By Anna Smith, '19
Steps taken to preserve the physical structure of the manuscript.
Covers
Due to wear and insect damage, the leather of the manuscript's cover has suffered losses. The wooden board beneath the leather is exposed in several areas, both on the back and front covers and the spine. Areas of lifting leather were adhered to the cover with wheat starch paste.
Front Cover
Before
After
Back Cover
Before
After
Spine
The main repairs were done on the spine, in order to stabilize its structure and prevent further damage. A "bridge" of folded and stiffened kozo paper was inserted under the thread tie-downs of the book's core and adhered with wheat starch paste. In addition, the spine's parchment lining, which was broken and lifting from the spine itself, was supported with a piece of parchment and re-adhered with a gelatin solution.
Before
After
Endbands
Below is a close up of the endbands of the manuscript. On the left is the "before" picture, and it is clear that the threads are loose and detached at the ends of the band. These threads were secured to the binding using a wheat starch solution, as can be seen in the "after" image on the right.
Before
After
Before
After