Restoration of a Marbled Leather Binding

The Seasons contains a series of four poems written by British poet James Thomson (1700-1748). Thomson began the series with Winter, which was published in 1726. He published Summer and Spring in the two years following. The final poem in the series, Autumn, was published as part of the complete edition in 1730.

The Seasons by James Thomson, after treatment

This copy of The Seasons, held in the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives at UNCG, was published in 1837 by publisher Andrus, Judd, & Franklin of Hartford, Connecticut. It is a small binding of about 4 x 6 inches, which was easily held in the hand or tucked in the pocket of its owner. The book has a decorative leather binding known as marbled leather. The effect was created by pouring acidic solutions across the leather to create striated areas of color resembling marble. For more information about decorative leather binding terminology and techniques, click HERE.

We recently had the opportunity to treat this lovely little binding in Preservation Services. When we received it, the front board was attached only by its cords. The leather was split at the hinge on the front and back covers, a natural result of regular handling of an old, brittle leather binding. 

Both images are before treatment, on the right: the PVA-type adhesive
at the fore edge corner from a prior treatment

The fore edge corners and the hinges had previously been treated with a PVA-type adhesive (common examples of PVA adhesives are wood glue, white glue, or school glue), which created a clear, plastic-like coating that may have provided some protection but also may have contributed to further damage as the adhesive was stronger than the aging leather.

In process (L to R): mending the outer hinge with Japanese tissue, recreating a
missing endband, mending the endcap with Japanese tissue

Other than some water damage staining at the spine edge of the pages, the text block was in relatively good condition. A folio in the first section of pages was loose and the interior hinges at the front and back were split just as the leather was split on the outside of the hinges.

The split hinge at the front of the book allowed for access to the spine edge of the first section, so we were able to sew in the loose folio. The interior hinges were repaired with Japanese tissue and rice starch paste. The exterior hinges were repaired with brown Japanese paper and then further toned with watercolor to more closely resemble the original marbled leather. Once toned, the Japanese paper was sealed with a coating of Klucel-G/SC6000 which consolidates and serves as an added layer of protection as well as matches the sheen of the original leather.

After treatment: the outer hinge was mended and toned
to more closely resemble the original leather

This copy of The Seasons by James Thomson was returned to Special Collections and is now available to be shared with researchers and students interested in 18th century British poetry, blank verse poems, or perhaps marbled leather bindings.

Instructional Technology: A Game-Changer for a Hands-On Workshop

In early October, Preservation Services Staff had the pleasure of teaching a pre-conference workshop for the North Carolina School Library Media Association's (NCSLMA) 2018 conference in Winston-Salem, NC. 

NCSLMA Pre-Conference Workshop in Winston-Salem, NC

"Book Repair on a Budget" is a hands-on workshop we developed to teach basic book repair techniques to school media specialists who often have very little time or funding to tackle book repairs, yet have an important need to preserve the life of their collections for as long as possible. After providing the workshop for several groups of Guilford County Schools Media Specialists in March of this year, we were invited to teach an extended version at the NCSLMA conference. (To read more about our partnership with Guilford County Schools Library Media Services, click here.)

Audrey Sage, Preservation Manager,
demonstrating how to reback the spine of a book

In the three-hour workshop, we addressed a variety of book repairs including paper mending, repairing loose covers, and repairing book spines. We focused on treatments that were relatively quick and easy to perform and that required materials media specialists likely have on hand or could acquire inexpensively. 

Lumens DC125 Ladibug Document Camera

Thanks to a Lumens DC125 Ladibug Document Camera (click here for more information), each step of the repairs we taught could easily be viewed by participants from the comfort of their seats. The document camera allowed us to easily alternate between demonstrations and hands-on work with participants to facilitate learning and improve their performance of each repair technique. At times, instructional technology can be a distraction from learning, but in this case it was a positive game-changer.

Suzanne Sawyer, Preservation Technician,
demonstrating how to tip in a loose page

Sawyer demonstrating a book repair with
the aid of a document camera

Participants of the workshop received a bag of sample materials that were used in our demonstrations as well as a link to our libguide, an online resource we have created (click here to view our libguide). It includes our PowerPoint presentations and videos, along with other digital resources about book repair, and a list of vendors for book repair supplies and equipment. It is our hope that the libguide will serve as a manual of sorts for school media specialists to return to for their own reference or as a guide for teaching book repair techniques to older students or library volunteers.

Innovation & Program Enrichment Grant Award: Revitalization of Spring Garden Press

Preservation Services Staff are pleased to announce that we have been awarded an Innovation & Program Enrichment (IPE) Grant. The Dean of University Libraries, Martin Halbert, along with his predecessors, has identified restricted funds for innovation and program enrichment here at UNCG Libraries. This year, we have been awarded the IPE Grant for the purpose of revitalizing Spring Garden Press, the imprint of Jackson Library's elegant 19th century Washington Iron Hand Press.

UNCG Libraries' circa 1850s Washington No. 2 Iron Hand Press

Spring Garden Press will be revitalized for the purpose of outreach to the UNCG community as well as the greater Greensboro community. The IPE Grant will provide funding to reinvigorate and enhance Spring Garden Press for regular, recurring programming. It will afford the opportunity to train a group of University Libraries staff to operate the iron hand press so that it can be used for educational and outreach purposes. Such training will allow for integration into various departments' curricula, promotion of assorted holdings in Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA), education of patrons about the history of printing and its evolution over time, demonstrations for special events and library supporters, and provide an opportunity for our digital-native students to experience hands-on traditional letterpress printing, possibly as a method for exploring their own ideas.

The circa 1850s Washington No. 2 Iron Hand Press has been used for class demonstrations periodically over the last 25-30 years that it has resided in the library, most recently under the tutelage of Paul Hessling. Hessling serves as the Special Collections/Chief Monographic Cataloger and is the only staff member at present who is knowledgeable about the operation of our press. The press use has dwindled in recent years for various reasons despite a core group of library staff – Hessling and a number of SCUA staff – being very interested in seeing the press used more often and becoming a more integral part of the department’s offerings and outreach.

Ten SCUA staff have volunteered to be trained by Paul Hessling and Sarah Smith to use the press. As Program Manager of the Book Arts Workshop at Dartmouth College Library, Smith teaches letterpress printing, bookbinding, and other aspects of bookmaking. She works closely with faculty at Dartmouth to create hands-on projects to strengthen the impact of their coursework—and with students and non-students on their extra-curricular projects. In November, with thanks to the IPE Grant Program, Smith will travel to UNCG to conduct a workshop on the Iron Hand Press for SCUA staff.

If you are unfamiliar with iron hand presses, please see the following video of Amelia Fontanel, an Associate Curator at the RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection, as she walks you through the process of printing using the Kelmscott/Goudy Albion iron hand press, a similar press to our Washington No. 2 iron hand press.

 

 
A core group of our staff will be trained to use the iron hand press for presentations and demonstrations. The goals are to increase faculty collaboration with SCUA in use of the press as well as existing collections and to expand existing partnerships with Guilford County Schools (GCS). We will collaborate with GCS art teachers and students to educate students about printing history, book arts, and SCUA collections and meaningfully tie in with a classroom project.

It is our hope that the revitalization of Spring Garden Press will allow for a sustainable collaboration with GCS, regular, recurring programming with faculty and students, and to leverage the existing talent and expertise of SCUA staff by training them to use the iron hand press both in existing partnerships and in new ones to be determined over time. 

Spring Garden Press will be SCUA’s version of a makerspace by inspiring creativity and new partnerships in the UNCG community and beyond. What's a makerspace? Learn more by clicking HERE.

Aqueous Treatment & Paper Tape Removal

Paper, essentially a relatively flat sheet of bonded cellulose or plant fibers, can be surprisingly strong and long lasting. As with most organic substances though, it is susceptible to decay when exposed to certain environmental conditions such as too much or too little humidity or excessive heat. Paper can also begin to break down due to the acidity from pollutants in the paper fiber, from media (such as ink) that have been applied, or from surface dirt or grime, such as oils from human skin as the paper is handled. 

Black printing ink created a brownish mirror image on the
facing page as the acidity leached from one page to the next.

Book and Paper Conservators have various treatment methods for removing or reducing the harmful effects of pollutants from paper, such as surface cleaning, deacidification, and aqueous treatment. Aqueous treatment is most often described as the process of cleaning and deacidifying paper by submerging it in a bath of water, or a series of baths. Depending on the item being treated, each bath may last from about fifteen minutes to more than an hour. After each bath, the item being treated is removed from the bath and the dirty water is emptied and replaced with clean water. This process continues until the bath water runs clear or almost clear after soaking. Aqueous treatment reduces the acidity of the paper somewhat, often reduces the discoloration caused by age or environmental exposure, and helps remove some of the dirt and grime from the paper. It can also be a great method for removing some types of tape and adhesives from previous repairs like paper tapes.

Map of Boston from The Life of George Washington, 1807.

Two layers of paper tape were attached to
the folded edge of the map.

This map of Boston is from The Life of George Washington, 1807, and was at one time attached in the book with paper tape or else mended with paper tape at some point. Paper tape often has a water-soluble adhesive, so aqueous treatment is an effective way to remove it, provided the paper can be submerged in a bath of water. Sometimes the paper is too fragile to withstand aqueous treatment or it might contain media, such as ink or watercolor, that is soluble in water, which prevents a conservator from using an aqueous treatment. For that reason, the media must first be tested for solubility. If it is stable, aqueous treatment can proceed.

Water droplet applied to ink to test for solubility.

A small piece of blotter was used to absorb the water
droplet and determine if the media was stable.

The blotter was clean, as seen above, so the media
was stable and aqueous treatment could proceed.

Once the media for this map was tested, the map was placed on a piece of Hollytex. Hollytex is a thin, strong, acid-free, woven polyester that acts as a support while the paper is in the water bath. A second sheet was placed on top so that the map was sandwiched between and it was easier and safer to handle. 

Map resting on Hollytex prior to humidification

Before placing the map in the water bath, it was humidified lightly to help it absorb water more easily once submerged. A Dahlia Sprayer - commonly used in conservation, was imported from Japan, and was selected for its ability to provide a fine mist without droplets or splatters - was used to humidify the front and back of the page prior to submersion.

The water flow was tested prior to misting the map.

 

The back of the map was also sprayed prior to
submersion in the water bath.

 
Once the map was humidified and the fibers were relaxed, the second piece of Hollytex was placed on top and the map was carefully submerged into a bath of water. Light pressure was applied to encourage the map to absorb water and sink into the bath for soaking.

The map, sandwiched between two pieces of Hollytex,
was submerged into a bath of water.

 

Light pressure was applied to encourage the map to
absorb water and sink into the bath.

The map was left to soak so that the paper tape's
adhesive could dissolve and release.

The paper tape

After soaking for about a half hour, the adhesive from the paper tape had softened enough to release from the map. The paper tape was peeled back to the extent possible, then a microspatula and a larger plastic spatula were both used to loosen and lift the remainder of the paper tape carrier.

Once both layers of the paper tape were removed, the surface of the map where the tape was adhered was lightly massaged to remove any remaining adhesive.

Using fingertips to gently massage the paper surface
to remove the remaining adhesive.

The map was then soaked in several successive baths to remove acidity and discoloration to the extent possible.

When tilted, it was easier to see how discolored the water had become.

After the last bath, the map was removed from the bath and placed on a blotter to air dry. Sometimes, paper items will need flattening after washing, but fortunately this map dried flat on its own.

The Hollytex makes it much easier to handle the wet paper.

Draining the majority of the water out before placing on blotter.

Wet map drying between Hollytex on blotter.

The map will be mended and hinged back into its place in The Life of George Washington with Japanese paper and starch paste. Because it was washed, much of the acidity has been removed, so it will be stronger and hopefully be used for many years to come.