This week marks the end of the Dorset Authors Conservation Project as the final items were placed in bespoke boxes and the written report completed.
Generously funded by the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust (NMCT) the Dorset Authors Project aimed to conserve items from three major literary collections: Thomas Hardy, William Barnes and Sylvia Townsend-Warner. These collections were placed on permanent deposit by Dorset Museum at DHC in 2020. Each archive is distinct, but they contain similar material – large quantities of manuscript correspondence, literary notes, poetry, prose, and photographs. Together, they represent an archival legacy of outstanding value and significance.
Over 75 items were originally identified as needing treatment, but the final items selected were amongst the most significant within the three collections and were required for either museum display, digitisation, public access, or a combination of all three.
Over 30 items were treated and conservation time was split evenly between the three collections. Work on the Hardy collection focused on items requested for loan for exhibition. Treatment included minor stabilisation work, such as tear repairs, to more interventive treatments such as repairs to bindings. Most notable of these was the original manuscript of The Mayor of Casterbridge which had a detached binding and broken sewing cords. Loose pages were adhered into the textblock, old spine linings were removed and replaced, and the boards re-attached.
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In the Barnes collection there were a number of letters that were suffering from iron gall ink degradation. Iron gall ink was the most common ink used until the 20th century but it’s instability can cause damage to the surface it’s written on, and in extreme cases the inked lines can crack and fall out of the paper completely.
Although the damage to the ink in these letters was slight to moderate, ranging from discolouration of the ink and haloing to visible strike through on the reverse of the documents, tears and losses prevented the items being handled. Treatment was kept to a minimum, creases and folds were mechanically flattened using a bone folder, and repairs were stabilised using a gelatin adhesive applied as a re-moistenable tissue. Gelatin is known to inhibit iron gall ink degradation and applying it as a re-moistenable tissue reduces the moisture content thereby lessening the risk of causing further instability. A number of loose wax seals were also adhered back into position, then each letter was housed in a polyester sleeve and the collection placed in a four flap folder. They have been added to the list for digitisation to reduce handling and increase online accessibility.
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In the Sylvia Townsend-Warner collection conservation was carried out on a collection of handmade books of poetry from Sylvia’s partner Valentine Ackland, all suffering from damage due to the deterioration of adhesive tape used in their construction. In some cases the application of adhesive tape appeared to be an aesthetic choice, such as the use of bright yellow tape on a pink, paper binding, therefore treatment options had to balance the needs of long-term preservation with the perceived original intent of the maker. Where possible original adhesive tape was preserved in its current state, but where tape was removed to necessitate repairs, it was replaced with a sympathetic alternative.
Two further notebooks in the Townsend-Warner collection required treatment as they were currently inaccessible due their fragility, both suffering from similar damage including split boards, loose pages and historic insect and mould damage. Treatment involved repairing broken boards, tipping in loose pages, strengthening weakened and fragile paper, and replacing the leather on the spine.
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These archives are high profile and are of great interest to both academic researchers and the general public locally within Dorset, but nationally and internationally too. DHC wished to ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of the archives and through partnership working promote their cultural value to the widest possible audience. The Hardy archive is now the subject of a £70k cataloguing project with support from TNA’s Archives Revealed and others. Both the Barnes and Townsend Warner archives are under active consideration for similar cataloguing projects and it is hoped that all three collection will be much more accessible in the near future than is the case at present.