Michele Brown at the Great Wall of China in 2014

“Who fixes these, anyway?” That was Michele’s Brown’s question. She was a recent graduate of Fordham University who studied English Literature. She was working in Harvard University’s Houghton Library typing catalog cards for rare books. At the end of every week, she would attach loose boards to textblocks with cloth ties, and she wondered what happened to them next. She was told that it was difficult to find people to fix the books. When Michele discovered that she could study bookbinding and conservation in London, the decision made itself. She attended Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in London and never looked back.

Michele has been Rare Books Conservator at Cornell University Library since 1995. She is preparing to retire on March 10^th, so she shared some thoughts with us about her career here in Ithaca. She observed that each treatment had its own challenges, and that one of her favorite treatments was the rebinding of Newton’s Principia. See her blogpost here: https://blogs.cornell.edu/culconservation/2012/09/14/rebinding-newtons-principia/ One year she was showing the book at a reunion event. An alumnus who was a physicist teared up as he examined the volume. “It reminded me how important books are to people, and making it so people can use them is important,” Michele commented.

Cornell University Library’s copy of the first edition (1687) of “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica” by Isaac Newton, generally referred to as Newton’s “Principia,” rebound by Michele Brown in 2012

Michele’s favorite tools are her bone folder, which she uses every day, and her dividers, because they are the first pair she bought. She recalls finding the dividers at a hardware store down the street from Camberwell and paying a couple of pounds for them.

Michele’s favorite tools: her first dividers and her bone folder

A high point for Michele was traveling to China three times to work with library professionals on a Luce funded grant. The focus of the grant was the care of circulating collections. She remembers, “The people were really interested in what we were teaching. We met lots of great people and saw interesting things.” In addition to visiting libraries and universities, Michele also visited the Great Wall and the Three Gorges Dam.

Michele Brown at the Great Wall of China with colleagues Pat Fox of Cornell University Library and Cao Li of Renmin University Library

“It’s a given that it’s great to work with Cornell’s outstanding collections, but I’ve also enjoyed working with great colleagues who are as passionate about book conservation as I am,” Michele reflected.

Michele’s plans for the future include gardening, joining the Ink Shop to learn printing, and making more artists books. She is currently working on a book with 3D printed covers!  Best of luck, Michele!

Basilica of the Sacred Heart,
University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana

I was fortunate to attend the Conservation of Leather Bookbindings workshop sponsored by AIC/FAIC (the American Institute for Conservation and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation Endowment for Professional Development) in March, 2020, just before COVID-19 changed everything. The workshop was led by Jeff Peachey, an independent book conservator and toolmaker, who was a generous instructor, meeting every student at our own level, guiding us toward a more thorough understanding of why to pursue certain treatments and how to carry them out. Liz Dube, Head of Analog and Preservation Services at the Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame, hosted us in the conservation lab in the Reyniers Building. Special thanks are due to Liz and Jennifer Hunt Johnson, Special Collections Conservator, Maren Rozumalski, The Gladys Brooks Conservation Fellow, Neil Chase, Preventative Conservation Specialist, and Tosha McComb, General Collections Conservation Technician. They were welcoming, friendly, and helpful.

The nine participants came from seven institutions: University of Chicago, Indiana University, Hagley Museum and Library, Cornell University, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and the University of Cincinnati, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Notre Dame. With Jeff,  we investigated several methods of reattaching the boards of leather bound books. A detached board or a weak attachment at the hinge of the board and the bookblock is a common problem that conservators often encounter in special collections materials.

Detached board on leather book

We explored many treatment options: sewing extensions, joint tacketing, hinge repairs, board slitting, and leather rebacking. Jeff asked us to bring several practice books that we could experiment on. I found good candidates at local used book shops: some with hollow backs, some with tight backs, all with laced-on boards. In advance of the workshop, I emailed him photographs and condition reports; he wrote back with treatment possibilities. At the workshop, Jeff led discussions and demonstrated techniques for the class. He asked us to develop treatment proposals for our books which he discussed with us individually. And we had plenty of time to try out what we were learning at our benches, all the while consulting with each other and asking Jeff questions. One of the most valuable parts of the workshop was producing a list of pros and cons for all of the treatments we talked about and practiced. We drew on everyone’s experiences to produce nuanced lists of reasons to pursue a certain treatment or to try something more appropriate. I’ll refer to these often in the future. I’ve created a lab resource to share with our conservation staff, along with my workshop notes and photographs, Jeff’s handouts and bibliography, and some newly purchased tools and supplies.

A theme of the workshop

At the top of this page of the class flipchart, Peachey quoted the motto of the Elkhart Institute of Science and the Arts, the predecessor of Goshen College, his alma mater: “Practical knowledge is the great power that rules the world.” This was a theme of the workshop – refining our hand skills using the tools of the trade.

Jeff Peachey at the bench

Jeff Peachey develops and produces many bookbinding specific tools that address the idiosyncratic needs of a conservator at the bench. I use his carbon lifter to gently free cloth from boards and one of his paring knives to reduce the thickness of leather when rebacking books.

Conservators working on their own often improvise innovative solutions to common problems we all face. One of these problems is propping up a lifted layer of leather or cloth while working on a book, getting ready to slide a reinforcing layer of cloth, paper, or leather under the original board covering. The lifted layer is very thin and fragile, and yet it must be secured out of the way while adhesives are applied to the board underneath it.

Don Etherington, founder of the Etherington Conservation Center, uses what he refers to as a “handy gadget” in his article Repairing an Original Cloth Case Binding that he distributed at the Brodsky Lecture and Workshop held at Syracuse University in 2009, although he was using the metal gadget long before then.

Drawing Of Don Etherington’s “handy gadget”

Some workshop participants had their own solutions to this problem. Jennifer Jarvis and her colleague Alessandro Scola from the Milton S. Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University developed a prop made of Vivak (a transparent thermoplastic sheet that is easily bent on a metal brake) to serve this purpose.

Jarvis/Scola vivak prop

Another participant, Melina Avery from the University of Chicago Library, drew a diagram of her solution on our flipchart. She uses heavy duty aluminum foil, string, and a weight.

Diagram of Avery prop

Elise Calvi, from Indiana University Libraries came up with another idea using folded clear polyester film and a weight.

Calvi polyester prop

By the following week, Jeff Peachey himself had devised another solution to address the problem using brass and Delrin (a thermoplastic polymer) that he calls the rebacking jig.

Peachey rebacking jig

I appreciate the ingenuity that resulted in the creation of all of these solutions! The first one I’ll try is the folded clear polyester film because I have that on hand in the lab.

I am grateful to Jeff Peachey, to the staff who work at the Conservation Lab at the University of Notre Dame, and to all of the participants for a wonderful workshop. I look forward to reading the following articles that were referenced in Jeff’s bibliography:

Brockman, James. “Rebacking – An alternative Approach,” The New Bookbinder. Journal Of Designer Bookbinders, Vol. 11, 1991: 36-46.

Espinosa, Robert. “Joint Tacketing: A Method of Board Reattachment,” Book and Paper Group Annual, v. 10, 1991.

I’m interested in learning more about these approaches to reattaching boards and to compare them to some of the methods I experimented with at the workshop. I look forward to trying some new techniques and tools and to sharing this knowledge with our staff when post-COVID lab workflows begin.

Pat Fox

Today’s blog on working with Vivak® for constructing exhibition supports is the 1st in our Preservation Week series highlighting Cornell University Library Conservation Lab’s continuing educational efforts to better preserve and protect our collections.

Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections creates several exhibitions annually, featuring the rich and varied materials in its collections.  Conservators play an essential role in these exhibitions, by evaluating the condition of collection materials, providing advice on light levels and handling, treating condition issues, and constructing cradles and mounts to support and safely display items.

In the current exhibit, World Picture: Travel Imagery Before and After Photography, there are several different types of our custom-made matboard cradles and supports in use. Matboard is easy to work with, versatile, and recyclable.

Shown here are the different types of matboard supports used in a vertical case and in a horizontal case.

In addition to matboard, there are other materials used for exhibit supports. I had the pleasure of attending the Ivy Plus Mount Making workshop on April 4^th and 5^th. Mark Pollei, Assistant Director for Library Conservation and Preservation at the Sheridan Libraries and Museums at Johns Hopkins University, hosted a group of professionals coming from seven different institutions. We came to learn how to construct supports made from Vivak®, a transparent thermoplastic, for library materials on exhibition.

Left: Milton S. Eisenhower Library; right: Vivak® support at the George Peabody Library

Left: Yan Choi, a LACE fellow studying at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, drills holes in her support pieces; right: sample Vivak® support tilted at 20°

More frequent and larger exhibits are challenges facing the participants in the workshop. We talked about modular supports systems that have pieces that can be reused and reconfigured. We also discussed standardizing display angles and making cradles in three sizes; small, medium, and large. Alessandro Scola, Senior Book Conservator at Hopkins, spent two days sharing the system that he has developed. He uses Vivak®, metal brakes and cutters, drills, and lots of trigonometry to build supports that safely and elegantly display the unique materials that are in his care. He showed us his system in a detailed Powerpoint presentation. Then we had a chance to put his system to use, working with kits Alessandro had assembled to make several different kinds of supports.

Left: Alessandro Scola demonstrating the metal brake used to bend Vivak®; right: trigonometric plans for supports

I have had the opportunity to experiment with Vivak® a little here at Cornell. Vivak® is perfect for items that require transparent supports, like books with unusual formats and certain photographic materials. I’m still learning about Vivak®; I like how it holds its shape, and its transparency allows me to experiment with new display possibilities. Talking with other workshop participants gave me perspective about the exhibit responsibilities of my job. And now I have a group of people to consult when I encounter a challenge I cannot solve myself.

Left: Vivak® supports for lantern slides that need light behind them to be visible, in the World Picture exhibit; right: matboard wedge and a Vivak® angle used to support an 1856 pop-up edition of Robinson Crusoe. This will appear in a single case display in the RMC Reference Room to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the publication of Robinson Crusoe on April 25th, 2019.

For more information on exhibitions, see:

https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/2.-the-environment/2.5-protecting-paper-and-book-collections-during-exhibition

Barbara Eden at the Great Wall of China

How can we strengthen Cornell University Library’s relationship with our partner libraries in China?  That was the question Barbara Berger Eden, director of Preservation, sought to answer when she sent a preservation needs assessment survey to the libraries at Renmin University, Peking University, Tsinghua University and the China Agricultural University.  Barbara met with the stakeholders at each of the institutions on a visit to Beijing in 2011, where she confirmed their survey responses.  The libraries needed help preparing for water emergencies, mounting materials for exhibits, and caring for and handling Western style bindings, particularly those from the Chinese Republican period ranging from 1919 to 1949. 

During her visit, Barbara was able to live on the campus of Tsinghua University.  “It was so interesting to experience another university from the inside,” recounted Barbara.  She stayed in the international dorm.  “The food is amazing! In the cafeteria there are kiosks serving different cuisines from all over China!” Barbara also visited the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven.

Delicious soup from Tsinghua University

Barbara returned to Ithaca where she collaborated with her colleagues throughout the library to develop a training program for Chinese librarians that focused on their preservation needs.  She secured funding from the Henry Luce Foundation to support the two year program.  Barbara wanted the internship to replicate the quality of her visit to China where she was treated as an honored guest.  So she sought out pleasant accommodations, arranged for weekly trips to the grocery stores, set up internet access,  bus passes, and cultural outings.   “I want them to feel comfortable when they are away from home.” 

A day shopping at the Waterloo Premium Outlets, an afternoon of wine tasting, and a day in New York City highlight the cultural exchange aspect of the program.   Barbara enjoyed seeing things through the eyes of the interns.  “They were blown away by Wegman’s,” Barbara commented.  They were impressed by the emphasis on customer service and the lack of crowds that made browsing possible.  The interns appreciated Ithaca’s bucolic character, its clean air and uncongested spaces.  Barbara booked tickets on a double decker bus tour of New York City where they all enjoyed a close up view of historic architectural details. 

Translators are essential to the success of the program, and Barbara found two of them herself.  After many  years of working at Cornell, Barbara decided to take a course called “The Art of Horticulture.”  One of her classmates, Cornell transfer student Venna Wang, revealed in conversation that she lived in Flushing, New York.  As they talked more, Barbara realized that Venna lived in the same apartment building that she had lived in as a child!  Barbara remembers, “In the 1950’s my neighborhood was 99% Jewish.  Now it’s primarily Asian.  It’s a neighborhood in rapid transition.” 

Barbara was on flight from Beijing to Newark in January, 2013, returning from her second library visit.  The plane was packed with students returning to the States at the end of winter break.   She introduced herself to her seatmate, Tianwang Liu, and discovered that Tianwang was a freshman at Cornell!  They exchanged phone numbers and kept in touch.  Barbara helped her find her way around Ithaca, and told her about the best Chinese grocery store in town.  Both Venna and Tianwang will put their translating skills to work again this fall.

Barbara Eden and Tianwang Liu visit the Museum of Natural History in New York City

Barbara concluded, “I am hopeful that the program will have an impact on care and handling of Western style books.  I am excited that our acclaimed online Preservation Tutorial will be updated and translated into Chinese in the second year of the grant. It  will be a valuable resource to Chinese libraries. ”