#nyulibraries

[nyupreservation]

Surveying Spain: Working with Spanish Civil War Posters at NYU Libraries

Hi, my name is Mia Lindenburg. I am a graduate student undergoing NYU’s Dual Degree program, where I will get an MA in literature and an MLIS. This semester, I have been working with NYU’s Barbara Goldsmith Preservation & Conservation Department, mentored by Lindsey Tyne (Conservation Librarian), Laura McCann (Director of Preservation), Weatherly Stephan (Head of Archival Collections Management), and Felix Esquivel (Collections Manager, Special Collections), to survey the Spanish Civil War Poster Collection (ALBA.GRAPHICS.001). This internship has helped me to prepare for a future career in special collections libraries, where I will be required to work with delicate material similar to what I see in this collection. I am very thankful for this opportunity and how it has allowed me to delve deeper into archival work with a hands-on approach.

In addition to working with the Preservation department, I have been lucky enough to work with the Archival Collections Management (ACM) and Special Collections departments, allowing me to see the different perspectives of handling a large and often complicated collection. This blog post will demonstrate the different ways in which these departments added to my learning experience and show some of the special facets of working with this collection in particular.

BUILDING THE DATABASE

Before I began surveying this collection, I had to create an infrastructure that would allow me to compile the data I would be collecting. I used the software AirTable to build this database. First, I had to move the data that had already been collected into my table. This came from Archives Space (AS), an archives information management software used by NYU Libraries. This had much of the preliminary data I would need to fact-check against in the survey, such as poster locations. After I had brought the AS data into the table, I created fields that would duplicate the AS fields but with the descriptor (survey) to show any differences. Additionally, I made new fields for things we might want to consider, such as condition and size. 

UNIQUE POSTER FORMATS

“I tu? Que fas per la victoria?”

ALBA-ES 46, copy 4 “i tu?” (Photo by: M. Lindenburg)

The first set of posters that I want to discuss is ALBA-ES 45 and 46, also known as the two sides of “I tu? Que fas per la victoria?” a Catalan poster depicting a bloody soldier advocating for his audience to participate in the war, to support the cause. This collection has many copies, encapsulated (meaning this poster is inside a protective mylar sleeve) and unencapsulated, of this poster. The copies pictured below interest me because they were particularly delicate. You can tell from the photos that they were split into pieces, making flipping the posters to inspect the back difficult. These will need a lot of conservation work, although they may not be an immediate priority since so many copies are in fine condition.

ALBA-ES 45, copy 4 “i tu?” (Photos by: M. Lindenburg)

“Allisteu-vos a les milicies antifeixistes”

The poster “Allisteu-vos a les milicies antifeixistes,” belongs to a series of posters collected at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia as part of a circulating exhibit.

ALBA-ES 116, recto, “Allisteu-vos a les milicies antifeixistes” (Photo by: M. Lindenburg)

These interest me because of how they were mounted for the exhibition. Rather than encapsulating the posters or leaving them untouched, this exhibitor chose to attach muslin across the back and use cardboard and grommets to hang them.

ALBA-ES 116, verso, “Allisteu-vos a les milicies antifeixistes” (Photo by: M. Lindenburg)

Annual Xmas Eve Ball

Poster ALBA-US-15, uses a mounting technique commonly used with posters associated with the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB).

ALBA-US-15 (Photo by: M. Lindenburg)

It is mounted on a paperboard, which makes it somewhat heavy and unwieldy when grouped in folders. Take note of the headline of Zero Mostel, which shows the support the VALB received, even from celebrities.

THE INSCRIBED NAMES & WHO THEY WERE

Archie Brown is a signature I’ve encountered a lot in this collection.

ALBA-ES-8 (Photo by: M. Lindenburg)

Brown was born in 1911 in Sioux City, Iowa. He was brought into the world of labor activism at an early age. 1934, he was arrested at a Young Communist League (YCL) event in San Pedro. But he continued with his activism despite this. In 1937, Brown got tuned into the struggles in Spain, particularly after his brother was recruited to the International Brigade. In San Francisco, Brown was denied a passport because of his radical reputation. So, he went to New York City and stowed away on a ship to France, where he would travel to Spain. He joined the forces of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and, even after the war, continued to fight as a soldier and an activist.

Archie Brown, 1982 (Photo by: R. Bermack). Image Source.

Harry Hakam is an interesting character, partially because of his frequent correspondence with other members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

ALBA-ES-77 (Photo by: M. Lindenburg)

Hakam was born in Brooklyn in 1913. In February 1937, he sailed to France, arriving in Spain in March of the same year. He served primarily as a battalion runner, returning to the US in 1938. However, it’s his correspondence that makes him shine. His collection marker (Hakam) is found on many posters that share others’ names, meaning he likely sent these posters back and forth between fellow members.

Harry Hakam. Image Source.

We don’t have as much information on Al Erdberg, but we do know from the Harry Hakam Papers (ALBA.046) and the fact that Erdberg shows up in the Hakam posters that they had correspondence. Erdberg was likely part of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade or a state-side supporter. This would be an interesting figure to research further.

ALBA-ES-30 (Photo by: M. Lindenburg)

REHOUSING

A big problem I encountered when surveying these posters was with the housing rather than the posters themselves. Often, I encountered groups of ten or more posters in a folder, making the folder heavy and difficult to move. Further, if these posters are in mylar encapsulation, they become even heavier. To remedy this, the posters need to be rehoused into sturdier folders. I began some of this work with Laura McCann this semester, and the rehousing of the posters will continue through the summer. 

VELCRO STICKERS

Some of the posters I found had velcro stickers left on the mylar encapsulation. These are likely from previous exhibition techniques, where the posters were attached to a wall using velcro. However, this technique is now deemed problematic, so Lindsey Tyne and I used a process to remove these stickers. We used a hot iron to heat small metal spatulas, which we then used to melt the adhesive of the sticker and lift the velcro off. This is a delicate process, but we got into a rhythm and moved fairly quickly.

Mia removing velcro (Photo by: L. Tyne)

This collection has taught me many things. I have learned to be patient, think carefully, and always be on the lookout for new observations, among many other smaller skills. If I were asked to advise someone starting a similar project, I encourage them to take note of their natural rhythm so that they can figure out which order of surveying works best for them to maximize efficiency. I would also tell them not to be afraid of asking questions, even if it’s clarifying something they think you already know. This has been an incredible experience, and I feel so lucky to have been a part of this collection. Thank you for taking the time to read my post!

[librarycompany]

Happy #TeacherAppreciationWeek to all the teachers out there. Yes, even the feline ones.

Tradecard from : Henry H. Hildebrand, prescription druggist. [United States, ca. 1888]

[nyupreservation]

Preserving Leaf Paintings in an Anglo-Indian Commonplace Book, 1822-1825

Hello, I’m Alexa Machnik, a third-year graduate student at the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU. I first came to the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation & Conservation Department in Fall 2022 as a student in the graduate course, Conservation in Context, taught by Laura McCann, Director of Preservation. During this course, we delved into the world of library conservation, exploring the value systems that guide preservation decision-making and treatment action in academic research libraries. One of my class projects involved rehousing delicate leaf paintings from an early 19th-century commonplace book, or friendship album, part of the Fales Library holdings in the Special Collections at NYU Libraries (figs. 1-2) [1]. In honor of Preservation Week, I will share the intriguing history of the book and discuss the decisions that were made to preserve the leaves.

Figure 1 [left]: Front cover of the commonplace book, bound in gold-tooled red morocco leather.   Figure 2 [right]: Ownership label of “Jane Harriet [Blechynden]” on front marbled pastedown.

The book in question was compiled by Jane Harriet Blechynden (1806-1827) in England between 1822 and 1825. It holds her personal collection of handwritten and acquired materials, with contributions from her sisters, Emma and Sarah, who wrote original poems about sisterhood, separation, and their Anglo-Indian ancestry. The three women were the daughters of a British merchant residing in Calcutta, and while born in India, they were educated in England [2]. There is not a great deal known about Jane Harriet’s life in England, but her impending return to India in 1825 is documented in an emotional verse by Emma (fig. 3):

“Thus in parting my sister we’re breaking a link / Which may ne’er be united again / And firm as that chain was ‘tis painful to think / That absence may send it twain.”

Figure 3: Excerpt from the original poem, “Parting and a Meeting,” signed by Emma.

Jane Harriet’s book offers insights into her personhood, social connections, and sensibilities as an artist and collector. In addition to written entries, she inserted a compendium of acquired materials–pressed flowers, her own original drawings, and numerous paintings–between pages of the book (figs. 4-6).

Figures 4-6 [left to right]: A small sampling of the ephemeral treasures found in the book, including a dried pressed flower, a drawing on pith possibly by Jane Harriet, and a cut-paper silhouette.

Notably, six of these paintings are executed on the dried leaves of the Bodhi tree, a sacred plant indigenous to Asia with distinct spade-shaped, long-tipped leaves (fig. 7) [3]. Although leaf painting has origins in Buddhist traditions, by the time Jane Harriet collected her leaf paintings, it had already evolved into a form of Chinese export art in Europe. Her leaves depict secular scenes of contemporary life in China and botanical subjects, which are typical of the export genre (fig. 8). Their inclusion in the book implies that Jane was among the many people who partook in the avid collecting of China trade goods during the first few decades of the 19th century, a time when European fascination for Chinese culture and art was at its peak. 

Figure 7: A leaf painting, as found loose in the book and partially lifted to show the thin, translucent nature of the leaf support.

Figure 8: Another leaf painting from the book, oriented with the leaf tip at the bottom of the image, depicting flowers and a butterfly.

The initial rush of excitement that I felt at finding the leaf paintings soon turned to concern as I gave thought to their long-term preservation at NYU Libraries, where researchers are expected to handle the book. The leaf paintings were loose in between the pages, which raised a series of “what ifs” about the potential dangers they could encounter. What if the leaves slip from the book? What if they bend or break as the pages are turned? What if the painted surfaces become abraded? The paintings were made with opaque pigment-based watercolors on exceptionally delicate, skeletonized leaves that have been primed with a thin organic coating. Despite being intact, their inherent fragility means that they are vulnerable to even the slightest touch. After considerable discussion, the Conservation Unit decided that in order for the leaf paintings to be preserved and safely accessed by researchers, they should be housed separately from the book. 

I thoroughly examined the condition of the leaves and the painted surfaces in order to make a housing recommendation. Despite some minor damage, all were in stable condition. Thus, the ideal housing would provide support to prevent any further damage, such as paint loss and leaf breakage, and at the same time allow the leaves to maintain their translucency. To achieve this, I opted to mount them in double-sided window mats with a support made from clear polyester film, or Mylar® [4]. The addition of the Mylar® would not only create a stable surface for the leaf paintings but also enable the viewing of both sides (fig. 9).

Figure 9: View of the double-sided window mat with a Mylar® support.

My next challenge was to figure out how to mount the leaves onto the Mylar® support without the use of adhesive [5]. After consulting with conservation staff and creating mock-ups, short, discreet Mylar® tabs were selected as the best option to secure them into place (figs. 10-11). For this process, I positioned a single leaf painting onto the support and selectively placed the tabs around its perimeter, making sure the tabs did not overlap any areas of paint. I then used a handheld spot-welding pen to fuse the tabs to the support. Since this process was done in-situ, near the leaf, it required lots of precision practice and encouragement from colleagues before I felt confident enough for the task.

Figure 10: Detail of a mounted leaf painting. Notice that the Mylar® tabs are welded just outside the leaf and extend minimally over the edges, holding it in place with gentle pressure.

Figure 11: The backside of a mounted leaf painting viewed through the Mylar® support. This gives researchers access to the painting’s verso, where an underdrawing and other signs of artistic process can be discerned.

At the time of writing this post, I successfully housed the six leaf paintings in their double-sided window mats (figs. 12-13). This housing project, while complete, is just one part of the ongoing effort to preserve the commonplace book, and the Conservation Unit is continuing work on other elements of the book to ensure its safe return to Special Collections.

Figure 12: Example of the completed housing, showing the front of a leaf painting.

Figure 13: Back of a leaf painting.

Though my involvement in the project has come to an end, I have gained a very special appreciation for the commonplace book and the preservation challenges it presents. The experience of learning directly from NYU Libraries Special Collections was especially invaluable, providing me with opportunities to participate in complex decision-making processes unique to large research libraries driven by user needs. Before signing off, I’d like to extend my gratitude to my supervisors, Laura McCann, Director, and Lindsey Tyne, Conservation Librarian, and the entire team at the Barbara Goldsmith Conservation Lab for their unwavering support and enthusiasm throughout this project. Thank you all very much!

Notes:

[1] A commonplace book is a centralized place for an individual to record information, whether it be their personal thoughts or quotes from outside literary sources. Friendship albums, by contrast, contain handwritten entries from the family, friends, or acquaintances of the owner (often female). Both forms of commonplacing sustained popularity in Europe and America throughout the 19th century. To learn more about this fascinating literary genre, see Jenifer Blouin, “Eternal Perspectives in Nineteenth-Century Friendship Albums,” The Hilltop Review, Vol. 9, Issue 1 (2016) and Victoria E. Burke, “Recent Studies in Commonplace Books,” English Literary Renaissance, Vol. 43, No. 1 (2013), 153-177.

[2] Much of what is known about Jane Harriet (also known in her family as Harriet) comes from the Blechynden papers in the British Library (Add. Mss. 45578-663). This large holding contains the diaries of her father, Richard (Add. Mss. 45581-653), and older brother, Arthur (Add. Mss. 45654-61). For a secondary account of the Blechynden household, see Peter Robb, Sentiment and Self: Richard Blechynden’s Calcutta Diaries, 1791-1822 (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2011).

[3] Michele Matteini, “Written on a Bodhi tree leaf,” Anthropology and Aesthetics, Vol. 75-76 (2021), 45-58. 

[4] The design of the double-sided mats is based on an instructional guide made available by the Library of Congress. “Double-Sided Mat,” Library of Congress, accessed 1 February 2023. 

[5] We chose not to use adhesives or traditional paper-hinging techniques to mount the leaf paintings for several reasons. As noted, the paintings are on fragile, non-paper-based supports that have an organic coating, which may be derived from plant gum. The leaf supports are thin, translucent, and highly vulnerable to breakage, so applying hinges directly with adhesive might permanently alter their appearance or risk further damage to the leaves over time, especially if they need to be removed from the housing in the future.

Photographs: Alexa Machnik

[nyupreservation]

"Azul" Print Comparison

This blog post for Preservation Week was contributed by media preservation graduate assistant Adrianne Lundy about her work on the Roland Legiardi-Laura and Joanna Kiernan Collection on the Azul Documentary (TAM.814).

Azul was directed by Roland Legiardi-Laura in 1988. The film focuses on Nicaraguan poetry and culture, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Ruben Dario’s published book of the same title. In 2022, NYU Special Collections acquired Azul’s many production materials, including raw footage and audio recordings.

Included in these acquired materials were nine separate prints of the film. All were assumed to be exhibition prints, based on their labeling and because they were housed in travel carriers used to ship prints to exhibitors. It’s not uncommon for duplicate materials to exist in a collection. However, maintaining duplicates means committing storage, funds, and resources that could otherwise be devoted to original elements of other collections. Exhibition prints also tend to have high rates of damage from projectors, abundant handling, and travel wear and tear. It was decided that these prints should be inspected and assessed to identify the best quality prints of the bunch.

The inspection of all nine prints took place in March and April of this year. The film is 105 minutes, and each print consisted of three reels. I made notes on key condition points, including the number of splices and level of shrinkage. A common form of damage across many of the prints came from misloading projectors or from DIY-ed projection marks. On two different occasions, the first ~100 feet of image on the first reel were heavily scratched, contained damaged perforations, and edge damage, but contained very little damage going forward. This is as if a projectionist had improperly loaded the film, stopped, corrected, and reloaded. 

On other occasions, the projection marks varied in how they were implemented. Oftentimes individual projectionists/venues would have their own systems for indicating that a reel change was needed. On a number of prints, the heads and tails of the reels were painted white, presumably to indicate this.

On other occasions, one or two frames were cut and re-spliced into the film. This was likely a result of the three reels being edited together onto one reel for easier projection, and then separated again when the print was returned.

Another common issue across almost all prints were high levels of shrinkage. Most prints were found to have shrunk by 0.3% or more. Prints with 0.5% or higher shrinkage were noted as unsuitable for projection. 

In inspecting the films, it was found that some prints were subtitled in English, while others were not. For this reason, a “best copy” was sought of each of these two versions. The two unsubtitled copies had the most vibrant colors of all the nine prints. Both were printed on Eastman 7243 Safety Stock, a stock used for color master positives. The stock type, plus the lack of subtitles, indicates that they may be of an earlier generation than the rest of the prints in the collection. One was in excellent condition, while the other suffered from projector damage and shrinkage over 0.5%, making the choice of “best copy” simple.

The remaining seven prints all had subtitles and were all marked as “Low-Fade Positive Prints” (LPP). Though this stock was created to prevent color fading (in response to earlier color stocks that were susceptible to fading to a magenta color), the colors of these prints often appeared a bit duller in comparison to the 7243 prints. Despite this, there was one film that registered as having 0% shrinkage, along with a minimal number of splices.

Additional repairs will likely still be needed on these prints. The subtitled print was one of the versions with projector damage at the head, though the rest of the film is in very good condition. Though no perfs were broken, many were bent and damaged. The non-subtitled version has an improper tape splice halfway through the second reel that is collecting dust and grime. Despite this, it was wonderful to identify two minimally damaged prints to represent these two versions of Azul.

[nyupreservation]

Preservation Week 2023

Virtual Presentation: Conservation of Balinese Shadow Puppets from the Mabou Mines Archives 

Date: Tuesday, May 2, 2023, 1:00 - 2:00 PM (EST)

Location: Virtual Event/Zoom 

Registration: https://nyu_preservation_week_2023.eventbrite.com

Image: a Balinese shadow puppet from the Mabou Mines Archive, NYU Special Collections.

Since last November, Conservation Center student Peiyuan Sun has been conducting research and conservation treatment on a group of Balinese shadow puppets from the Mabou Mines Archive (MSS.133). In this presentation, she will talk about the information that she has discovered regarding the history and manufacture of these materials and the ways in which she is actively working to make these items more accessible to future users.

Peiyuan Sun received her B.A. in Art History from NYU in 2018. She is in her final year at NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, where she is a candidate for an M.A. in Art History and M.S. in Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. Since fall 2022, Peiyuan has been working as an Andrew Mellon Fellow at the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department for her curriculum internship under the supervision of Preventive Conservator Jessica Pace.

This event is presented in celebration of Preservation Week, an annual initiative of the American Library Association aimed at connecting our communities through events, activities, and resources that highlight what we can do, individually and together, to preserve our personal and shared collections.

[nyupreservation]

FILM INSPECTION: THE EARLY FILMS OF BETH B

by Emily Jenne, Institute of Fine Arts Conservation Center graduate student

Beth B, one of the most influential filmmakers to emerge from the generative chaos of the 1980s downtown scene, is known for her transgressive head-on confrontation of power structures and sexual politics. She formed the independent film production company B Movies (a play on low-budget films) with her partner Scott B, with whom she has worked over the years along with a panoply of collaborators, downtown luminaries such as Jack Smith, Arto Lindsay, Pat Place, John Lurie, Bill Rice, Gary Indiana, James Nares, Kiki Smith, Tom Otterness, Richard Edson, Vivienne Dick, James Russo, Richard Prince, Ann Magnuson, Jenny Holzer, Richard Kern, Kembra Pfahler, James Habacker, Dirty Martini, Thurston Moore, and Kai Eric (the list goes on). She is still active today, and her recent documentaries zero in on burlesque, no-wave provocateur Lydia Lunch, and the painter Ida Applebroog (who also happens to be Beth B’s mother).

Flyer for ‘Black Box’

As a longtime Beth B fan myself, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work on several of her early films as they entered NYU’s Special Collection (Beth B Papers, MSS.614; Scott and Beth B (B Movies) Records, MSS.622). This included: G Man (1978), Black Box (1979), The Trap Door (1981), Salvation (1987), Belladonna (1989), and Visiting Desire (1996), as well as a copy of Un Chant d’Amour (1950) the first and last film by French writer Jean Genet, famously banned for its explicit content. As a graduate student specializing in both time-based media and paper conservation at the Institute of Fine Arts NYU, I am often asked where these two seemingly disparate fields overlap. The work I’ve done at the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation & Conservation Department is an excellent example of the two working in tandem. The Beth B collection, for example, has both a media component (the films) and an accompanying paper element (posters and other ephemera). 

‘The Deadly Art of Survival’ poster, photograph by Dawn Manokowski

Film preservation begins with an assessment logging current conditions and identifying the media, which will determine the best practices for storage. The first order of business is identifying the film base as cellulose nitrate, acetate, or polyester. The film gauges present in the Beth B collection, 16mm and Super 8mm, ruled out one possibility, cellulose nitrate which was never used as an 8mm or 16mm substrate in the West. From there, acetate and polyester could be distinguished using a very high-tech piece of equipment, 3D movie glasses. A pair of polarized 3D glasses folded in half at the nose can be used for a polarization test. When slid between the lenses, a polyester base will birefringe, acetate will not (birefringence is a phenomenon of optical anisotropy in certain materials that causes distinctive visual undulations at changing angles). In the end, all of the films were found to have an acetate base. 

The film inspection bench in the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation & Conservation Department.

Further information about the film stock can be determined from clues in the edge code. Using a loupe and cross-referencing with an edge code chart, the year and even the location of manufacture can be established. The placement of a dot within the word ‘safety’ notes the location (acetate film base is known as ‘safety film’ in contrast to its highly reactive and flammable predecessor, cellulose nitrate). The film stock in the Beth B collection was manufactured in Rochester, NY. 

Kodak edge code identifying Rochester, NY as the manufacturing location.

Eastman Kodak Date Code Chart

Information on the soundtrack format was also noted, the Super 8mm reversal films had a magnetic soundtrack, and the 16mm reversal films had a variable density optical track. Other relevant information was also recorded such as instances of surface abrasion, broken sprocket holes, number and character of splices, and any annotations on the head or tail leader (often instructions for the projectionist).

‘Salvation’ Print # 2

‘The Trap Door’ 8mm reel.

The major concern with acetate film base is deacetylation, an irreversible form of deterioration colloquially known as ‘vinegar syndrome’ for its distinctive acidic odor which can be detected at concentrations as low as 1 ppm. Deacetylation is essentially a reversal of the synthesis steps used to make the acetate base, and the reaction produces acetic acid which can also have a detrimental effect on the other component layers of the film. Acetic acid can soften the gelatin emulsion layer and accelerate fading of color dyes in color film. Deacetylation also leads to warpage, embrittlement, channeling, and shrinkage of the film base by as much as 10%. Shrinkage beyond 0.8% makes it dangerous to project the film. 

Film shrinkage gauge.

Deacetylation is exacerbated by high humidity and fluctuations in temperature, but further damage can be mitigated with correct storage conditions. The industry standard for measuring the extent of deacetylation is with AD strips, a type of targeted litmus test, which measures acidity on a scale of 0 (blue, indicating no deterioration) to 3 (yellow, which indicates critical condition). In conjunction, multiple readings taken with a film shrinkage gauge can be used to determine the average shrinkage level of the film.

An 8mm film splicer in action.

‘Trap Door’ film reel storage case.

The films in the Beth B collection were found to be in generally good condition, and minor preservation interventions included the removal of tape residue and splicing of new labeled extensions onto the existing head and tail leader. The copy of Un Chant d’Amour, now upwards of 70 years old and suffering more from the effects of deacetylation in contrast the Beth B films, is a good reminder of the importance of consistent low humidity, low-temperature storage in prolonging the life of acetate-based films, just the kind that these films will receive in their new home at NYU.  

Film Poster for ‘Lydia Lunch: The War is Never Over’

[nyupreservation]

Happy Preservation Week! (Part 3 :)

Hello again, and Happy Preservation Week, everyone!

This is Part 3 of our Preservation Week 2021 blog series, if you missed Part 1 or Part 2, feel free to check them out first!

Not long after I finished treating my set of 1891 publisher’s bindings (see Part 2), I had the chance to conserve/preserve one of their Renaissance ancestors. The little book shown in Photos 1-2 is a 1541 Latin translation of a text by Aristotle, and its parchment cover is an example of 16th century recycling!

This type of binding is a “limp vellum” laced-in case, and it was made from a sheet of parchment that someone had previously used to sketch architectural columns (see Photos 3-4.)

In Photo 3, if you turn your head sideways, you can see the base of a column near the bottom left corner, and on the right side, near the spine, you can see a drawing of a Corinthian column. These drawings are difficult to see under normal lighting conditions, but the ink (probably iron gall ink) shows up very well under UV. The recycled parchment binding was probably very flexible when the book was bound, but today the cover is stiff and difficult to open. As you can see, it has also detached from the text, and it functions more like a protective folder than a book cover. Apart from this obvious structural problem, the book is in relatively good condition, and I took a minimally-invasive approach to treating it, under the supervision of Lou Di Gennaro, Special Collections Conservator.

I began by adding a few teeny tiny spine linings between the raised bands on the spine of the text block. The book originally had a pair of parchment spine linings, but these are still attached to the parchment text: in Photo 2, a pair of horizontal strips of parchment span the fold in the parchment case. These two strips of parchment were adhered to the back of the text, and this was the main attachment point between the text and the parchment covers. The text could still be handled and read without its original spine linings, but it was more vulnerable to damage (especially because the spine's loops of sewing thread kept trying to slip off the raised bands!) We decided to apply small strips of Japanese long-fibered kozo paper between the raised bands (Photo 5). I applied these with wheat starch paste (Photo 6) and when they had dried they provided a measure of almost-invisible strength to the spine.

After the spine was consolidated with kozo paper, we considered how to address the binding. It would have been very satisfying to reattach the parchment case to the text... it was clear that this approach would have caused even more damage to the book eventually, though, because of the force that would be required to open it. Fifty or more years ago, conservators might have taken the text apart, washed all of the pages, resewn the book, and given it a brand new parchment cover. In the past, this was considered the best way to preserve a 480-year-old book, but today, most conservators agree that it’s better to preserve these books in their current condition, as much as possible. We decided to leave the parchment cover separate from the text, and to allow it to continue functioning as a protective wrapper. The only difficulty with this decision was that the inside of the parchment cover had several sharp edges that were scratching the outermost pages. Most books have a few blank pages at the beginning and end of the text (“endleaves”), because the first and last pages are very vulnerable to damage. This little book didn’t have any sacrificial endleaves, so we decided to add some (Photos 7-8).

I chose a modern paper of a similar weight and color, and I folded two pieces of it to create a pair of endleaves at both the front and back of the book. Using wheat starch paste, I adhered the folds to the very edge of the first and last pages. The new endleaves look a little too clean when compared to the original paper, but they will protect the first and last pages from abrasion. They can easily be removed from the book later, if another conservator disagrees with this approach, and believe me, there is a long tradition of conservators questioning the decisions of their predecessors! Finally, I created a custom-fit preservation enclosure for the book (Photos 9-10).

This 4-flap wrapper with a rigid outer case will protect the book from light damage, dust, and abrasion, and it’s always better to slap a barcode on the enclosure than on the rare book itself! Additionally, this wrapper will buffer the parchment from fluctuations in temperature and humidity; parchment can shrink or expand quickly, depending on how dry or humid the air is, and over time these cycles of expansion / contraction can weaken the binding. Again, this treatment involved a bit of “conservation” and “preservation.” The physical alterations that I made to the book were minimal, and these changes are more preventive / functional than aesthetic. The preservation enclosure will make the book look a little less pretty on the shelf, but it’s much safer now!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for tomorrow’s installment of our Preservation Week 2021 blog series… I’ll discuss the preservation of a set of 24 unexposed Daguerreotype plates and the wooden box that they were purchased in (see photos below!)

-Cat Stephens

[nyupreservation]

Happy Preservation Week! (Part 1 :)

Happy Preservation Week, everyone!

I’m Cat Stephens, an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow studying Library & Archive Conservation at NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. At the IFA, I’m earning an MA in the History of Art and Archaeology, and an MS in the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, specifically in the conservation of books, paper objects, and photographs.

Students in my graduate program have the option to spend their year-long graduate internships almost anywhere in the world, but I chose to stick around and intern at the NYU Libraries’ Barbara Goldsmith Preservation & Conservation Department... In addition to being awesome at their jobs, the conservators here are excellent teachers, and I’ve always been impressed by the range and volume of treatments that they perform every year! Additionally, NYU has done an impressive job of reducing the spread of Covid-19 on campus, and I feel very lucky that my internship was not severely impacted by the University’s precautionary measures. Since September 2020, the library’s preservation staff and I have had the option to work in the library for 2-4 days every week, and we catch up on paperwork during our teleworking days.

Over the last seven months I’ve worked on many treatments that have helped me understand the finer points of library preservation, and I’ll describe four of my favorite preservation/conservation treatments for you over the next four days. These treatments include a 19th century publisher’s binding, a 16th century book bound in recycled parchment, a wooden box full of unexposed Daguerreotype plates, and ... a skateboard??

But first, unless you’re a library or museum professional, you may be wondering what Preservation Week is, and how does “preservation” differ from “conservation?” For cultural heritage institutions, Preservation Week is a yearly opportunity to draw public attention to the importance of preserving cultural heritage materials of all kinds. These materials may include modern books, medieval manuscripts, audio/visual materials like VHS tapes and home movies, photographs, scrapbooks, textiles, digital data, paper documents, and metal, wood or glass objects, just to name a few. Many of these materials are held in libraries and museums for public enjoyment, but perhaps many more are sitting in our basements and attics! If you have special things at home that you want to preserve, there are many online resources available to you, and I’ve provided links to some of them at the end of this post.

For conservators and other preservation professionals, Preservation Week is a good time to consider the enormous range of objects that we’re tasked with caring for, and to think about new ways to preserve and conserve them for the next generations. In libraries and museums, “preservation” and “conservation” refer to slightly different activities, but they both contribute to the wellbeing of cultural heritage objects. “Conservation” refers to any physical interventions performed on an object, such as cleaning, making repairs, or compensating for parts that have been lost. A conservation treatment can reduce the stains in a flood-damaged drawing, or it can transform a pile of ceramic sherds back into an ancient vase. “Preservation” usually encompasses the activities performed around an object which will minimize the object’s chemical and physical deterioration over time. Preservation activities include the making of enclosures to protect objects from physical harm, dust, or light damage, the management of pests, and the careful control of temperature and humidity in storage facilities. Preservation and conservation are two sides of the same coin, and many argue that “preservation” is the broader term which includes conservation activities. This point of view is often held in libraries, where the objects (usually books) are not just static relics of the past, they are vehicles of information; to access this information, books must be handled, and they must be able perform a kinetic function. For this reason, any conservation treatment that restores functionality to a broken book can also be considered “preservation.” Of course, many old or rare books have been digitized and made available online, but even so, scholars often want to verify and augment their online research by perusing the original book… there’s no digital substitute for the real thing :)

Thanks so much for reading, and stay tuned for tomorrow’s installment of our Preservation Week 2021 blog series, where I’ll discuss the conservation of a novel published in 1891 (photos below!)

-Cat Stephens

Some At-Home* Preservation Resources:

American Institute for Conservation (AIC): “Caring for Your Treasures”

American Library Association: “Saving Your Stuff”

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency): “Salvaging Water-Damaged Family Valuables and Heirlooms” ... (Fact Sheets are available in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Spanish):

Minnesota Historical Society: Preserving “Clothing and Textiles”

National Archives: “How to Preserve Family Archives (Papers and Photographs)”

*But sometimes a problem is so complex that it requires a conservator… AIC’s “Find a Conservator” tool can help! https://www.culturalheritage.org/about-conservation/find-a-conservator