Christmas Wishes!

Free photobank http://www.tOrange.us 

Learning the Craft of Bookbinding

During the fall semester, Preservation Services had the pleasure of hosting Ms. Carmen Palacios-Aguirre. Ms. Palacios-Aguirre is a senior at Eastern Guilford High School.  To meet the requirements of the Senior Project, Carmen asked to spend some time in Preservation Services.  The Senior Project requires a student to select a topic and explore a work environment that involves a field for which they have no experience and is outside their field of study. 

Carmen is interested in bookbinding and proposed spending time with us in our worklab to learn more about the craft.  So far in her time with us, she has mended paper, sewn a textblock and cased it into a new beautiful blue cover.  She has removed an older textblock from its worn cover and created a new binding for it.  She has performed a spine repair for a worn volume from our bookstacks and designed and created a four-flap enclosure for a scrapbook from Special Collections and University Archives.

Carmen is very enthusiastic about bookbinding and the craft of book conservation and restoration, and hopes to someday own her own bookstore that will offer new and used books. In her short time with us she has demonstrated exceptional skills in precision, design and construction of bookbinding.  She is a very attentive pupil and it has been wonderful to see the interest grow for a new generation of bookbinders.

A 1/4 Leather Book from 1766

Interesting Historical Events on the Province of Bengal - Indostan - 1766

I'm always searching for great findings in our library stacks and rescue them for Jackson Library Special Collection and University Archives (SCUA). The book here presented is from 1766 with original cover in poor condition, leather was degraded and marble paper was very abraded.

Indostan was a term used to designate the region today know by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal.

A total of nine maps gives the reader a broad view of what Bengal Province region looked like in the XVIII century. The book is a great source for the researcher looking into the modern history of the Indian civilization.

Following several conservation procedures in its treatment, we can highlight the new binding in 1/4 calf leather and marble papers. The maps were mended and folded 'per original'. The original sewn endbands were gone, new ones, in linen, were added.

Also new handmade conservation endpapers replaced the ones used when book was originally bound, they were very acidic and did not belonged to the same type of paper used on the printed book.

Here is the Google url shortner link for this book in our Special Collection:

http://goo.gl/hhH65Z

Preservation Services on YouTube

The Preservation Services is releasing its first film about procedures in conservation treatments that are performed in our Division of the University Libraries. The film was possible through a joint effort with the Digital Media Commons, especially Cheryl Cross, who patiently recorded hours of  this treatment, to then be reduced to just eight minutes of viewing. What a fast conservation treatment!!!

The book, I Vespri Sicilliani, is part of our Cello Music Collection and was a donation received in 2013 from George Darden Piano and Opera collection.
http://uncgspecial.blogspot.com/2013/10/george-darden-martha-blakeney-hodges.html

The Dove Bindery and The Ideal Book

“This is the supreme Book Beautiful or Ideal Book, a

dream, a symbol of the infinitely beautiful in which

all things of beauty rest and into which all things of

beauty do ultimately merge.”

The Ideal Book - T.J. Cobden-Sanderson (1840-1922)

The Special Collections and University Archives, at the University Libraries, UNCG,  is the holder of the Book Beautiful or The Ideal Book. A limited edition of three hundred books, printed by Cobden-Sanderson and Emery Walker, at the Doves Press, in 1900, and bound at the Doves Bindery. Our copy has been previously restored and arrived at the Preservation Services for minor repairs and infills on the leather, which  is becoming very brittle.

 Before

Cobden-Sanderson opened the Dove Press in the late XIX and by the turn of the twenty-century, Emery Walker joined him for a period of eight years, when Cobden-Sanderson continued his printing career.

The press used a single type designed under the supervision of Walker and was based on a type from the 1400’s, by Nicolas Jenson, also a printer. The break of their partnership lead to bitter discussions about the type ownership and finished with Cobden throwing them into the River Thames, in 1916.

Detail of colophon

The ultimate goal of the Doves Press and the Doves Bindery was the “beauty” of all elements that were part of a book, including the text itself. They influenced the Arts and Crafts movement and worked close with William Morris and his Kelmscott Press.

 A custom clamshell box was designed and now holds this precious volume after restoration.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doves_Press

http://www.typespec.co.uk/doves-type/

https://www.facebook.com/DovesType 

Awareness at the Library

Two years ago we decided to make an exhibit about how some of our books are not treated in the correct way at the Jackson Library. We thought that doing an exhibit would create awareness on all those who visit the library and enjoy not only our facilities, but what we have to offer in terms convenience and knowledge.

This week I was doing a research on conservation and preservation and found a nice video produced by the Preservation staff, at Kansas State Libraries, and decided to share with you all, as it focus exactly to the same points we shared previously in our exhibit.

So here you have a link of the exhibit in Jackson Library, in 2013.

Jackson Library Exhibit about books not being treated in the right way!

And here the "vintage video" produced by our friends from Kansas State Libraries:

Preservation Faux Pas

Hope you enjoy it !

The Storing of Larger Materials

The Robert C. Hansen Performing Arts collection is housed in the University Libraries Special Collections and University Manuscripts division of UNCG.  http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/Hansen
During a recent digitization project, it was discovered that several large scale theater posters were in need of restoration.
Once restored, these items needed special housing to continue in the process of preserving these unique items from University Manuscripts.










Preservation Services welcomed the challenge of designing and constructing enclosures that would allow for their protection.

The restored posters were rolled onto archival tubes that are 11" in diameter and 48" long.  A layer of Reemay was rolled with the poster and a length of cotton cord was used to tie at either end.

The boxes were built with an interior support to hold a rod upon which the tubes were suspended. 

This suspension allowed for the tube to hang freely, eliminating any pressure or weight from pressing on any part of the restored poster.

The dimensions of the boxes are 51" x 12" x 12".  A nice solution to a unique project.