Last year, we were joined by a new Conservator – Jessica Pollard! Four months later, and we thought it was about time we introduced her to our readers!
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Hello, I’m the new Archive Conservator at Dorset History Centre, joining the team in November of last year, and can’t quite believe four months has gone by already!
I moved to Dorset from London where I was a conservator at the British Library, having also worked at The Royal London Hospital Archives and The National Archives, as well as various stints as a freelance conservator. Life in Dorset has been fantastic so far and I am really getting stuck into my new role in Collection Care at DHC, made easier by the warm welcome I’ve received here.
A little about my previous role at the British Library. I was a Digitisation Conservator at the BL for 6 years and was lucky to be involved in some fantastic projects, such as working on Ethiopic manuscripts; the treatment of 400 pre-1200 illuminated Western manuscripts; assisting in the development of a conservation studio in Palestine and, very relevant to me now, the digitisation of the Sherborne Missal. Although DHC is a very different place to the BL the chance to work with items directly related to where I am living and working feels such a privilege.
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So, what have I been up to so far?
Well, I’m definitely being kept occupied, whether it’s getting to grips with our passive environmental controls; carrying out a collection survey of glass plate negatives for a local museum; or estimating conservation costs for a new acquisition, it’s been a busy few months.
Alongside getting to know the building, the collections, and the people there were also numerous conservation projects on the go that I’ve now taken over. One such project has just been completed and we hope to share information about it very soon, while another is just getting started, The Dorset Authors.
The Dorset Authors project has been generously funded by the National Manuscript Conservation Trust and looks to conserve items from three major literary collections: Thomas Hardy, William Barnes and Sylvia Townsend-Warner. A condition assessment was first carried out to identify those items in need of conservation treatment. These items were then further prioritised based on current accessibility and content. Treatment has yet to begin on these items but will range from making bespoke housing, removal of self adhesive tape, repairs to damaged bindings, and stabilising tears to paper. Take a look at the photos below for a sneak peak into the project.
I will continue to share more about the conservation projects over the coming months so do stay tuned. In the meantime, if you have any conservation related queries, or own any material that may benefit from conservation treatment, then please get in touch (archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk)!