Condition Assessment: January 25, 2007
Treatment Completed: May 8, 2007
Conservator: Melissa Tedone
Instructor: Chela Metzger
Course: UT Austin, School of Information, Book Lab II, Spring 2007
Title: The Popular Superstitions Etc. of the Highlanders of Scotland
Author: Roger D. Abrahams
Imprint: 1823
Collation: 15 folded 6-folio sections
Binding Dimenions (HxWxD): 18.3cm x 10.9cm x 2.5cm
Textblock Dimensions (HxWxD): 18.0cm x 10.7cm x2.0cm
Owner/Custodian: personal collection
Description & Condition
This is a tightback quarter style binding sewn on cords laced into the boards. The text to cover attachment also includes tipped-on single folio endsheets. The covers are 2.5mm binders board covered in blue paper. The spine is covered in red paper adhered directly to the textblock, and which extends 2cm onto the boards. The cover and spine display no textual information. The paper on the covers and spine is faded, worn, and stained. Most of the paper once covering the spine has been lost, exposing the sewing. The board edges are exposed and frayed. The board corners are worn and bent. The front cover has completely detached from the textblock. The back cover remains attached.
The textblock appears to have a slight round, but the spine is sufficiently misshapen to make its original shape difficult to determine. The first three leaves, including the half title, the frontispiece, and the title page, have detached from the textblock but remain attached to the front cover by means of the tipped-on endsheet. The spine is lined with newsprint under the red paper covering. The textblock is untrimmed. The paper is medium-weight wove, sized, and flexible without being soft. The untrimmed edges are curled and darkened with surface dirt and grime. The text is printed in black printer's ink. The text area of the paper exhibits a visible type impression, and is in good condition with very little surface dirt or foxing. The sewing is two-on on cords. The five inner folios of one section (pp. 123-142) have detached from the outer folio, which remains securely attached to the textblock by means of adhesive spine consolidation.
Treatment Goal
To stabilize the book for safe handling and special collections use.
Treatment Procedure
1. Mechanically removed residual covering and animal glue from the spine using a bone lifter, microspatula, and methylcellulose poultice.
2. Consolidated the spine with 80/20 wheat starch paste/methylcellulose and applied a reversibility layer of machine-made Kozo.
3. Mechanically removed the half-title leaf from the tipped endsheet.
4. Shaped hinges/fills for each of the three detached leaves using two sheets of Usimino tissue.
5. Adhered the hinges to the detached leaves, front and back, using wheat starch paste.
6. Hinged the detached leaves onto the spine using wheat starch paste.
7. Sewed on the detached five folios through the reversibility layer on the spine using linen thread and a pamphlet stitch.
8. Adhered a half-width, double-layer strip of Usimino to the spine using wheat starch paste to balance the hinges and cover the new sewing.
9. Toned Moriki tissue with acrylic paints and methylcellulose to match the original red paper spine covering.
10. Glued down turn-ins on new spine covering using PVA.
11. Lifted original paper covering from the boards along the spine edge.
12. Inserted new spine covering under lifted paper on boards and adhered using wheat starch paste.
13. Glued down original lifted paper on boards using wheat starch paste.
14. Repaired the inner hinge with a strip of Usimino adhered with wheat starch paste.
Materials Used
Lightweight machine-made Kozo (Hiromi)
Toned Moriki (Hiromi)
Usimino (Hiromi)
Liquitex Acrylic Paints (Raw Umber, Dioxyanine Purple, Cadmium Red)
Methylcellulose 2.5% dispersed in hot then cold distilled water (Fisher 4000 cps)
Precipitated Wheat Starch Paste mixed 1:4 with distilled water, cooked 20 minutes (Colophon)
Elvace PVAc 45675 (Polyvinyl acetate adhesive)
Linen thread