Tag Archives: Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

The Split-Board Binding: Extensive Yet Extremely Effective

We recently shared a blog post on the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library’s blog that serves as a companion post to this one. Both posts focus on the repair of two CHPL books, Covered Bridges and When Art Meets Design, that received split-board binding treatments carried out by Kasie. While this post focuses on the treatment itself, the other illustrates the journey of a circulating book through treatment in the lab (and at home) and its eventual return to the library. We highly recommend checking out A Journey from Broken to Mended: Repairing Books in the Preservation Lab.

As a hybrid conservation lab, we treat and house both special collection items and general circulating collection items, as well as everything in between. Special collection items are rare or archival materials that typically do not circulate; basically, books and other objects that you can’t take home with you, are out of print, valuable, and/or are less readily available locally, nationally or even globally. General circulating collections are typically books that can be checked out and taken home, and tend to be newer books, books still in print, and/or more popular books. Since we are a collaborative lab that means that we treat and house special collections and general collections from both the University of Cincinnati Libraries (UCL) and the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL).

Due to the nature of these two types of collections (general and special), the treatment, documentation and who treats what is very different. Before the pandemic, most of the staff’s time was dedicated to special collection items or the items that fall between the two categories, which we call medium rare, and our students and volunteers, with plenty of hands-on, one-on-one training, handled the bulk of our general collection repairs. But then working from home, all or a majority of the time, became the norm for Lab staff and we had to shift focus and turn to taking on more general collection repairs that we could more easily take home with us. Initially, we took home more difficult sewing projects and mending projects that our students or volunteers either hadn’t gotten to yet or were avoiding for one reason or another. Then, after we could return to the Lab in some capacity to prep our own materials, we realized that split-board bindings* were the ideal general collections treatment for staff to work on from home.

A split-board binding is a new binding or case that incorporates several newly added reinforcement elements that are then sandwiched between two pieces of board that make up the front and back covers.

Kasie’s split board binding cutaway model

Split-board bindings are a great solution for oversized, heavy books like coffee table books and art books with glossy pages, which are very common in both UCL and CHPL general circulating collections. They are also, by far, the most complex general collections treatment we perform in the lab and have always been done by the conservation technicians, instead of our students or volunteers. This is not only because of the complexity of the treatment, but also because of the lengthy treatment time involved; a student or volunteer’s limited weekly schedule in the lab is not conducive to such an extensive treatment. Though it was a general collections treatment reserved solely for the conservation technicians, prior to March 2020 the techs unfortunately had little time to work on these treatments, as our focus was primarily on special collections treatments and housing. Therefore, we had amassed a little backlog of split-board binding treatments – enter quarantine and working from home!

One question that might come to mind, if split-board bindings are so elaborate and extensive, why do them on general collections items at all? Why not just buy a new copy; wouldn’t that be more cost effective? Typically, the books that warrant a split-board binding are more pricey, glossy paged, oversized books, like art and architecture books. And unfortunately, though these books have a much higher retail price than your average James Patterson novel, the construction is generally less than ideal. These books might have beautifully printed, full-color, thick and glossy pages and dynamic cover art, which makes them attractive to the reader, but they also are often sewn with very thin, fragile thread that easily breaks. The spines are generally lined with a layer of rigid plasticized glue that can become very brittle over time. Often, the covers or cases are constructed solely of printed paper, not cloth, and generally have a thick piece of board along the spine (which we call a flat back) that doesn’t allow the book to flex properly when opened and can actually make the spine break down and tear in record time. It is not uncommon for these books to have little to no reinforcement in the attachment of the textblock to the binding (i.e. how the block of pages is attached to the cover), which makes the heavy textblock break away from the cover quite easily with use.

But why are these books constructed so poorly? These large coffee table and art books are constructed with individual use in mind, not with the frequent use and circulation that comes with a library collection item. The split-board treatment, along with many general collection repairs, improves on a bad binding design and makes the book stronger and sturdier, using better binding techniques and materials that can better stand up to use by many library patrons.

A split-board binding treatment involves creating a new binding with new sewn-on endsheets that are reinforced with cloth, at least three sewn on linen tapes (supports), new spine linings, and a new quarter bound case created with two boards at the front cover and two at the back cover, and generally an inlaying of the original cover designs. However, additional elements of treatment may be warranted based on the condition of the book, such as broken sewing, tears, detached leaves, etc. The steps generally proceed in the following order:

Prepare materials in the Lab – new endsheets, starched reinforcing cloth, linen tapes, spine linings, binders board, bookcloth and Bristol board for inlays.
Detach textblock from cover, if needed.
Remove original spine linings, mechanically and with poultices.
If broken, remove original sewing thread and disbind textblock.
Mend any tears and guard any separated, torn or detached leaves.
Sew to include linen tape supports and new endsheets using French link stitch – whether partial/added sewing over the original sewing or complete resewing is dependent on whether the original sewing was intact or if it was broken and the textblock disbound.
Round and back spine, as needed.
New spine linings adhered to the spine:
- Reversible layer of kozo fiber tissue with wheat starch paste.
- Original stuck-on endbands, if present, or new endbands.
- Cloth reinforcement lining (Cambric) with flanges that extends past the spine on both sides.
- Several paper linings to further support the textblock.
Create “laminated flanges”, the key characteristic of a split-board binding, using the sewn on linen tapes, the flanged cloth piece adhered to the spine, and the first and last leaves of the new endsheets. Cut laminated flanges into thirds, with the center portion incorporating all the linen tapes.
If the original covers included artwork that should be retained, mechanically remove from the original boards. Remove remaining board backing with poultice.
Remove and clean the original spine.
Cut binder’s board to size – 2 pieces of board are cut for both the front and back covers (4 pieces total). The thickness of the boards used is dependent on the shoulder of the book.
Determine placement of the board and adhere the middle laminated flange segment to the top of inner board, keeping the top and bottom laminated flange segment under the inner board, unattached. Adhere the outer board to the inner, thus sandwiching the middle laminated flange section between the two boards.
If the original cover is being inlayed, create and attach an inlay border of thin Bristol board to the cover boards, as needed.
Covering the boards:
- Attach the spine cloth piece and turn in at the head and tail.
- Attach the board cloth to the upper and lower boards and turn in the edges.
Bevel the remaining laminated flanges and sewn on cloth reinforcement (Cambric) slightly and attach both, in sequence, to the inner boards.
Adhere the pastedowns and trim the remaining sewn on Cambric to roughly 1/8” – ¼”.
If there are cover inlays, adhere the inlay(s) to the cover(s) within the inlay border.
Adhere the original spine to the new spine of the case.

When completed the treatment offers a substantial amount of support to the textblock and a robust attachment of the textblock to the new case. While it is an involved treatment that requires a good amount of preparation, work and skill, the end results are worth it all, and the improvements are significant.

Treatments of this magnitude take many, many hours over the course of several weeks. Often, only a few steps of the treatment can be accomplished at a time to account for drying time, and timing out visits to the Lab. To take a sneak peak at what some of the steps of treatment look like please check out the video below:

For an example of how Kasie used a split-board binding treatment and modified it for a special collection item that came to the Lab from UC’s Winkler Center without a case, check out her blog, A Monster of a Treatment.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into a split-board binding treatment! If you did and you want to see more of what we do, and see the Lab, then please check out our Virtual Lab Tour which will take place on Tuesday, January 26^th at noon, live on the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library’s Facebook page. For forthcoming information about the Virtual Tour follow the Public Library on Facebook and follow the Lab on Instagram (@thepreservationlab).

*This treatment was originally designed at the Brigham Young University lab. Then it was brought to the University of Kansas lab by Brian Baird, where our conservator, Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer, learned the treatment and thus brought it to the Preservation Lab.

Kasie Janssen (CHPL) – Senior Conservation Technician & Jessica Ebert (UCL) – Conservation Technician

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

Work From Home

As things change daily in Ohio, we’re staying informed by listening to Governor Mike DeWine’s press briefings at 2pm, in addition to updates from UCL and the Public Library.

In particular, we recommend accessing the Public Library’s COVID-19 web page to see what info and resources the Library is sharing daily, such as how to obtain after school snacks provided by the UMC Food Ministry.

Another resource we’d like to pass along is about the management of collections when faced with a public health emergency. Please see the Massachusetts COSTEP website about collections maintenance, environmental cleaning, and library lending:

Public Health Emergencies

*Update 3/27/2020: The American Institute for Conservation (AIC) has also published a useful list of Collections Care Amid Covid-19 resources to check out. See the Ohio Preservation Council’s COVID-19 page as well.

As of Monday (3/16/2020) the Preservation Lab staff are practicing safe social distancing by sheltering in place. We have packed up our benches and transformed our personal living spaces into productive places to work from home.

Holly’s adorable nook with typewritten words per day!

To stay connected, we use iPads or laptops and have a Preservation Lab Microsoft Team set up for instant communication, video chat, and file sharing. VPN and Remote Access were also heroically provided in extremely short notice by UCL IT staff.

Our work from home projects range from online learning opportunities, research we wish we always had the time to do, report writing, model making, exhibit preparation from pre-cut materials prepared ahead of time, box making (from pre-measured books), and general collections treatment.

We also have a longer list of work-from-home-ideas should the pandemic sheltering last more than a few weeks. These include:

Professional organization committee work (such as AIC/MRCG/& OPC)
Disaster preparedness updating
Creating videos
Writing blogs
Updating procedures and guidelines
Preparing instructional materials
Curriculum creation for teaching
Fabricating book furniture for Gothic binding treatments
Making book futons
Constructing silk screens for washing
Organizing emails and photography files
Sierra (online catalog) record cleanup
Uploading reports to the Preservation Digital Resource Commons
Creating databases such as one to record exhibition lighting

…And more such as the list provided by Duke’s Preservation Lab Team:

For those interested in learning along with us, the lab’s short list of at-home professional development opportunities include the following FREE courses/webinars:

Image Permanence Institute’s Photographic Process ID webinars
AIC Photographic Chemistry for Preservation
Identifying Museum Insect Pest Damage and Addressing it with Integrated Pest Management
UCLA History of the Book
Japanese Culture Through Rare Books
ALCTS YouTube channel:
AIC/ECPN’s “Gender Equity in the Conservation Field”
Lecture on the “Peculiar Problems” of Preservation” with Sanchita Balachandran
AIC & FAIC YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aiconservation/videos
DHPSNY’s Preservation in Exhibits
Online courses from HarvardX
LinkedIn Learning

With so much evolving on a daily basis, remember to take a second to take care of your mental well-being. We recommend the following UC presentation on Seeking Well-Being: Self Compassion and Mindfulness as well as The Science of of Well-Being course offered by Yale.

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer – Special Collections Conservator (PLCH)

Exhibition Prep for Upcoming Show: Real Art for Young Artists

Join us September 15^th, 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:

UV filtered Tru View Museum glass (purchased from our local art supply framing store).
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.
Blue corrugated cardboard used as a backing board to the matting package.
Conservation note loosely set into place for future reference on the back of the corrugated backing board.
Sheet of Polyester film added behind the corrugated board as a moisture proof barrier.
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.
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.
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

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

Cincinnati Human Skin Bindings: Anthropodermic Bibliopegy

What is Anthropodermic Bibliopegy?

Anthro is a prefix meaning human, podermic is a suffix referring to skin, and bibliopegy is the art of binding books. The practice of binding books in human skin began in the 18th century for reasons foreign to our American culture, contemporary to today.

Before the digital age, family members found unique ways to honor and remember their loved ones. Beyond painted portraits, women commonly saved lockets of hair and integrated braided strands into unique and personalized jewelry. In the early days of photography, family portraits were an expensive and rare endeavor for most families. As a result, post mortem photography became common practice during the Victorian era. It’s possible that a post mortem photograph may be the only image a family would ever own of that person!

Likewise, not all anthropodermic books stem from a gory past such as tales told of procuring human corpses for the sake of science. Surprisingly, there are a handful of libraries around the country that claim to have a book or two within their collections with a direct connection to a historic figure, that are bound in honor of that person.

Discussions today surrounding the preservation of skin tattoos are not too dissimilar.

Cincinnati Bindings

In 2016, the lab was asked to sample the leather of not one, but two bindings for a national survey confirming the existence of these anthropodermic curiosities.

As part of the Anthropodermic Book Project, two Cincinnati books were sampled, one owned by the University of Cincinnati and another owned by the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library. Both were identified as bound in human skin.

Interestingly, both bindings contain 18th century works by Phillis Wheatley – one of the earliest African American writers, titled Poems on various subjects, religious and moral.

Frontispiece and title page of the ARB binding is identical to the CHPL copy.

Both books appear to be bound by the same binder showing similar gold tooling along the spine, but with one major difference. The UC binding is a half leather binding, covered in parchment boards while the PLCH boards are covered in full leather. The source of the human skin – we do not know.

Public library copy on the left is covered in full human leather. The UC copy on the right is covered in half human leather with sheep parchment covered boards. Both contain the title tooled in gold on the spine.

Provenance of Cincinnati Bindings

Documentation of the CHPL copy shows the Phillis Wheatley poems were presented to the Director of the Public Library in 1958, Ernest Miller, by the General Manager of Acres of Books, Bert Smith. Smith refers to, “two copies” of this title which he was able to obtain (the other copy owned by UCL). These were once owned by the Charles F. Heartman Collection as evidenced by the CHPL bookplate. At the bottom of the correspondence to the public library Director, Smith notes that the particular copy is “referred to in paragraph three, page seventy eight, of Walter Hart Blumenthal’s Bookman’s Bedlam…”, where he infers these books may have been bound by Zaehnsdorf bindery in London.

Documentation stored with the CHPL binding

Scientific Test Results

In 2016, samples taken from the books by the lab conservator were sent to scientists to confirm the source of the covering materials. Peptide Mass Fingerprinting (PMF) analysis concluded that there were three species involved with the bindings: human, cattle, and sheep. All leather showed positive results for human, the parchment for sheep, and traces of cattle were most likely present as an adhesive.

Closing Thoughts

Books such as these remind us that in the 18th and 19th century, the human experience of death was much different than we experience today. While today we tend to think of death from a more sterile and distant vantage point, the experience was much more personal in the past. Books bound in human skin would not necessarily have had held the same macabre connotations as they do today.

I especially like how Chris Harter from the Archives and Rare Books department frames the subject, “As uncomfortable as they make us feel, we can’t undo what has been done to create such books, but our main goal should be to be good stewards of the books and their histories.”

Polyester Encapsulated Page Binding *Part Two: The Components

This past year, the Preservation Lab was recruited to conserve the Public Library’s scrapbook of Althea Hurst.

Scrapbooks are complex library materials. They are conduits to stories told through the use of collections of ephemeral materials (a.k.a. materials meant to be thrown away and not meant to last), such as newspaper clippings, letters and postcards, and maps.
Due to their collection of content, scrapbooks usually are bursting with problematic preservation issues. Often, fragile pages hold stiff, brittle, or heavy parts that are adhered and folded. Components are frequently found layered and overlapping. These parts are filled with information and are intended to be handled and experienced; however, as the parts become fragile with age they are nearly impossible to touch without causing damage.

Althea Hurst scrapbook with adhered components, before conservation treatment.

In most situations, it’s often best to digitize an object and protect it by storing it in an enclosure. I often recommend patrons reference the digital copy rather than handling the physical object. Alternatively, if an object will be handled (and the importance of the object warrants conservation treatment) another solution is to support the pages by encapsulating them within clear polyester film. The polyester film encapsulations are then bound into an encapsulated page binding. This format help preserve the parts in the author’s intended order, however, this course of treatment must be carefully considered as it can sometimes be an invasive solution if disbinding is required.
In the case of the Public Library’s scrapbook, the scrapbook had been previously reformatted by a prior owner due to its poor condition. At some point in the object’s history, each page and cover had been separated from the binding and stored in non-archival plastic sleeves to protect the pages from breaking. Oversized rubber bands held the album in two manageable stacks.

Althea Hurst scrapbook as received, before conservation treatment.

When the library received the object, the pages were in dire need of stabilization before it could be digitized and also needed improved storage. Because the scrapbook was already disbound into pieces (even the covers were detached) an encapsulated page binding was selected as the most fitting option for storage. The local historical importance of the scrapbook warranted full treatment.

Althea Hurst scrapbook, view of inside upper cover and first page, before treatment.

Being a novice in encapsulated page bindings, I reviewed a few binding structures and wrote about my discoveries here. I settled on constructing a modified screw-post binding to fit the needs of the Public Library’s scrapbook.
Now armed with a direction for constructing the album structure, the next challenge was:
How do I encapsulate a scrapbook that houses a variety of adhered material, such as pamphlets, postcards, letters, maps, and more, and still make the parts accessible?

Encapsulation Techniques

To determine a solution for preserving the arrangement of parts, I researched various methods of welding paper, polyester film, and spun bond sheets of polyester webbing to encapsulated pages. I compiled the methods into a model binding for reference in preparation for treatment.

Below are a list of experimental solutions for housing and encapsulating the scrapbook’s multiple parts. Many of the techniques were utilized in the final treatment, as you will see in the photographs below.

1. Traditional Encapsulation

This technique was used to fully encapsulate scrapbook pages overall, or to encapsulate removed single sheets that needed extra support
Pages or parts were sandwiched between polyester film and ultrasonically welded on all four sides:

Gaps along the corners were left to encourage air exchange and to prevent buildup of acidic off-gassing of the historic materials.

2. U-sleeve: welded on 3 sides for top edge access

Useful for items that may need to be handled outside of the plastic and are thick or heavy

Hinged U-sleeve allows access to the card as well as stability for storing next to the envelope.

3. Polyester sheets welded on two parallel sides

Could potentially be helpful in the right circumstance for thin items that may need to be handled outside of the plastic. Two access points are helpful for reducing static cling and suction, however, items may accidentally slide out more easily (see next technique for a similar yet preferred method).

4. L-sleeve: welded along the left side and bottom edge (in the shape of an “L”).

Alternative technique to the U-sleeve for storing parts that may require future handling.
An L-sleeve can be welded to one side of an encapsulated page binding with an ultrasonic weld after the L-sleeve is created.
For thicker materials, an additional small weld along the bottom right edge is helpful to prevent materials from sliding out of the sleeve when the page is turned.

5. Spot welds: heat or ultrasonically welded

Technique used to hold materials in place and prevent them from sliding within an encapsulation

6. Thin overlapping attachments

Overlapping parts that need to be kept in a specific composition can be carefully removed from the page by a conservator and individually encapsulated. The encapsulated components can then be welded to the upper sheet of the polyester page using a variety of techniques to preserve the original orientation.
Using these techniques allows access to all the components on a page that would otherwise be inaccessible in a traditional encapsulation, and keeps the author’s intended composition.
Parts must be oriented and welded to the upper sheet of polyester before creating the finished encapsulated page, i.e. before encapsulating the lower sheet of polyester to the upper sheet.

7. Hollytex hinge

A strong synthetic hinge (made from spun-bonded polyester) that is welded to the clear polyester sheets with ultrasonic welding.
Useful for easily viewing the front and back of overlapping parts or loose bits.

Detail of Hinge

Overlapping Components, Before Treatment:

Hinged Overlapping Parts, After Treatment:

8. Paper Hinge

Usu Mino tissue is welded in between two sheets of polyester
The extended Usu Mino hinge can then be brushed with paste and adhered directly to a paper leaf.
Useful in other applications, for example preserving loose components in paper textblocks, such as pressed flowers or handwritten notes.

9. Polyester four flap attachment

For small but thick objects
To secure thin components with multiple parts on top of an encapsulated page while still allowing full access

10. Paper spacers

Strips of acid free paper can be placed within an encapsulation to prevent smaller components from moving within larger encapsulated pages.
The paper space holders are visually pleasing so the viewer is not distracted by the page below.
Static holds thinner sheets in place
Thicker textblock leaves may need to be spot welded in-between the document and the paper strip

11. Stiff support leaf with cloth hinge

To support heavy page encapsulations AND/OR include heavy components in pockets on a strong page within the binding
Constructed out of 2-ply mat board, PVA, and Canapetta cloth

Before Treatment:

After Treatment:

12. Stiff flyleaf to support encapsulated pages when laying open

Constructed out of 4-ply mat board, PVA, and Canapetta cloth
The stiff flyleaf contains a smaller hinge than the interior support leaves

*Bonus Experimental Technique:

13. Welding polyester film to Vivak

Even the cover contained an attached component!
As per a request by the curator, the original cover was incorporated into the new binding with reversible methods. The original cover was hinged into a sink-mat package that was sandwiched between a cloth covered mat and a sheet of Vivak.
After a bit of experimenting, a polyester L-sleeve was ultrasonically welded to the Vivak “pastedown” so the original arrangement could be preserved

Before Treatment & After Treatment:

A flyleaf of polyester film was hinged onto the “pastedown” to protect the attached component from being abraded by the edges of the textblock leaves:

Two volumes, after treatment:

Final challenge: how to manage the scrapbook’s large treatment effectively and efficiently.

To read about our collaborative treatment workflow, please see the next upcoming installment: Polyester Encapsulated Page Binding *Part Three: The Workflow.

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer (PLCH) — Conservator, Conservation Lab Manager
Photographic Documentation – Jessica Ebert (UCL) – Conservation Technician

A Blog of the Preservation Lab at UC