Super Size Me: The Book Conservation Variety, Part 1

In the coming weeks, we will be publishing a series of posts documenting the extensive treatment of one very large leather bound volume. Following is Part 1 of the series.

The Royal Commentaries of Peru, 1688, before treatment

The Royal Commentaries of Peru (RCP) by Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616), published in 1688, is a large volume covering some of the history of the Incas, including their government and laws and the Spanish invasion of their countries. The RCP landed in Preservation Services having already received multiple repairs and treatments over its lifetime, including a Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA, similar to common white glue) adhesive applied to parts of the leather cover, leather patches, and a strip of adhesive tape to mend the exterior hinge.

Before treatment, the textblock was split and
the book had received multiple repairs

Likewise, the book showed signs of extensive use, such as well worn foreedge corners, scratched and worn leather, and broken hinges. The textblock sewing was broken in places and the the textblock was in multiple sections. The binding was a tight back leather binding, so the leather rested against the spine edge of the text with minimal spine linings between the leather and paper.

Due to the PVA adhesive applied to the spine, the first section of the book was restricted from properly opening. Adding insult to injury, the book was originally printed and bound with the paper grain running perpendicular rather than parallel to the spine. As mentioned in an earlier blog post, the grain direction of the paper can affect how well the book opens and whether the pages drape or lay flat for easy reading. There isn't much to be done about the paper grain direction once a book is printed and bound, but there are a few techniques to lessen the impact and improve the function of the book.

PVA adhesive applied to the spine restricted the opening of the pages

A leather patch and PVA adhesive had been
applied during previous repairs

We do our best to conduct the least invasive conservation treatment that will stabilize a book and improve its function. Our goal is to maintain as much of the original item and experience as possible. In the case of RCP, we decided the best path forward would be to remove it from its damaged binding, which had already received numerous treatments, some more effective than others. The leather was too brittle and some of the treatments were partially irreversible, so a new binding was the best way to proceed.

The first step in the process was removing the covers and cleaning the spine. The original leather label was carefully lifted by facing it with Japanese tissue and Klucel-G (a leather consolidant). Because the label was very brittle, the facing tissue provided the strength and stability needed to lift it from the spine.

Prior to cleaning the spine, the original leather label was lifted by
facing it with Japanese paper and Klucel-G, a leather consolidant

The spine was cleaned by mechanically removing easily friable layers, followed by the application of a poultice of rice starch paste to soften the old adhesive. Once the spine was cleaned, it was clear that previous repairs had disguised much of the damage to the spine edges of almost all the folios. Thus, an extensive guarding project was at hand. Guarding is the process of attaching two paper leaves at their spine edges with a strip of Japanese paper and starch paste. The folios can then be sewn through the fold to reconstruct the text block.

Left: Separate leaves waiting to be guarded
Right: Stacked sections of the textblock already mended and ready to sew

RCP is just over 1000 pages and almost every folio needed guarding. Needless to say, this phase of the project was time-consuming. But, slowly and over time, the stack of leaves became a stack of guarded folios.

Once the text block was fully mended, sewing commenced. In order to minimize the swell produced when thread is sewn through every section (a section is several folios seated one inside the other), the book was sewn in a pattern called "two on". Just as it sounds, two sections are added at a time and the thread alternates from one section to the other so that half the amount of thread goes through any one section. This keeps the spine edge of the book from being disproportionately larger than the foreedge of the book.

A sewing frame was used to support the cords while the sections are sewn together along the length of the spine

The book was sewn on cords. For a particularly large book such as this (roughly 8.5"W x 13.5"H x 3"D), the cords provide extra strength and support as the book is handled. By guarding the folios and resewing the book, it has become much more functional for the reader as it flexes open more easily and is much stronger than before, not to mention it is in one piece again!


Stay tuned for Super Size Me: The Book Conservation Variety, Part 2 to follow the steps of sewing endbands, board preparation, and lacing the covers to the textblock.

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

..but the fire is so delightful...and since we've no place to go,
Let it snow Let it snow Let it snow!

Yes those winter days will soon be upon us.  What better way to prepare for the fun of the season than to sit down with a delightful book about the beloved Santa Claus.

This wonderful book was sent to the Conservation Lab for restoration and  received some much needed care and adoration.

 

The front cover board was broken. The text block had fallen from its casing. The endpapers had suffered the wear and tear from delighted hands who rifled through its lovely pages. 

 

Spine was split

Spine reattached with Japanese Paper and endpapers restored.

 



The book was given careful treatment and reconstruction and looks close to its original state.

So as our days move into the restful peace of autumn and towards winter be sure to pick up a good book and enjoy that tactile pleasure of the printed page.  This volume from Special Collections may now rest easier within its newly restored covers.  

On Exhibit in Jackson Library

We have shared some examples of the variety of problems we encounter here in Preservation Services, as our books are returned to the Access Services desk, or in some cases, hidden in the stacks, we are always prepared for the unexpected.

Bugs like Books.

The Library offers FREE scanning for your digital convenience.  It is so appalling to find books with sections of pages violently torn from its spine.  Simply scan those wanted pages.

 Markers, highlighters, pencil, colored pencil, post-it stickie notes, paper clips, blue ink pens, red ink pens, black ink pens, fountain pens, crayons, pastels, charcoal.

These marking implements cause irreparable damage to books.  Because it is not your personal copy, please don't mark in library materials.

Use your notebook.

 DOGS

REALLY

DON'T

READ.

REALLY.

We have the proof.

Tape of any kind is not kind to books.

It leaves a sticky residue

(just like post-it notes, but worse).

Masking, Strapping, First-Aid, Electrical, Scotch, Duct, Mending,  Paper, 

to name a few of the tapes that have arrived on our books. Sometimes we are unable to undo the damage created by the tape that was meant to fix, yet really did more damage in the end.

Please handle drinks and food with
care if you must eat or drink around library materials.
Accidents can happen so quickly.

Enjoy...and Handle with Care

In the Preservation department, our goal is to handle with care and repair or restore those items housed in our stacks that have met with some misfortune and found their way to our lab.

Here are some items that have carefully been repaired 

and are quietly waiting to be sent back to their home in the stacks.

Enjoy our books,

 but please take good

care of them.