Tag Archives: Ashleigh Schieszer

Fish gelatin: Spreading the word about a book conservator’s new friend

Last year around this time, the lab was fortunate to bring in book conservator and toolmaker, Jeff Peachey for a week-long intensive workshop to learn leather rebacking. While I always expect to walk away with new anticipated skills as advertised by the workshop, I’m ALSO always pleasantly surprised by the tangential tips and tricks shared along the way.  In the case of Peachey’s workshop, there were many! One of my favorites was his use of a fish gelatin.

While adhering spine linings to our text blocks, Peachey pulled out a small baggie of fish gelatin he brought with him to the workshop.  He poured the dry flaky powder into a small jar, added room temperature cold water, and mixed it until a liquid-y consistency.  He then added strained wheat starch paste to the gelatin and mixed with water until he was happy with the consistency.  He estimated it was a 40:60 ratio of gelatin to paste. 

Jeff Peachey taught a workshop at the Preservation Lab in Oct. 2022 where he first introduced us to a low-bloom fish gelatin for book conservation that didn’t require heat for use

If you’ve ever used gelatin before, you might be wondering – how is it possible to mix the gelatin without heating?  That’s the beauty of this product – it has a high molecular weight with low bloom strength and is produced from cold water fish which gives it this ability.  It might not be the strongest of the films with a 0-bloom strength, but for a book conservator doing paper repairs that need to be reversible yet strong, this combo still had an amazing tack when dry!

Peachey explained he first heard about the gelatin on a lab tour at the Weissman Center. He recalled Alan Puglia might have been the one who originally investigated the adhesive for pigment consolidation of hundreds of manuscripts for a show. The mention of a high molecular weight Norland fish gelatin was shared during a talk given at the American Institute for Conservation’s 44th annual meeting.  The talk was titled, The Challenge of Scale: Treatment of 160 Illuminated Manuscripts for Exhibition,” by Debora D. Mayer and Alan Puglia.

Peachey also doesn’t take credit for mixing the gelatin with wheat starch paste. He notes that even in Rene Matin Dudin’s 18th century manual, it discusses the “union” of paste and glue in the last paragraph below.

Peachey shares an excerpt by Rene Matin Dudin descripting his 18th century historic use of gelatin mixed with paste.

By the end of the week-long workshop, I had fallen in love with the properties of how well it adhered.  By itself, the fish gelatin had a long working time and didn’t stick until it was nearly dry – but when mixed with wheat starch paste, it combined the best of both worlds.  There was both the initial tack from the paste and a strong adhesion from the gelatin after dry.  I wasted no time in ordering my own sample supply.

Over the past year, I’ve slowly incorporated the fish gelatin in treatments and testing more applications. 

  • I first successfully used it to hinge-in heavy encapsulated sleeves into an album containing lung cross sections. After ultrasonically welding a paper hinge into an encapsulated sleeve, I applied the mix of wheat starch paste and fish gelatin to adhere the hinge to the scrapbook stubbing and had wonderful success.  I was able to adhere with confidence that the encapsulation would stay in place and was able to avoid disbinding and resewing.  At one point during treatment, I found I needed to reposition a hinge.  I am happy to report the mixture was as easily reversible as wheat starch paste alone!

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer uses the 40:60 mixture of fish gelatin and wheat starch paste to hinge encapsulations into an album, ensuring the heavy encapsulations with paper hinges stay adhered.

  • Most recently, I played around with using it for photographic emulsion consolidation. I used it first as a barrier layer before inpainting, and then to add sheen to in-painted photograph regions that were originally matte in comparison to the surrounding gelatin coating. It seemed extremely easy to apply and clean up was less messy than other photographic gelatins I’ve used in the past.  The sheen was just the right amount of gloss I needed without being overly shiny.  And, best of all, no heat required.

Examples of photographic condition issues where the fish gelatin was tested: flaking emulsion was consolidated and a barrier layer was applied before inpainting

  • We’ve also used the gelatin to stabilze breaks in a wooden box originally used to house a Richter’s architecture game from the early 20th century.
  • Jeff Peachey’ main use is to line spines. He’s found it not only has better adhesion than straight paste, but makes the spine feel slightly more solid and resistant to torsional forces
Applying fish gelatin to adhere spine linings
  • In the future, I imagine this gelatin would have excellent potential in media consolidation.
  • Jeff Peachey’ main use is to line spines. He’s found it not only has better adhesion than straight paste, but makes the spine feel slightly more solid and resistant to torsional forces.
  • In the future, I imagine this gelatin would have excellent potential in media consolidation.

In all these uses, I couldn’t be more thrilled to not have to pull out my baby bottle warmer to set a beaker of gelatin on.  As a result, there was no fuss in worrying about how long the gelatin was heated and if it was losing its properties due to heat.

Example of using a baby bottle or coffee warmer to re-heat pre-made gelatin during typical use

In terms of shelf life, the dried granules can be kept indefinitely like unmixed wheat starch paste.  Once mixed, Jeff suggests that he’s found the adhesive properties hold up for about a week in the fridge; however, it does begin to smell fishy after just a day. So unlike wheat starch paste, if you’re adverse to the fishy odor, you’ll only want to make up as much as you’re planning to use for one day. 

Interested in getting your hands on some?

I found the product used at Weisman is no longer supplied by Norland – but I was able to track down what appears to be the same product through AJINOMOTO NORTH AMERICA, INC.  If you’re interested in trying a sample, message Henry Havey, the Business Development Manager of Collagen & Gelatin at haveyh@ajiusa.com to request a sample of High Molecular Weight (HMW) dried fish gelatin. 

They provided me with a 500- gram sample at no cost and confirmed it was a Type A fish gelatin with a 0-bloom strength. Henry Harvey can also provide a pricing quote should you be interested in ordering a full supply which comes in 25 kg packs. They also provided the following product data info sheets:

Fish gelatin sample acquired by the lab in a 500 gram sample bag

While I still covet my isinglass cast films I created from boiling dried fish bladders, as well as our mammalian photographic grade type B gelatin, this HMW fish gelatin is a welcome addition I’ve added to my tool kit.

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer [CHPL[] – Special Collections Conservator, Co-Lab Manager

Bibliography:

Challenge of a Millennia: How to Store an Oversized Clay Tablet?

The University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library owns a few cuneiform tablets that date around the 1st century BCE.  Most are small enough to fit within the palm of your hand.  However, the clay tablet in question measures 14 inches (W) by 14 inches (T) x 4.5 inches (D) and weighs roughly 40-50 lbs.

Assyrian cornerstone during surface cleaning

More accurately, it is thought to be an Assyrian cornerstone that dates between 860 and 824 BCE.  It is described in the catalog record to be from the ruins of Calah (near Ninevah) on the Tigris River.  It is likely the cornerstone of a temple or palace erected by Salmanser III, king of Assyria. The provenance of how the University acquired the tablet is uncertain.

A translation of the cuneiform writing reads, ““Salmaneser, the great king, the mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Asurnaserpal, the great king, the mighty king, the king of Assyria, son of Tukulbi-Ninib, king of the universe, king of Assyria, and indeed builder of the temple-tower of the city of Calah.”

After surface cleaning and digitizing the cornerstone, finding suitable storage for an Assyrian cornerstone tablet seemed like a straightforward task in the beginning.  I thought, “Let’s get it off the floor, house it, and protect it from dust!”  No problem, right?

But once we got the item back in the lab, the weight of the object combined with its fragility proved more of a challenge after Chris, Holly and I began thinking about how the object would be retrieved from storage and how it would be handled.  Rather than being stored in specialty shelving (such as items might be in a museum), this item was a library item.  We needed to fit the tablet amongst archival book shelving.  We were also faced with the prospect of transporting the cornerstone up and down a flight of stairs from the secure rare book storage. There is no easy elevator access!  And finally, once it was put in an enclosure, how would a librarian get it out to show researchers and students?

We decided on an industrial case with wheels that could be transported and stored anywhere. I knew I wanted a device with handles to pull the object in and out of the case, but immediately decided against the idea of ratchet straps. The threat of fracturing would be too great if the ratchet straps were over-tightened.

After careful thought (and the creation of mock up solutions!) the following custom design was created in five stages:

1. A waterproof, shock-proof rolling Nanuk 950 case (similar to a Pelican case) was purchased.  

2. The interior was customized with foam and supports.

3. The lid was fashioned with a Tyvek pillow screwed to the top with an interior Coroplast sheet.

4. The cornerstone was wrapped around all sides in a foam sheet with four flaps.

5. A cloth wrapper with custom handles was sewn to support the tablet during insertion into and retrieval from the case.

In addition, life-size surrogate photographs were printed by Jessica Ebert and stored in a polyester sleeve within the case.  These images may prove even more useful during exhibition or teaching than seeing the actual tablet as they were captured with raking light that beautifully highlights the cuneiform writing.  They could even be used as an alternative to handling the heavy tablet.

To help guide future librarians on how to handle the cuneiform tablet in the future, handling instructions were provided, a handling video was created, and a QR code of the video was pasted onto the case. Check out the video below.

I was appreciative to have been able to hearken back to my object’s conservation experience working at the Musical Instrument Museum. My prior experience helped guide me to dust the tablet and store surface cleaning samples, however, this was a project that took me out of my library conservation comfort zone.  The knowledge required to house such an object (and the amount of textile sewing used to create the cloth wrapper!) gave me even more appreciation for the work objects and textile conservators do to preserve our oversized and heavy materials – especially when transporting and taking them on and off display!

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer [CHPL] – Rare book and paper conservator

Video by Jessica Ebert

Poisonous Book Project

In the Victorian era, textiles were colored with a green copper aceto-arsentite, used from 1814 to the late 1800’s.  (Side note: this green is sometimes referred to as Paris green or emerald green and was widely used by impressionist painters.)  And since books were bound in textiles, it’s no surprise that these vivid green cloths were used to bind publisher’s bindings.  Therefore, it’s entirely possible that these copper arsenic covers are lurking within our library collections dating to the 19th century.  In 1855, Viridian green was invented which eventually replaced Paris Green; therefore, green cloth bindings from the 20th century to today are of likely no concern.

So how do we know if a binding is poisonous?  Until recently, there hasn’t been a lot of published research on the subject.  The ability to perform scientific analysis testing is required, such as the use of XRF (x-ray fluorescence elemental analysis). See this article for more info: https://theconversation.com/how-we-discovered-three-poisonous-books-in-our-university-library-98358.

When faced with the question of how to ID these textiles in the past, I’ve referred researchers to textile conservators who may be more familiar with this subject – as well as paintings conservators since they deal with pigments on a regular basis.  The best resource on the subject I could track down was an adjacently-related conservation study on Navajo Textiles, titled, Coping With Arsenic-Based Pesticides on Textile Collections by Jae R. Anderson, Nancy Odegaard, Martina Dawley, Delana Joy Farley, and Werner Zimmt from the American Institute for Conservation ‘s Objects Specialty Group Postprints, Volume 21, 2014.

However, new research being conducted by Melissa Tedone and researchers at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library shines new light on the subject. They provide helpful recommendations on ID, handling, and storage.  Please see https://www.iiconservation.org/content/poison-book-project to learn about the Poisonous Book Project being performed by Winterthur Library.

https://www.iiconservation.org/content/poison-book-project

While our lab does not currently perform x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to confirm whether a book is poisonous, there are some visual clues to be aware of.  When handling a copy of Rustic Adornments for Homes and Taste (1857) Melissa Tedone notes how “the bright green colorant flakes readily from the bookcloth with even the gentlest touch of my porcupine quill.”  This pigment seems to be impregnated into the cloth rather than dyed, and therefore prone to brittleness and flaking.

Recommendations to those without the ability to ID pigments: If you suspect that your book may be bound within the Victorian era of the 19th century, treat the book as though it may contain arsenic.

  • Place it in a polyester or polypropylene jacket and house it inside an enclosure.
  • Handle it with gloves that are disposable or are washable
  • When handling, lay it out on a table with paper liner that can be disposed of after use (or clean the table after use)
  • If you are in need of a box for storage, University Products and Talas are great resources for purchasing archival housing supplies.

Additional recommendations for libraries by Melissa Tedone and the Winterthur crew include:

  • Digitize bindings to provide researchers a non-toxic option of handling these texts
  • Identify and store these books together in one location within collections storage.  If these materials are affected in a potential flood or disaster, this will help to streamline handling and containment of these dangerous materials. 

Curious to know if there are specific titles of books that have tested positive for “poison?” Check out this link for a table of books identified by the Poisonous Book project and compare against duplicate titles in your collection:

See http://wiki.winterthur.org/wiki/Poison_Book_Project

Screenshot of the http://wiki.winterthur.org/wiki/Poison_Book_Project
http://wiki.winterthur.org/wiki/Poison_Book_Project#Arsenical_Books_List

Since testing continues, the Winterthur research team has created a color swatch bookmark to assist with identifying potentially arsenical green bookcloth.  The library asks for the consideration of of $5 or more to help cover printing and mailing costs. Email reference@wintherthur.org for more information.

To learn more, check out the 2023 Connecting to Collections (C2C) Care Webinar The Poison Book Project.

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer (CHPL) – Rare Book and Paper Conservator, Lab Co-Manager

List of Resources:

https://www.iiconservation.org/content/poison-book-project

http://wiki.winterthur.org/wiki/Poison_Book_Project

https://www.iiconservation.org/content/news-conservation-issue-77-april-may-2020

https://theconversation.com/how-we-discovered-three-poisonous-books-in-our-university-library-98358

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/issue/arsenic-and-old-books

http://resources.culturalheritage.org/osg-postprints/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2015/03/osg021-08.pdf

Sharing Our Work With The Public

Happy Preservation Week 2020 – Day 3!

Working in the basement of Langsam Library, we’re not often afforded many opportunities to connect directly with the general public. As Catarina mentioned yesterday, therefore, our usual “go-to” is to host an open house once a year during Preservation Week. Since we’re all hunkered down at home, we’d like to invite you check out some of the work we do, DIGITALLY.

If you’re curious about what we’re working on at home, be sure to check out this prior blog post.

This Friday, May 1st, 2020 at noon:

Please join Special Collections Conservator, Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer on Facebook Live to talk about scrapbooks.

Facebook Live with the Public Library, May 1st, 2020

Designed as a family event, there’s a little something for all ages:

  • During the session, we’ll fold a One-Page Wonder coloring book comic strip (created by Senior Conservation Technician, Christopher Voynovich) that highlights treatment of a 3 x 4 foot oversized scrapbook!
  • We’ll also talk about typical condition issues found in historic scrapbooks, such as those owned by the Public Library
  • As well as answer any questions you might have about preserving your own at home.

If you were unable to join, you can still check out the FB Live archived event here.

You can also download and print Chris’ comic and check out this video on how to fold a One-Page Wonder:

Airing after May 2nd:

Be on the lookout for the Lab’s 30-minute segment with Cincinnati’s Waycross Government TV station, or watch below.

This video highlights the collaborative nature of the Lab’s work that spans a variety of preservation and library-related activities. Meet conservation staff and hear stories from each staff member about some of their favorite projects, including the treatment of an iron gall ink manuscript, as well as where you can check out the lab’s online treatment documentation.

Stay tuned for more Preservation Week updates tomorrow, and don’t forget to check out ALA’s Preservation Week resources: http://www.ala.org/alcts/preservationweek. Take advantage of free webinars, information on preserving oral history, and more!

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer [PLCH] – Lab Manager, Conservator

Exhibition Prep for Upcoming Show: Real Art for Young Artists

Join us September 15th, 2019 at 2pm as the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County unveils the newly acquired pen and India ink illustrations from Rosemary Well’s Noisy Nora in the beloved nook in the Children’s Library.  The illustrations are richly hand colored in watercolor, colored pencils, acrylic ink and gauche pigments.  With so much detail, they are a treat to see in person!
Acclaimed author and illustrator, Rosemary Wells, has written many endearing children’s books, including Noisy Nora (a story about a mischievous young mouse) and an entire series about the bunnies Max and Ruby.  As part of Ms. Well’s initiative, Real Art for Young Artists, Rosemary Wells has generously offered the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County the opportunity to exhibit more than a dozen original drawings for long-term display in the Children’s Library located in the Main building downtown.

Since the spring of 2018, the Preservation Lab has been collaborating with colleagues in the Public Library’s Programming, Digital Services, Cataloging, and Facilities departments, as well as the artist herself, on an exhibition of Wells’ Noisy Nora illustrations.  To prepare the materials for long-term exhibition each department lent their expertise to ensure a balance between preservation standards, viewer’s needs, and the artist’s vision.   This blog post highlights some behind the scenes activities leading up to the exhibition.

Above is an image of the nook in the Children’s Library selected as the exhibition space for the illustrations.  The nook is a perfect spot where the light can be controlled, preventing the artwork from fading overtime and it’s a great place to showcase the art at a height children can easily interact.  Facilities updated the nook with new paint and wall decals where the artwork will be hung.  In addition, to inspire young generations to create their own artwork, seating and tables for crafts will replace the current audio visual shelving and television.

At the Lab, approximately 16 pen and ink drawings and one booklet were received directly from the artist as a group within a folder. Many drawings were attached to illustration boards with translucent overlays wrapped around from behind, taped into place, giving the feeling as though they were just recently mocked up for production.    Graphite notes to publishers were written on the transparent papers to inform the size the images should be enlarged or reduced for printing.  While not exhibition ready, seeing the artwork in this preproduction state is a rare glimpse into the creative process of the artist!

After the drawings were carefully removed from the illustration boards, using conservation tape removal techniques, some unique features were discovered on the verso of two illustrations.  The drawings were digitized to document their condition prior to exhibition.  Digitized images of the backs of two illustrations are shown below.

Left: Verso of “And then she dropped her sister’s marbles on the floor” showing an impression of a Windsor and Newton watermark. Right: verso of “No Nora in the Mailbox, No Nora in the Shrub” with a prior sketch crossed out on the back.


To visualize how the illustrations would look in their frames, mock up window mats were created to experiment with how the drawings and captions should be arranged.  Below, the frame on the left centers both the artwork and the caption with a small margin around the art; whereas the frame on the right centers mostly the artwork with a much larger margin around the art.  Ultimately, our aesthetic preference was the extra margin around the art since the artwork itself was not square.  We also decided that no matter what option we chose, we wanted the bottom of the caption to line up throughout all of the frames, whether there was a single or double line of text.

Next, the artwork was measured to estimate material costs for matting and framing.  Following exhibition preservation standards, Rising rag museum mat board, UV filtered glazing, and wood frames were selected by the Preservation Lab.  We choose using glass over Plexiglas glazing so there would be less concern of harming the glazing surface with cleaners.  Because the artwork will be displayed a children’s height level, we also took into account how the artwork will be hung.  With the aid of security locking devices, the frames are not removable from the wall by the public, therefore there will be no danger of the frames falling.
To mimic how the artwork was mounted on the original presentation boards (preserving the artist’s intent), the work was matted with captions from the children’s book added below the art.  The artwork was mounted with Kozo (mulberry) tissue v-hinges that were pasted to the back of the artwork and then adhered to the back mat with with Zen Shofu wheat starch paste.  To maintain a 45% relative humidity environment, the matted artwork was housed within a sealed archival framing package.

Kozo hinges were adhered to the verso of the drawings with Zen Shofu wheat starch paste.


The hand colored drawings were then attached to the back mat using the kozo v-hinges, also adhered with wheat starch paste. The hinges were lightly pressed under weight to dry using pressing stacks.


Landscape window mats were hinged along the top edge with P90 Filmoplast tape.


View of the v-hinges after they are dry.


Drawings are float mounted so the rough cut edges of the drawings are visible.


Recto of sealed framing package.


Verso of sealed framing package.


The framing package contains:

  1. UV filtered Tru View Museum glass (purchased from our local art supply framing store).
  2. Float mounted artwork with two Usu gami hinges applied with wheat starch paste inside matting system. Window mat hinged to the left edge of back mat with P90 filmoplast tape.
  3. Blue corrugated cardboard used as a backing board to the matting package.
  4. Conservation note loosely set into place for future reference on the back of the corrugated backing board.
  5. Sheet of Polyester film added behind the corrugated board as a moisture proof barrier.
  6. To fully seal the entire package, the edges of all the materials were first sealed with pressure sensitive P90 filmoplast tape. A second foil backed framing tape from University Products (part of the Perma/Seal label line) was applied as a barrier to prevent moisture and gas exchange.
  7. A Dove Gray dust cover was attached to the back of the frames with 3M 415 double stick tape. Barcode labels and an additional conservation note were added to the dust cover.
  8. Lastly, Three security hangers were attached to the back of the frames; two at the top and one at the bottom.

With the exception of one frame, the original metal prongs were reused to secure the matting packages within the frame.  The one exception includes the booklet mounted with a sink mat, this thicker package required nailing brads secured to the inside of the frame rabbet to hold the matting package in place.

Booklet was mounted within a sink mat to account for the thickness of the object.


Before exhibit prep:During exhibition preparation:

After installation (the art is hung at children’s height!):

During Will Hillenbrand and Rosemary Wells visit on Sept. 15th, they discussed inspiration for books such and Max and Ruby (who are modeled after Ms. Well’s own children!) and delved into the subject of creating a “noisy” book. Mrs. Wells explained her process of conveying sound through illustrations – which by nature are a silent, quiet experience.

You can view the treatment report and treatment documentation for this original artwork on the Preservation Lab’s Digital Resource Commons site here.
Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer (PLCH) – Book and Paper Conservator
Photographic Documentation by Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer, Jessica Ebert & Sidney Gao

The Protective Power of Interleaving

You might know the importance of a protective enclosure, but how often to you consider the quality of storage materials?  In fact, the composition of storage materials plays a significant role in the preservation of archival collections.  But how?
Since storage plays a passive role, the positive and negative interactions of storage materials may not be readily apparent.  Chemical reactions that occur between library and storage materials are often a slow process, spanning over a number of months or years before a visual change occurs.  Without the gratification of seeing immediate effects, many may not realize how some storage materials can be problematic, let alone the ramifications for using non-archival materials.

 
To illustrate some of the effects, I thought I’d share a vivid example of protection from acidic materials during storage. The following photograph shows the positive effects of archival buffering paper (also known as interleaving), as well as the danger of using non-archival boards and tapes – even when they are not in direct contact with the object!
The protected object is a 17th century printed broadside.  It’s a single sheet of paper with printed black text on the front.  The broadside was stored for many years in a green cloth-covered portfolio.

Within the portfolio, the broadside was secured beneath with folded sheets of plastic film with a blank sheet of paper.  You can see the plastic film is attached to the portfolio around the edges with green tape.


This image shows the front of the blank sheet of paper stored side the plastic film, below the broadside. The plastic has yellowed overtime.


Here, the blank sheet is removed, revealing yellowish-brown discoloration around the top and right edge. This discoloration aligns perfectly with the green tape that is adhered on top of the plastic –located on the top and right side of the plastic.


When you flip the paper over, the back of the blank sheet shows even more discoloration. In fact, the discoloration is a mirror image of the materials below the plastic! This has occurred because the plastic is “breathable.” The materials below are all acidic, except for the white fragments of paper, which protected a portion of the paper from turning brown.


The interleaving paper served two purposes here:

  1. Acts as a support for the broadside when handled.
  2. The interleaving served as a sacrificial barrier that absorbed the bulk of acidic off-gassing from the non-archival paper and tape.

In summary, this enclosure is an excellent example of how different materials can interact with one another in nuanced ways, and how plastic is actually a permeable barrier to gasses overtime!
General storage tips:

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer (PLCH) —- Book and Paper Conservator

Upcoming OPC workshop

Our conservator Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer will be assisting paper conservator Jamye Jamison in an upcoming Ohio Preservation Council workshop.  Seats are still available!  prints in mylar sleeves and backing paper
Workshop description: This course is for archivists, librarians, or anyone who is interested in caring for their family documents, print collections, or other ephemera. The class will begin with a short discussion of materials and what to look for when making archival enclosures for flat paper objects. Each participant will then make a small portfolio of reference samples of various enclosures for paper materials, including a simple four-flap, polyester sleeve, paper envelope and a “back and wrap” enclosure, which can be used for display. Each participant is asked to bring four objects no larger than 4 x 6 inches (roughly postcard size) that can be used to make the reference samples. No previous experience necessary.
Learn more and register at —-  http://opc.wildapricot.org/event-3357153

A Virtual Preservation Lab Tour

Click on the link below for a virtual tour of our newly updated space:

Preservation Lab Virtual Tour Jan 2019

In October, the Preservation Lab welcomed special collections digital imaging to our workflow (for UC Libraries’ materials).  This new function necessitated a small lab renovation:

During (top three images) and after (bottom two images):

 

The results are wonderful and we are so happy to have a new staff member!

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer (PLCH) – Special Collections Conservator, Lab Manager

Two ways to compensate for loss. Textblock loss, that is.

Before the age of endless digital writing space, it’s easy to forget that blank paper was a commodity. Below are two fun examples of writing ledgers that remind me just how precious paper was.
While it’s possible that salacious writings were once written and removed from the back of these bindings… another theory is that the blank pages were no longer needed for their original intended purpose, and since they were going to waste… an opportunistic writer hastily cut and ripped out pages, seizing the goods for use elsewhere.

Half leather binding with cloth boards, Registry of the Leonard Hotel, 1886 – contains a page that features Grover Cleveland’s signature. Pages are lost from the back of the textblock. Fragments of pages remain sewn along the gutter where pages were removed.


So what does that mean for the ledgers left behind whose guts have been partially removed?
The covers no longer fit the pages inside.  The spines sag or pop off, and the covers extend beyond the fore edge of the book’s textblock – making both handling and long-term preservation problematic.

Registry of the Leonard Hotel, 1886, view of the head


Registry of the Leonard Hotel, 1886, view of fore edge and head


In order to relieve stress, conservation treatment can be undertaken to compensate for loss.  For extremely important bindings, treatment may entail replacing lost pages with new paper, resewing the sheets into the binding.
However, in the following two examples below, the textblocks were otherwise in fairly good condition, so the Lab explored a lower cost route by inserting foam spacers.
The Leonard Hotel registry (which contains Grover Cleveland’s signature from 1885!) was treated overall to reback and consolidate deteriorated leather.  A closed cell polyethylene foam was loosely inserted as a placeholder for the missing text. In this case, the foam can be removed at any time and the jagged edges of the page fragments can be observed.  Simple, yet effective!

After treatment, foam is loosely inserted in the back of the binding to help the textblock fit inside its covers.

Before treatment images are displayed on the left, after treatment images on the right:


 
A similar treatment taken a step further builds upon the treatment solution above.  The following ledger contains early Cincinnati baptismal, marriage, and funeral records that predate city records, dating to 1838-1885.  A large section of lost paper in the back of the binding has caused the stiff spine to pop off.  The loose covers no longer support the textblock pages.

Volume 2 of a collection of “Third German Protestant Church of Cincinnati Records”. Full suede leather springback binding with stiff board spine. Sewn on cloth/linen tape supports. Receiving stabilization treatment in preparation for future digitization.  A large section of the textblock is lost in the back of the binding.


Treatment was conducted by our senior conservation technician, Catarina Figueirinhas, to stabilize the ledger for digitization out of house, as well as long-term storage.  Rather than insert foam loosely, this book was in need of a rigid support that would not be in danger of becoming lost.  Therefore, foam was sewn into the back of the binding as if it was a gathering.  This was achieved by wrapping the foam in an archival e-flute cardboard.  Essentially, the blue cardboard was folded into a “u-shape” with sharp corners and treated as an outer folio.  The corrugated cardboard was then sewn through each fold onto the original sewing supports, as though the cardboard was two gatherings.  The foam was adhered inside the cardboard with adhesive.

Volume 2 of a collection of “Third German Protestant Church of Cincinnati Records” after treatment.


Because this condition issue is unique – it’s part of the object’s history, yet presents us with preservation challenges – treatment solutions are not one-size-fits-all.  Each book calls for solutions based on how it will be used and interpreted.
In these cases, the foam gatherings, both sewn and loose, functioned well in the back of the bindings while also retaining the history of use. The constructed gatherings helped to improve handling and support the bindings in a cost effective and reversible way (with differing levels of reversibility).  I imagine this will not be the last book to come across my bench with chunks of missing text; I am excited to be armed with these simple solutions.
Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer (PLCH) —- Book and Paper Conservator
Photographic Documentation by Jessica Ebert & Ashleigh Schieszer

Polyester Encapsulated Page Binding *Part Three: The Workflow

This is the third installment for the Althea Hurst scrapbook conservation treatment that outlines the workflow for the long-term project.

To read previous installments, please see: Polyester Encapsulated Page Binding * Part One: The Structure, and *Part Two: The Parts.

The following is a presentation from the 46th Annual American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Artworks (AIC) meeting in Houston, TX, as part of the Library Collections Conservation Discussion Group (LCCDG).  The panel’s topic was Matters at Hand: The evolution of staffing and prioritization in library conservation labs. The title of the Preservation Lab’s talk was Teaming up on Treatment.

During large special collection projects, a conservator’s role is similar to that of a project manager, particularly when working with a team of skilled technicians, such as in our lab.  To illustrate this collaborative working style, the presentation will discuss how a unique 1930’s scrapbook was treated to improve accessibility by our team of conservation staff.

THIS is Althea Hurst, and THIS is her scrapbook.  In the summer of 1938, Althea and three other female African American Educators from Cincinnati traveled abroad, alone, by steamship and train, to eight countries in pre-WWII Europe, including Nazi Germany and Italy under Mussolini’s rule.

The pages are personalized throughout with handwritten inscriptions.  Here, Althea notes their Jewish tour guide and documents travels through Heidelburg –  just three months before Kristallnacht and the deportation of Jews to Dachau concentration camps.
Compelling letters in the back of the binding date to 1939 and 1947 as they describe the changing reality of life for a friend in Budapest.  In 1939, the friend remarks how, “the situation changes with rapid speed; what was absurd and inconceivable only yesterday is tomorrow already an irrevocable fact.”  And in 1947 she reflects, “we ask ourselves terrified, if it was all true, that we could survive all this?”

The purpose of the women’s travels?  To share first hand experience with students to serve as an inspiration for learning.  What resulted was an interactive scrapbook filled with rare ephemeral components and Althea’s personal notes.

So how did we get from before treatment to after treatment?  A bit like eating an elephant. One bite at a time, with a team of people who broke down larger goals down into manageable, digestible parts.

We first defined the Mission, Workflow, and Scope from which all else trickled into place.
The mission: improve accessibility, both in digital content and physical use.
The multifaceted project had a defined workflow that helped to serve as measurable milestones:

Conservation evaluation and treatment in preparation for digitization → led to digitization of full pages and parts → which was followed by final conservation treatment, encapsulation and housing.

Since the experiential importance of the tactile components was determined as equally important as the intellectual content, the overarching goal was to preserve the interactive nature and original organization of the binding.  It was also noted, the parts were particularly rare on their own as standalone objects. In short: a Level 5 treatment according to Jennifer Hain Teper’s guidelines for managing scrapbook treatments in libraries.

Three of the most important resources for the project was a model I created of various encapsulated page solutions, an archival pigmented ink printer for printing surrogates, and an ultrasonic welder for encapsulating individual components.

Outside of shared problem solving, team roles were defined early and shaped by a combination of a staff’s skill and passion.

A rough survey categorized treatment needs for each page.  The survey itself was cut up into slips that traveled with individual pages as pages were batch processed by one team member to the next.

Notes written directly on the slips of paper served as both our indispensable communication plan and tracking system.

The lab’s internal workflow was a simple yet effective solution.  Labeled carts held groups of pages that physically traveled from one treatment stage to next.  For example, when pages filled senior conservation technician, Veronica Sorcher’s treatment pile, she immediately knew that they were surface cleaned by Chris and were ready for tear repair.

We also discovered that decisions, such as what tissue paper to use for repair, were helpful to make collectively as a group to ensure effectiveness and consistency.

As the technicians began their roles, we outlined treatment parameters and solved challenges until a game plan was formed.  Throughout the project I was often consulted, however, the techs quickly built areas of expertise that they naturally gravitated toward.  Conservation technician, Chris Voynovich’s previous expertise was in encapsulating posters, which easily translated into creating encapsulated pages.  After teaching additional welding techniques and strategies for retaining original placement, he was soon incorporating Hollytex hinges and polyester pockets on top of full page encapsulations and devising systems with blue tape to register complicated page parts.
Heavy components or extra parts without support leaves were also incorporated into the binding by Chris.  Using my model as a guide, he constructed mat board support pages to mount objects housed in four flap enclosures.

A few attached booklets would have been problematic to remove, such as pamphlets with clay coated covers.  As an alternative, our printer was used to recreate attached parts from digitized images. Senior conservation technician, Catarina Figueirinhas, took quickly to understanding ICC color profiles since one of her first projects in the lab was assisting in creating exhibit surrogates.  She was designated as the project’s printer and utilized a multitude of fine art papers. Inkjet prints were created in such similar appearance to the originals that labels were required to identify surrogates.

Catarina also prudently printed labels as visual clues to identify contents within pockets and boxes.

Discovering a solution to incorporate the original covers into the new encapsulated binding without causing irreversible damage was no easy task.  Luckily, with the technicians tackling other parts of treatment, I was able to invest time experimenting with Vivak. After some trial and error, I was able to weld polyester sleeves to the clear support to include attached components, as well as use the clear sheet as a backing for a sink mat package to hold the covers.

In the end, we were proud to meet the needs of numerous clients.  A team of 3 people spent 53 total hours for treatment to improve handling and legibility for Digital Services.

After digitization, 126 hours of treatment were invested by a team of four staff and one student to meet the needs of the Public Library librarians.  Collaborating with special collections staff, we were even able to add a customized Table of Contents and an introductory paragraph to the front of the volumes.

The entire project from start to finish took a full calendar year, with a grand total of 183 hours.  I’d like to note, while the project took longer than usual since it was a learning opportunity, only 43 treatment hours were invested by the project conservator, and the project was able to be worked in alongside the usual lab workload.  The use of the students and technicians significantly reduced the overall cost by using the best person for the job.

The increased visibility has brought users to the Main Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, both locally, and abroad from Italy.  The Italian magazine, Internazionale, traveled to the US to experience the materials in person.

Subsequently, they featured the Althea Hurst Scrapbook in a 6-page spread.

To conclude the project, the lab held an in house workshop where we archived our inventive encapsulated page solutions. Staff made two models– a post bound structure with a plethora of attached parts  – and a side sewn version. Since Althea, the lab has tackled treatment of over a dozen other scrapbooks – including an oversized album with an opening spread of over 4 feet. Having tackled such a complex encapsulated binding as one of our first endeavors, we’ve developed our own language for scrapbook parts, such as “Chibap” (which refers to the acronym CHBAP, a Cloth Hinge Board Attachment Part), and the techs have discovered that they are armed with skills to problem solve any scrapbook that comes their way.

Special thanks to all Preservation Lab staff, Public Library librarians, Digital Services and conservation colleagues who shared their knowledge on bindings with encapsulated pages.

If you’d like to create a scrapbook comic of your own, here is a link to our 8 sided zine comic strip, created by, Chris Voynovich.   Check out this link to WikiBooks for instructions on folding your own one page wonder

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer (PLCH) — Conservator, Conservation Lab Manager