Cleaning Books and Paper Documents

Cleaning Books and Paper Documents

Check for a few tips on cleaning books and documents. No Boundaries in Preservation second poster and video is all about that. You can download the poster and watch the YouTube video at:

http://library.uncg.edu/preserve

No Boundaries in Preservation is a three languages project - English, Portuguese and Spanish -  and is committed to outreach a large number of communities in the Americas and Western Europe, offering videos and posters with basic technical information in the libraries and archives preservation field. 

Don't forget to join and follow us on social media to get the latest news on this project. 
Facebook: UNCGPreservationServices
Twitter:  @UNCGPRESERV

Funding for No Boundaries in Preservation was generously provided by the University Libraries Innovation Grant Program at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA.

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 - A Dictionary of the English Language - Samuel Johnson -1755

We are always facing challenges when it comes to the conservation treatment of some of the University Libraries books. This one was not an exception. From our Special Collection and Archives, A Dictionary of the English Language, from Samuel Johnson, 1755, in two volumes, is one of the most important reference works for the English language.

In full maroon calf leather, the original cover showed so much stress from the years of usage, with the original spine missing and large areas of loss, including damaged corners and detached endbands. 

A few decades ago the book was rebacked in a coated leather, false raised bands and no hollow. Not having a hollow made this new leather addition very susceptible to stress due to its characteristics, becoming very brittle and breaking in several parts due to the weight of the large textblock ( 11 in. x 16 in.) and the heavy usage from our researchers.

The photos below illustrates the before, after and the several stages of the conservation and restoration treatment of this particular book.

Front cover

Back cover

 Endbands and edge loss.

 First steps on restoration using Japanese Paper Moriki.

 Spine in a double layer of Japanese Paper and linen.

An insertion, on both boards, close to the joint, achieving the original leather level.

Hollow in Japanese Paper Moriki

 Front cover restored.

Back cover restored.

New endbands embroidered, 'per original'.

New Japanese Paper internal hinges, 'per original'. 

The rebacked spine.

Some useful links:

- http://uncg.worldcat.org/title/dictionary-of-the-english-language-in-which-the-words-are-deduced-from-their-originals-and-illustrated-in-their-different-significations-by-examples-from-the-best-writers-to-which-are-prefixed-a-history-of-the-language-and-an-english-grammar/oclc/1637325&referer=brief_results

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language

- http://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/?page_id=7070

- http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/dic/johnson/1755johnsonsdictionary.html

THE BEFORE AND AFTER OF A CELLO MUSIC BOOK

The Cello Music Collections constitute the largest single holding of cello music-related materials in the world and is a part of Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives at UNCG. From this collection we received several books to be treated at the UNCG Preservation Services, some with minor repairs and others requiring a full conservation and restoration treatment.

The variety of types of bindings and materials from this collection is broad, but here you can have a glimpse of a three-quarter-bound leather with decorative paper on the cover. The restoration took place following all the precepts of a conservation point of view, achieving a result that meets both functionality and aesthetics. 

Before

After

Before

After

Cello Music Collections webpage

http://library.uncg.edu/info/depts/scua/collections/cello/index.aspx