Sometimes an item comes into the Conservation Room that has pretty much everything going wrong for it and as a Conservator your heart sinks (but then you get a bit excited because it’s good to have a challenge!) This volume was one of those.
The paper was acidic and brittle, 141 of the 430 leaves were detached from the binding, 41 leaves had been repaired with four different types of adhesive tape, the red ink was highly soluble, the spine was missing, the front board was detached and the binding had been extensively covered in masking and parcel tapes.
Before any work is attempted with a job this complex, it is important to consider every aspect; the type of paper, the construction of the binding, carry out tests on all the inks and adhesives and to compose a treatment proposal that has multiple Plan Bs; this is because every handmade archival document we work on is unique, and whilst we have a scientific understanding of materials and a craftsperson’s knowledge of construction, organic materials bound together in a mechanical object will invariably want to do their own thing.
The first task was to remove the adhesive tape from the paper. Different tapes require different removal methods, so it was important to identify each before treating. In this image, a heated spatula is used to gently warm and soften the adhesive which allows the plastic carrier to be peeled away, and then cotton buds dipped in solvent were used to swab away any adhesive that was left on the paper.
Paper repairs are usually carried out with water-based adhesives, but the red ink was too soluble to use these. Therefore, a gelatine-based adhesive activated with ethanol was used. Single detached pages from within the text-block were adhered back in their correct position, and the first 48 leaves and final 22 leaves, which were all detached, were sewn into sections.
In order to re-attach the sections at the front and back, linen sewing supports were added on top of the existing broken vellum supports to provide extensions. The first and last sections were sewn onto the supports and additional sewing was added throughout the text-block to reinforce loose sections. The text-block was now repaired, and the binding was the next hurdle.
The boards were too damaged to be able to reuse them, so these were carefully housed within a folder and a new binding was made instead. New cloth-joint endpapers, created with blue Spanish marble paper, were sewn to the text-block, and new boards were made and attached. To match the original, the volume was bound in archival goat on the spine and corners, and a book-cloth was used to cover the boards. A leather label was gold-tooled and adhered to the front board. To further protect the binding, a bespoke clamshell box was made with two trays; one to hold the folder with the original boards and the other to hold the newly bound volume.
Often, as a Conservator, as with life, the things you dread doing the most turn out to be the ones you’re most happy with. This volume was one of those.
Wow, that is impressive! Thanks for sharing, I had no idea that could be done.
It takes a lot of time and dedication, but the end result is absolutely worthwhile!
I would love a short TV programme to be made about your fascinating and skilful work!
What a superb piece of work.
Thank-you for your comment, and we are delighted you enjoyed reading this blog!
I am incredibly impressed with the dedication and skill you have applied to this task, you deserve real congratulations from one and all. Exceptional work, well done!
Thanks Andrew! We are glad you enjoyed reading about this work. We will be publishing more blogs from Conservation in future, so please come back to find out more!
That’s amazing. Thankfully we have people who can do these wonderful tasks and preserve our old documents and books.
We are constantly in awe of the work our Conservator does! Long may it continue!
Wonderul work! Restoration of such important historical social documents is so worthwhile.
It absolutely is! We are glad you enjoyed this blog!
What delightful surprise!
I have recently completed the restoration of a copy of, Every young man’s companion published around 1764. The ideal gift to pass on to my youngest son and his two boys , our grandsons.
The volume was rescued from the windows sill of a Dorset Pub many years ago where it had been used to prop the windows open, Fortunately the leather cover had done it’s job well in holding the windows ajar however the back was broken and rotten and a number of pages needed repairing and rebinding.
The task is complete and ready to present to them as soon as the lock down is removed.
I should be fascinated to discover more of the history and background of the volume and of similar “useful gifts” for parents or guardians to present to a young man who had not gone to Westminster school or had a private tutor.
The many useful sections covering most things an aspiring young man of that age would need to know we’re those under the title “of dialling” which give full instructions and tables for the construction of sun dial suitable for all places in the known world! Very useful if one happened to be ship wreaked.
So thank I look forward to passing on volumes from my collection to the various local museums and to family members.
What a lovely story, and we’re sure your son and grandsons will love it!
I am grateful to hear more about this process. This week I took my 1886 family Bible to a book restorer to hopefully be saved. It was in similar shape to Rental book, but the outer boards were still in usable condition. My family had used the book for pressing flowers and keeping hair samples from children within the pages. The pages were beginning to deteriorate considerably. All in all it was in worse shape than when I placed it in an archival box to hopefully protect it several years ago. I think perhaps our weather in the Northwest U.S. has something to do with the rapid decline. But even in a climate controlled environment, it suffered. The book was brought from a dry climate into a wet one.
Hi Sue, we are delighted that you have found this blog useful! The climate can make such a difference to the long-term prosperity of records. We hope your book comes back in a good condition!
I am a member of the Society of Book Bookbinders and live in Dorset. I would be very interested in helping in any way I can and am very impressed with the conservation of your recent Rental of the Estate of the Marquis of Donegal.
Hi John, we’re glad you found this blog interesting. If you are interested in volunteering, please send us an email and our Conservator will get in touch in due course – archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Fascinating reading how you did such a great repair on the Rental. Thank you
Jane
Thank-you Jane, we are glad you enjoyed reading about the work that goes on behind the scenes!
What a superb job. It demonstrates a meeting of knowledge and skills that is a “steps back in amazement” ( and admiration) moment.
We’re glad you enjoyed this blog! Look out for more from our Conservator!