lab was asked to create two surrogates of one of the original Palm Leaves for classroom use. Under the direction of Ashleigh Schieszer, lab conservator, technician Chris Voynovich constructed the housing working closely with Catarina Figuierinhas who created the surrogate leaves.
Creating Surrogates
In order to create an accurate surrogate of one of the Palm leaves, the Palm leaf book was taken to the University of Cincinnati Digitization Lab to be photographed with a PhaseOne Reprographic System. This system includes 60 MP PhaseOne digital back, DT RCam with electronic shutter, Schneider 72 mm lens, and a motorized copy stand. At the digitization Lab, one of the Palm leaves was digitized, recto and verso. The collaboration between labs allows the Preservation Lab to obtain a great quality image of a Palm leaf to print a high quality surrogate.
Once the Preservation Lab received an image with enough quality to work with, the process of creating a surrogate started.
In order to create a surrogate, it is important to have in mind several different aspects such as the purpose of the surrogate and the physical characteristics of the original object (texture, thickness and colors). When thinking about the purpose of the surrogate one has to answer questions such as: Is the surrogate going to be displayed or handled? If so, how? Behind a glass case? Will it need a presentation enclosure?
In this case, the purpose was for the librarian to be able to show a “real” palm leaf page without having to actually handle the original fragile leaves. Also, having a surrogate of a palm leaf would allow patrons and scholars to handle a replica of an original object without having to unwrap and open the book.
Our goal was to create two surrogates; one in color, true to the original Palm leaf page; and 
another black and white, allowing the writing to be read easier.
Since we wanted to create a surrogate as identical as possible to the original, it was necessary to study the original object’s texture and thickness, as well as consider specific details such as gilt edges or punched holes.
The first step was to select several papers to test for printing. Selected papers had a similar texture and thickness to the original Palm Leaf and/or were selected because they contained a handy ICC profile.
Once the papers were chosen for texture, thickness and color profiling, the image obtained from the Digitization Lab was enhanced in Adobe Photoshop CC 2015 and several surrogate samples were printed using a P7000 Epson Printer pigmented ink jet printer.
Middle holes were punched with a Japanese hole punch.
Surprisingly, papers containing ICC profiles did not necessarily produce a more accurate color representation.
Finally, after several trials and errors, a different paper was chosen for each surrogate. The colored surrogate was printed on an archival UltraSmooth Fine Art Epson paper. The black and white surrogate was printed on an acid-free Curtis Brightwater Artesian white smooth paper.
Edges of the colored surrogate were pained with iridescent gold acrylic paint.
Once the surrogates were printed and cut to the exact dimensions, the final finishing touches were made. On both surrogates, the middle holes were punctured in the same fashion as the original palm leaf. For the colored surrogate, the edges were colored with an iridescent gold Golden High flow Acrylic. Once the surrogates were complete, the process of constructing an enclosure for both the surrogates and the original object began.
Constructing a new enclosure
I’ve heard the joy should not be in the finished product but in the process. I have to say I agree with that theory. I love receiving a challenge like this and pounding out a solution. This particular enclosure had many facets which turned out to be exciting as well as rewarding to problem solve together with lab staff.
Using a structure engineered by our lab conservator, first, I created a double-sided sink mat with two open windows to display both sides of the two surrogates. Rare earth magnets were introduced as fasteners to hold the objects secure inside each mat. The surrogates are supported and viewable through a Vivak and polyester transparent L-sleeve, which is removable. The Vivak and polyester sleeve was welded together on the lab’s Minter ultrasonic welder.
Volara supports were constructed to cradle the book so the gilding would not touch any abrasive surfaces, and so there would be a support for the cover once opened. The surrogates help provide information to patrons without causing wear and tear on the fragile book through handling. Originally, we considered storing the surrogates in a tray below or above the book to conserve shelf space, however by arranging the mats next to the object, they could immediately be on display when the enclosure is opened. I am pleased with the outcome. It is now possible to enjoy all the parts of this amazing work within the enclosure itself while minimizing the opportunity for damage, as well as providing a “wow!” factor.
Final enclosure with the original palm leaf book and surrogates.
Catarina Figueirinhas (UCL) — Senior Conservation Technician
Ashleigh Schieszer (PLCH) — Book and Paper Conservator
Chris Voynovich (PLCH) — Conservation Technician
Photo credit: Jessica Ebert (UCL) — Conservation Technician
Custom Collapsible Cradle in a Corrugated Box!
We have many occasions to use cradles. Including, in the lab while working on delicate materials and for viewing the text of fragile bindings. In an effort to create a new standard for the lab to store with a book, I revisited the construction of a collapsible cradle that fits inside a corrugated clamshell box.
View of clamshell when lid is opened:
Opening the cradle by lifting the cloth tapes:
Obtuse (left) and acute (right) arm openings are adjustable:
The integral cradle is removable for display! 
I am intrigued by this integral cradle system for a few important reasons:
- The cradle is custom fit for the individual book’s opening and is stored safely with the book in the corrugated clamshell so it won’t become lost.
- The cradle can be made adjustable to accommodate the book’s special handling needs by adding in additional notches.
- The cradle has a base, making it removable from the box. This enables diversity in placement of the supported book. For example, librarians can remove the cradle from the box for exhibition.
- This system is light, yet durable.
- This system is fast and easy to create.
- This system can be shelved with other books making it easily stored and accessible.
Considering all the cradles I have made so far, this one is by far the easiest and fastest to complete!
For a “one size fits all” solution, check out our blog on Elizabeth’s Rideout’s Collapsible Book Cradle.
It has been fun to explore solutions for this support mechanism to strengthen our arsenal of weaponry in the war of conservation!
Chris Voynovich (PLCH) – Conservation Technician
We love artists' books: the finished boxes!
You may recall that back in July I blogged about these two beauties that came to the Lab for custom enclosures. They both returned to PLCH at the beginning of September in their custom enclosures, so I thought I’d share what type of enclosures we came up with to address all the fragile elements of these particular artists’ books. Continue reading