In February 2019, the Lab received a unique item at the special collections’ meetings for the UC Libraries, a Book of Hours (ms.37) from 1475 from the Archives and Rare Books Library. I was so excited when this book came into the Lab.
This 15th century Book of Hours was in poor condition and in need of conservation treatment. Not only was the binding structure failing and the text block broken in half, but this book was also heavily used as a teaching tool at the ARB library, and in its current condition it could not be safely handled. This was the perfect project for Ashleigh and I to collaborate.
From the beginning, it was decided that in conjunction with the conservation treatment of the Book of Hours, I would create a book model like the original Book of Hours, to be used as a teaching tool in the ARB library collection. In addition, the model would have a leather chemise, a common feature in some Book of Hours of the time.
The Book of Hours MODEL with a removable chemise.
Now here is where this story begins with the model of the Book of Hours. Often, here in the lab, we all create book models for various reasons: to learn about a new treatment, test different treatment options, to understand how some materials work together, and as teaching tools.
As a teaching tool in the ARB library collection, this model needed to resemble the original Book of Hours in its structure and materials used.
The primary goal for this model was to show how a Book of Hours was historically built, its sewing structure, the materials used, and also to provide the ARB library with a book that could be easily handled by students and scholars.
Once the treatment for the Book of Hours was fully established and confirmed with the ARB curator, I was able to start working on the book model. I will save you form reading about all the different steps of making the model, but here are the main features of model:
Endsheets with leather hinge – Two bifolios of calligraphy goat parchment skin wrapped along the spine edge with a hinge of Allum tawed leather (later would be used as pastedowns)
Sewing – Sewn on three double raised cords with a linen 18/3 thread. The dimensions of the text block and sewing holes, were guided from the original sewing holes of the Book of Hours.
Endbands – Primary conservation endband with the bead on the spine, and secondary endband with the bead on the text block.
Spine linings:
Reversible layer of Usu Gami thin and Zen Shofu wheat starch paste.
Slotted Airplane cotton cloth with flanges to be used as board attachments.
Cover
Boards – Oak wood
Board attachment – Boards were laced with the sewing supports through carved channels
Covering material – Full alum tawed leather binding with removable chemise
Clasps – Brass tension clasps (these were created in-house by Chris Voynovich, and he did an amazing job).
Upper cover.Lower cover with the tension clasps (created by Chris)
There was no evidence that the original Book of Hours had clasps, but the curator requested tension clasps for the book model. Clasps were common in the 15th century bookbinding, and this would provide the students with the experience of handling a book with clasps and allow them to understand their function.
pine with three raised bands, bottom weighted.Tension clasps were common in the 15th century. Chris created these using brass plates.As a teaching model, the interior of the upper cover was left exposed to show how the boards were laced and what material was used.On the lower cover, the pastedown was adhered. An alum tawed pastedown was not very common for the time of the Book of Hours.
The curator also requested that one of the pastedowns be kept unattached, so the students could see how the boards were attached to the text block and that they were wooden boards.
In addition, I created a removable chemise, also requested by the curator of the ARB library. In some Books of Hours, it was common to have a leather chemise, but most often they were not removable. The chemise was created from a vegetable tanned goat split skin.
Removable suede chemiseBook model with the chemise attached on the lower cover. The chemise in action.
Video tutorial of how to put on and remove the chemise from the model.
Stay tuned for a future blog post where we will dive into the conservation treatment and research we did on the Book of Hours (ms.37).
After a two year hiatus, the Preservation Lab once again was able to celebrate the American Library Association’s Preservation Week. And this year, the lab decided to take Preservation Week to the public.
On the morning of April 21st, Catarina and Jessica took one of the lab’s rolling work tables to the entrance of the Langsam library. There they set up a demonstration area with some very dirty books, to show the public a little bit about surface cleaning. They brought out the different supplies used in surface cleaning (such as hydrophilic sponges, smoke sponges, eraser crumbles and vinyl erasers). In addition to surface cleaning materials, Jessica and Catarina also brought some Japanese tissue for the public to touch and learn about tear repair.
Jessica is actively surface cleaning a very grimy book.Catarina is surface cleaning a dirty book using a hydrophilic sponge.Another view of the entire set up with a tear repair station.
A few members of the public were too nervous to even try to surface clean a little bit of the dirty books (all filled with soot from coal burning stoves), but others were brave enough and felt that surface cleaning was a very satisfying and relaxing treatment.
Jessica encouraging a UC student to try to surface clean.Catarina explaining why surface cleaning was the first step to repair the broken inner joint.
In the afternoon of the same day, Chris and Hyacinth showed the public a variety of enclosures and how they are made from beginning to end. There were corrugated clamshell boxes, one with an integrated cradle, cloth clamshell boxes, tuxedo boxes and a Japanese four-sided enclosure.
Chris also brought a corrugated clamshell in its early stages to show the public how the process of making a corrugated clamshell begins.
Chris and Hyacinth showing their display of models and enclosures.Hyacinth explaining to some UC students the different Japanese four-sided enclosure compared to other enclosures.The different enclosures that Chris and Hyacinth showed to the public. Hyacinth sharing with an interested public.
The crowd favorites were the elaborate cloth covered clamshell box made by Chris, and the beautiful Japanese four-sided enclosure made by Hyacinth.
Even though this was a smaller event compared to our open house tours of the past, the event was a success; allowing the Preservation Lab staff to share with the UC community a peek into our daily work and explain what goes on in the Preservation Lab. But Preservation week is not done yet…
This upcoming Friday, April 29th at 1 pm, join Holly and Ashleigh at the Clifton Branch of the Cincinnati and Hamilton Public Library, .They will be showing some books models, explaining how books are made and what materials are used. You can find more details in the following link: https://cincinnatilibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/625422b5cd8e792f000bcfc5
To celebrate nationalPreservation Week (April 25 – May1, 2021), staff at the Preservation Lab are sharing the following answers to the question below as they reflect upon the wealth of library resources located in the Cincinnati community:
What is your favorite treatment or project that you have worked on in the Lab?
Jessica Ebert:
Learning a new photographic imaging technique, RTI
In April of 2017 I had the amazing opportunity of attending a 4-day workshop at Yale University to learn Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) from the experts at Cultural Heritage Imaging. It was one of the most exciting experiences of my career, and when I came back to the Lab to show the staff what I had learned, Aller Bucher Und Schrifften volume from Martin Luther was one of the first items we captured with RTI. I remember that moment when Catarina and I completed the capture and processed the images – we were just in awe of everything we could see with RTI that we couldn’t under normal illumination. Since then, we’ve made changes to our equipment and our workflow, so now the results are even better than they were back then…but this will always be my favorite.
The left side of the image shows the front cover under normal illumination, or what you see with your naked eye, whereas the right side is a RTI generated image using the specular enhancement mode.
This generated snapshot illustrates the Static Multi Light mode. Below the center panel that features a portrait of Martin Luther you can see “1571”, and above the panel you can see “ID”, both of which are virtually impossible to see in the normal illumination image.
Of all the projects I have worked on at the Preservation Lab, this item is by far one of my ultimate favorite treatments I was able to perform. This book was brought to the Preservation Lab in poor condition. The book had no binding, the text block was split in multiple areas, the sewing was broken, and several pages of the text block where either torn or had extensive loss. In addition, most of the text block showed signs of water damage. Since this book was in such poor condition and the curator of the collection wanted the book to be handled by scholars and the public, it was necessary to do a full conservation treatment.
I was thrilled when I got assigned to this book treatment. I love to work on any book, but the more complicated or involved treatments the better and this was definitely the case. In this treatment, I was able to repair the text block, reduce some of the tideline staining, fill losses and resew the entire text block, while also creating a new binding (called a split board binding) that is strong and flexible to allow such a heavy book to be read.
Before Treatment – Initial condition of the book when it was received by the Preservation Lab. The text block was split, the sewing was broken, and several pages were torn or had paper loss.
After Treatment – Conservation treatment complete. After the text block was repaired and resewn, the book received a new split board binding that allowed the heavy book to be read while mitigating further damage.
After Treatment – The new split board binding provided the book a more flexible opening.
This treatment took a long time to complete, and to this day it is still one of the projects that I have enjoyed the most. Click here to see the complete treatment report and all the photographic documentation. To learn more about conservation split board bindings, check out the Preservation Lab blog post by Kasie and Jessica.
Kasie Janssen:
Iron gall ink treatment of the CHPL Jones Account Book
Washing and rebinding treatments are always a favorite when they come across my bench, as they allow a highly damaged item to become usable and accessible once again. An account book of Jones and Rammelsberg offered one such treatment as it came to the lab with a myriad of issues: a damaged book block without a binding, corroding iron gall ink, previous mold damage, and a shocking amount of pest evidence. The treatment is incredibly memorable because to tackle the issues of aging iron gall ink I was able wash the pages of the book block using a calcium phytate bath to stabilize the manuscript. Once the washing was complete, I was able to resew and rebind the book block, making it whole, functional, and protected once again. It is rare and special to have done such an involved treatment, but in this case the in-depth steps allowed previous damage to be treated and helped remedy the inherent vice of aging materials.
The book block before treatment was highly damaged, so much so, that it was difficult for library patrons and staff to access and use the item without a cover.
Handling the book, you’d never know the hours of labor that went into the treatment (including learning!), but its functional form makes it ready for use once again.
Creating the Italian ledger binding for our teaching model collection
The lab creates a lot of models. Many of these models are made in preparation for treatments. However, some models are created with instruction or engagement in mind. These models, such as the Italian stationery binding (laminated archival bind) I created, help illustrate the history of the book as its form and manufacturing process change over time. Check out the model at the blog entry where you can see a video of the binding being handled. Follow the instructions on the blog make you very own, and in the future, come see it for yourself when our in-person open houses resume in the future.
View of the cover fully opened that shows the overband lacing pattern, the front fore edge flap, and the buckle clasp.
Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer:
Treatment of a Haggadahowned by Hebrew Union College
I particularly enjoy the problem solving nature of special collection treatments and thus, my “favorite” treatment is usually the one I’m working on. Currently, I’m treating a Haggadah owned by Hebrew Union College that dates to 1526 or 1527. While I’ve treated other haggadahs from HUC, including this one, this project involved iron gall ink treatment AND rebinding a textblock with two different sized leaves, or pages, into its original historic leather cover. Because the binding had been previously treated and reformatted with materials that did not age well, collaboration with the librarians at HUC required exploration into whether we wanted to re-create the past reformatting option with longer lasting materials, or perhaps, explore a new option altogether. Before we committed to a solution, I created a model to test out a new option since unanticipated questions or outcomes often arise during experimental pursuits. For that reason, it’s better to problem solve on a model, rather than on an actual special collection material. In the end, the librarians and I were happy with the results of the new option, and I’m currently at the stage where I’m ready to start rebinding the pages of the actual object.
The top image shows the book open to smaller sized printed leaves before treatment. Leaves are previously reformatted with yellowed tape along the edges, attached to larger paper frames. Paper frames are cockled and distorted. The middle image shows a detail of untrimmed, full-size manuscript leaves. The bottom image shows the fore edge of the binding before treatment.
These images show the model that explores a solution to encapsulate the smaller pages into polyester sleeves that could be sewn into the binding next to the larger pages. This required staff to weld polyester sleeves with paper hinges that could be sewn through like a gathering.
The image shows the binding ready for resewing with its new encapsulated leaves, or pages, next to the created model.
Not only was this piece based on a favorite subject of mine (I love Shakespeare!), this was a historic photograph treatment I was able to handle with just a little guidance. I was able to properly identify the photographic elements on the first try, performed a surface cleaning on the piece, and created my very first cloth-covered clamshell and cradle to house it. It was such a wealth of learning experiences within one project, which is the best part of my work!
Before cleaning; albumen card (note the finger prints in the upper right corner). The image depicts the photographer as a soldier.
Cloth-covered clamshell exterior.
Cloth-covered clamshell interior, with piece opened to surface cleaned soldier image in integrated cradle.
Chris Voynovich:
Constructing a custom cloth-covered enclosure to house the Public Library’s William S. Porter Collection of photographs
One of my favorite aspects of the job here, in the lab, is designing and creating custom enclosures. This collection of rare daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes is an example of adapting a standard cloth covered clamshell to accommodate a collection. I created two trays with pull tabs that are removable for easy access and display. Each photograph has its own tuxedo box and is set in polyethylene foam (Volara) for protection. The tuxedo box enclosures are identical in size to reduce confusion while repacking. Check out this blog created by Jessica that shows a gif of the enclosure opening and closing, and this blog post showing a similar enclosure I created for a dairy collection.
View of the opened cloth-covered clamshell with the two removeable trays in place. The trays contain the collection of cased photographs in tuxedo boxes with labels for easy identification.
This image shows the bottom tray partially pulled out, displaying the two larger cased photographs.
Today at 3pm (EST) join Jessica and Catarina on the Preservation Lab’s Instagram (@thepreservationlab) for a quick, informal Instagram Live.
Then tomorrow, make sure to tune into the Public Library’s Instagram (@cincylibrary) at 12pm (EST) for an in-depth Instagram Live event where Catarina and Jessica will be sharing treatments they are currently working on; giving you a behind-the-scenes look and answering all your questions “Live in the Lab”.
Join Preservation Lab team members, Kasie Janssen, Catarina Figueirinhas, and Jessica Ebert for a special Facebook Live event hosted by our parent institutions: the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and the University of Cincinnati Libraries. The event, entitled “Preserving Your Personal Library”, will take place on Tuesday, June 16th at 7pm.
Kasie, Catarina and Jessica will be discussing at-home preservation concerns like temperature, humidity, pests, light damage and storage. They will be providing tips and tricks on how to address these concerns in a practical way, and Catarina will be offering up step-by-step instructions on how to make a simple yet protective paper slipcase at home! You can access the event via the Public Library’s Facebook events page: https://www.facebook.com/events/317097016118724/.
Each year, the Preservation Lab hosts an annual open house during ALA’s Preservation Week, inviting the entire community to visit the Lab and tour our facilities. Each Preservation Week we choose a theme and dedicate our annual open house to that theme. For instance, last year was dedicated to the history of the codex, where the community was able to discover and explore hands-on the evolution and history of the codex, through various book models created by the Preservation Lab staff. This was a great opportunity to share, with the public, the importance of the materiality of the book and how we can use primary resources as teaching tools.
The history of the codex is a subject that I am deeply interested and has led me to meet and learn from great scholars such as Julia Miller, an expert in early book forms. As a result, I have been developing my own research skills, learning more about the history of the codex, creating historical book models, and sharing this knowledge with my colleagues and with different communities through opportunities such as Preservation Week.
One of the most famous pictures of the Nag Hammadi Codices. Image retrieved from https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/the-nag-hammadi-codices/
My interest in the history of the codex has led to a fascination for the Nag Hammadi Codices (NHC), also known as Gnostic Gospels. The Nag Hammadi Codices were discovered in 1945 in Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi. The Nag Hammadi Codices appear to have been written during the fourth century. These codices are among some of the oldest codices to have survived with their bindings still intact. There were thirteen codices found, but only eleven bindings have survived. At the time of the discovery eleven covers were found with their texts, text fragments of a twelfth codex, and one text unbound (Codex XIII – tractate (treatise))1.The codices were leather bound with Coptic text written on papyrus sheets. The writings in these codices include fifty-two mostly Gnostic treatises, but they also include other works, such as the Corpus Hermeticum.
This discovery was extremely important, since there were many texts within the Nag Hammadi Codices that were not known elsewhere at the time. For instance, one of the most famous writings is the Gospel of Thomas which is only complete in the Nag Hammadi Codices2. This was an incredible discovery not only in the world of paleography, religion but also codicology.
Because of my fascination with the Nag Hammadi Codices, I decided to dedicate some time to creating my own Nag Hammadi models over the years; creating to-scale the eleven bindings found in 1945.
There are many reasons one chooses to make a model of a book structure, to learn its unique features, how the different materials work together, among others. In my case, I wanted to understand the differences between each of the covers, what features made each cover unique and not exactly the same as the others, and the differences between cover and quire attachment, as well as why some of the codices were more elaborate than others, with cover decoration and blind tooling. This has not been an easy task and has become much longer journey than expected. The tremendous research conducted by scholars and researchers over the years on the study of these texts within the Nag Hammadi Codices, as well as the bindings itself, has helped a great deal in my task of model making. I still have so much more to learn.
The long journey of model making
I should start by saying that over the years, Julia Miller has been a great mentor to me; providing resources, guidance and advice throughout my endeavors to complete my full set of the NHC models.
My first NHC model with its many mistakes, such as parchment tackets (not found in any NHC).
My first attempt to create a Nag Hammadi Codex (NHC) model was back in 2013. I started by reading The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding by J.A. Szirmai, where the NHC are explored in the first chapters related to single-quire codices. I also based my initial model from one created by the Lab’s conservator, Ashleigh Schieszer. At that time, I knew little about the unique features of each Nag Hammadi Codex and their bindings.
In 2017, I was able to attend a week-long course at the American Academy of Bookbinding (AAB) on early book forms with the conservator and researcher, Julia Miller. It was at the AAB that my interest for these historical structures solidified and where I learned a lot more about early codex forms. It was also in this workshop that I learn about the mistakes I had made with my first NHC model. This only deepened my interest and conviction that I had to make my own set of NHC to understand how these early codices were made.
Codex VI created in the Morgan Conservatory workshop
Codex VI – A very interesting feature of Codex VI is the fact that Codex XIII was found loosely inside the cover of Codex VI. Codex XIII has been left unbound.
Codex XIII, also created at the Morgan Conservatory workshop
I would come to learn from Julia Miller again when I attended a weekend workshop at the Morgan Conservatory. During this weekend workshop, I created my first full-scale Nag Hammadi Codex VI model. In addition, as a side project I was able to create a small version of Nag Hammadi Codex VIII. This was a great opportunity to learn about each codex and their unique binding and quire attachment features. With the full-scale model of Codex VI, I was on the right path to continue with my other full-scale models.
Another model created at the Morgan Conservatory workshop.
This model illustrates the different quire-cover attachments found in the NHC.
Two resources that have been extremely helpful in creating the full-scale models are the Meeting by Accident, by Julia Miller, where there is a dedicated chapter on the Nag Hammadi Codices with full descriptions, measurements and pictures of each codex; and The facsimile edition of the Nag Hammadi codices by James M. Robinson. At times I became lost reading Robinson’s description of the measurements of each codex cover, and other features as it is all written in a continuous text. Luckily, Julia Miller’s book has each description organized, which makes the task of taking notes and model making a lot simpler.
Another resource that has helped me immensely in this process was studying Julia’s own set of NHC models and paper templates. Seeing Julia’s physical models provided me further insights into visualizing and understanding the descriptions within her book and Robinson’s descriptions.
For the rest of the NHC models, I started by attempting to make Codex I without any paper template. I soon learned that this was a big mistake, as I ended up making the wrong dimensions of the cover and ruining the model. I realized that by first making a paper template, it allowed me to make mistakes without wasting materials such as leather and papyrus. Even though these were only models, representations of the NHC, I wanted to be as accurate as possible.
Paper template for Codex I
Paper template for Codex IV
As I mentioned before, my model making journey has been long; each model beginning with research and note taking. Once I am satisfied with my research, I create a paper template that I will use to create the model with materials used at the time, such as leather and papyrus. This process of model making has been a great learning opportunity for me.
Paper template for Codex VIII
Paper template for Codex X
This past Spring I was able to share what I had learned more broadly when the Preservation Lab co-taught a Book Arts class with UC’s English Department. I taught our students about the Nah Hammadi Codices, and together we created a small model of a Nag Hammadi Codex VIII.
The Book Arts students learning about the Nag Hammadi Codex VIII (photo courtesty: Melissa Cox Norris)
As we continue to work from home, I have been able to dedicate time to continue my model making of the NHC, and research more about early book structures and their discoveries. So far I have completed the following NHC models:
Codex I
Codec IV
Codex VI
Codex VIII
Codex X
Codex XI
Codex XIII
Model of Codex I
Model of Codex I
Model of Codex IV
Model of Codex IV
Model of Codex VIII
Model of Codex VIII
Model of Codex X
Model of Codex X
Model of Codex XI
Model of Codex XI
These models are not perfect, but they represent the unique features of the different Nag Hammadi Codices found in 1945. I am hopeful that these models will be a great addition to the teaching collection at the Preservation Lab, and that perhaps I have inspired others to start their own model making journey during this Preservation Week 2020!
All the models that I have created so far: Codex I, IV, VI, VIII, X, XI, XIII.
References:
Miller, J. (., Spitzmueller, P. J., & Legacy Press. (2018). Meeting by accident: Selected historical bindings. Ann Arbor, Michigan: The Legacy Press.
Layton, B., & Sieber, J. H. (1991). Nag Hammadi codex VIII. E.J. Brill. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.kent.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=cat02507a&AN=ohiolink.b31949312&site=eds-live&scope=site
Robinson, J. M. (1972). The facsimile edition of the Nag Hammadi codices. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Robinson, J. M. (2000). The Coptic gnostic library: a complete edition of the Nag Hammadi codices. Netherlands: Brill.
Make sure to check out our Instagram (@thepreservationlab) where we’ll share Catarina’s process of making her Codex X model later today. And, if you missed yesterday’s Instagram stories where Jessica shared the exciting journey of photography the choir psalter then take a look at our “PresWeek 2020” story highlight (see below).
This Spring the Preservation Lab is partnering with the English Department to co-teach Book Arts (ENG3097). The Lab is leading the hands-on experiential learning portion of the course, with Gary Weissman (Associate Professor and Director of Literary & Cultural Studies, Department of English) leading the seminar portion.
During the Lab portion, students will be exposed to a brief history of the codex, make western-style paper, learn to a variety of sewn structures, have an overview of printing techniques, and explore ways to add interest to the codex structure (movable structures, closures, enclosures, material choice, etc.), among other activities.
For the February 5th class session, students made a model of the Nag Hammadi Codex VIII. Catarina Figueirinhas, Assistant Conservator, began the session with a short lecture on the discovery of the codices and the importance of the find to papyrologists, and book history and religious scholars. She then led the students through the creation of the half scale model.
It was a wonderfully successful afternoon thanks to a group of very engaged students and an amazingly prepared, as always, Catarina Figueirinhas.
Catarina Figueirinhas building up the cover structure – cartonnage.Nag Hammadi models created by Catarina Figueirinhas.
Holly Prochaska (UCL) — Preservation Librarian
All images provided by Melissa Norris (UCL) — Director of Communications
The lab received this book from the UC Classics Library in very poor condition. Ashleigh identified that the red cloth cover was not original to the textblock and overtime it had fallen off, exposing prior binding repairs. Paper fragments along the spine indicated to her that the binding was once originally cased in a paper wrapper before being rebound in a variety of ways. The book, originally sewn with only two sewing stations, had also been side stapled (!!).The staples were extremely corroded, staining the textblock and causing tears along the spine of the textblock pages, however; the original folded gatherings were mostly intact with original sewing stations revealed.
Since this book was important to the library and the librarians wanted the book to be handled by patrons and available to all, we needed to come up with a solution for a new cover that would be supportive of the textblock, flexible and could withstand handling from patrons. We also wanted to conserve the binding in a sympathetic structure to how the text was originally cased and sewn.
While talking with the Lab Conservator, Ashleigh, we explored various ideas for the new conservation cover, and ended up combining what we both had in mind. Clearly, our ideas had been influenced by our professional development opportunities that we attended in May; the AIC meeting Ashleigh attended and the weeklong workshop I attended on historical book structures with Karen Hanmer.
Inspired by the Smithsonian Archives AIC poster, Ashleigh suggested a combination of a sewn boards binding from Gary Frost and a limp vellum binding, adapting the structure of a non-adhesive paper case I learned with Karen Hanmer. Together we decided to explore a combination of all binding structures. Using the sewn boards binding for inspiration, we sewed on library boards as an extra set of endsheets, in addition to paper endsheets. Conservation endbands were sewn on with a back bead, similar to a vellum binding, and were laced through the endsheets and cover, providing extra support and flexibility to the two sewing stations.
To test our idea, I created a small model (as we always do for new ideas). By creating a model I could explore our ideas without causing any harm to the original object.
Model: Sewn boards binding, limp vellum binding and non-adhesive paper case combination, with conservation endbands.
Textblock sewn through the original holes
The model structure was a success! Therefore we proceeded to conserve the original book, starting with removing the staples. After Ashleigh removed the staples, I guarded several gatherings throughout the textblock with Japanese tissue and the textblock was sewn with a link stitch through the original sewing holes with an 18/3 linen thread.
In preparation for the new cover, a combination of sewn boards binding by Gary Frost, limp vellum binding and non-adhesive paper case by Karen Hanmer, two folios of 10 point board Bristol were sewn onto the textblock, one on each side, and lined on the inside with a sheet of 20 point board adhered with PVA.
Conservation endbands of a laminate of alum tawed leather and parchment were sewn, providing extra support for the cover attachment to the textblock.
Sewn boards onto the textblock with conservation endbands
The new cover was created with Cave Paper and adhered to the textblock by wrapping the paper case around the sewn boards and lacing the endbands through the cover.
And the final result…You can see, two minds are better than one…
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.
At the beginning of April I was lucky enough to attend a RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging) workshop offered by Cultural Heritage Imaging (CHI) at Yale University. CHI is a non-profit organization that shares and teaches RTI and Photogrammetry technology with cultural heritage institutions around the world. The class I attended was a 4-day NEH grant sponsored course taught by three RTI experts from CHI, and it was amazing!
This is a composite image of all the highlight points from one RTI section. The software uses these highlight points to map the surface shape and color of your object.
So, what is RTI? CHI describes it on their website as “a computational photographic method that captures a subject’s surface shape and color and enables the interactive re-lighting of the subject from any direction”. For highlight RTI, which is the least expensive and most accessible method for most institutions and what I was taught in the class, you basically take a series of 36 to 48 images of an object where everything is constant (settings and position of objects, camera and spheres) except for the light position. With a reflective black sphere (or 2) set up next to your object, you move you light source around the object at varying angles. Then, you take that set of images and plug them into the free RTI software provided by CHI and the algorithm detects the sphere(s) and the highlight points (from your light) captured on the sphere(s) and voila!…you have an fun and interactive way to look at your object’s surface texture.
Before I attended this fantastic training opportunity, our conservator and I knew right away what the subject of our first capture would be when I returned…a 16th century German Reformation text by Martin Luther with a highly decorated cover that is practically invisible under normal illumination.
Here’s a time lapse video of our first (and second) capture in the Lab…
That day (Tuesday) were were able to capture the upper and lower covers of the Reformation text (from ARB), the original silk cover from a 17th century Chinese manuscript (from Hebrew Union College) and an illuminated page from a German vellum prayer book (from PLCH). And here our some snapshots of our results from two of those captures (click on the thumbnails for a larger view of the image)…
This possibly 13th century German Prayer Book has a full stiff vellum binding and an illuminated first page. The varying modes highlight condition issues like worn/abraded parchment and flaking gold illumination, as well as the overall surface texture of the illumination.
I hope you’ve enjoyed getting a little sneak peek into RTI. I will be demoing and discussing in further depth this afternoon from 1:30 to 3pm at the Lab’s annual Preservation Week Open House. I also hope to do more RTI captures/processes in the future and share them here. Jessica Ebert (UCL) – Conservation Technician
As a farewell gift and appreciation for all the work and time dedicated to the University of Cincinnati, The Preservation Lab was asked to create a custom binding for an Album for the Provost and 29th President Beverly J. Davenport. UC Government Relations and University Communications provided the lab with single sheets printed with photographs of Dr. Beverly J. Davenport during her time at the University of Cincinnati. To create the custom binding the single sheets had to be cut using one of our board shears. All the sheets were precisely cut to the same dimensions and a textblock was created. Once the textblock was ready, endsheets and pastedowns were selected. In this case since this book was dedicated to our Provost and 29th President, the color of the endsheets where the colors of UC, red and black. A white paper was chosen as a pastedown. Since the pages were single sheets, the finished book would need to have a simple structure: a double fan adhesive binding. This structure is perfect for a textblock of single sheets as it provides a strong binding that allows the text block to be opened almost flat without causing the pages to separate from each other and break free. The adhesive is pasted onto the spine of the text block with a double fanning technique, where the pages are fanned in both directions allowing the adhesive to reach about 1 mm into the text block pages. After the pages are fanned in both directions, the spine of the text block received a lining of Cambric Cloth to provide support and an attachment for the cover. The spine was also lined with a handmade paper further strengthen the spine and prevent it from breaking from heavy use. Once the textblock was finished, the cover was created, a cloth cover quarter binding. To continue with the theme of UC colors, a marbled paper with red and black tones was chosen. A black cloth was chosen for the spine lining. The album received striped red stuck- on endbands.
After the cover was made and the textblock was cased in and the album was ready to receive a title. The title was created using the Lab’s hot stamper. Several titles were made using the same black cloth used on the spine. A silver title stamped on a black cloth was chosen, since it best matched the theme and colors of the cover.
And the final result:
The Lab deeply appreciated this opportunity to contribute to the farewell gift and wish our 29th President Dr. Beverly J. Davenport all the best. Catarina Figueirinhas (UCL) — Senior Conservation Technician
