The following is taken verbatim from a document that appeared several years ago in the Maine State Archives. It seems to have been removed from their website. I happened to have made a physical copy of it at the time I was looking into the preservation of leather book bindings back in 2006.
Main State Archives: Guidelines for Restoration and Preservation of Documentary Papers, Maps, Books. [http://www.state.me.us/sos/arc/general/admin/doconsrv.htm]
Handling Books
Never remove a book from the shelf by pulling upon the headcap. Push back a few books at wither side and firmly grasp the sides of the selected volume.
Books leaning to one side will be damaged along the spines. Books should stand upright, and, in the absence of book ends, should be supported by lying several volumes flat against the standing volumes.
Large books should be stored flat.
Cleaning Books
Using a prepared cloth such as “One-Wipe” or a clean cloth treated with “Endust” will reduce the spread of dust.
Take one book at a time, and hold the book firmly closed to prevent dust from entering the pages. With the spine up, tip the head forward and down; dust the top or the pages thoroughly, stroking downward; then dust all other surfaces..
Certain erasers may be used to clean book covers and any surface dirt from pages. However, in cleaning paper, a soft bristled brush should be tried before resorting to erasers.
Erasers, in order of decreasing abrasiveness, are Faber’s “Pink Pearl and Magic Rub” and art gum erasers. For paper, the “Opaline” Dry Cleaning or Dietzgen’s “Skum-X” can be used; using the latter two, sprinkle eraser crumbs over the soiled area and gently rub in a circular motion with the flat of the fingers. To lessen the likelihood of damage, work from the center of the page to the edges. Remove all eraser crumbs when finished.
If any doubt exists about the strength of the paper, leave the page alone.
Care must be exercised to avoid damage to the gold stamping of titles on book covers which can be ruined through improper erasures.
The erasers referenced above are available through stationary or drafting supply stores.
Leather Bookbindings
Factors influencing the deterioration of leather are the quality and age of the original skin and the tanning process by which the stability of the leather was achieved.
Leather produced before 17th Century was of fine quality and very long-lasting; whereas that produced since the late 17th Century frequently show rapid and sever degradation. The older vegetable tanning processes (the type usually used for bookbinding) may have left protective or buffering salts that reduced deterioration; apparently, these salts are missing from modern leather bindings.
Strong mineral acids from air pollutants and sulfuric acid left by the tannage process contribute to the destruction of leathers.
Relative humidities below 40% cause leathers to dry out and deteriorate; on the other hand, high humidities and high temperatures speed up the chemical deterioration of leather.
Light, even indirect sunlight, will produce fading or darkening of dyes in leather; valuable bindings should be protected in boxes made from opaque and inert materials.
The flexibility and suppleness of leather depends on the sliding action of fibers which can become dried out if not lubricated. Thus, an important step in the preservation of leather is replacement of those natural oils which may have oxidized. In some cases before lubrication, the leather may require rehumidification to restore moisture content.
The sulfuric acid used in processing modern leathers is extremely difficult to remove; also, in the process, the natural buffering salts are washed out of the skin. The lost salts can be replaced with potassium lactate (see SOURCES) which serves as a buffering salt and neutralizes any strong mineral acids.
Verum usque in præsentem diem multa garriunt inter se Canonici de abscondito quodam istius Abbatis Thomæ thesauro, quem sæpe, quanquam adhuc incassum, quæsiverunt Steinfeldenses. Ipsum enim Thomam adhuc florida in ætate existentem ingentem auri massam circa monasterium defodisse perhibent; de quo multoties interrogatus ubi esset, cum risu respondere solitus erat: “Job, [...] Read more →
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“Saint John’s Gate, Clerkenwell, the main gateway to the Priory of Saint John of Jerusalem,” black and white photograph by the British photographer Henry Dixon, 1880. The church was founded in the 12th century by Jordan de Briset, a Norman knight. Prior Docwra completed the gatehouse shown in this photograph in 1504. The gateway [...] Read more →
The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee has a long heralded tradition of assisting farmers and growers through it’s Agricultural Extension Service. The following bulletin entitled Grape Growing in Tennessee discusses the Muscadine variety of grapes among others. Muscadine grapes are often found growing wild in Tennessee. On my grandfather’s West Tennessee [...] Read more →
Resolution adapted at the New Orleans Convention of the American Institute of Banking, October 9, 1919:
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Reprinted from FineModelShips.com with the kind permission of Dr. Michael Czytko
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Photo Caption: The Marquis of Zetland, KC, PC – otherwise known as Lawrence Dundas Son of: John Charles Dundas and: Margaret Matilda Talbot born: Friday 16 August 1844 died: Monday 11 March 1929 at Aske Hall Occupation: M.P. for Richmond Viceroy of Ireland Vice Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Lord – in – Waiting [...] Read more →
The Hunt Saboteur is a national disgrace barking out loud, black mask on her face get those dogs off, get them off she did yell until a swift kick from me mare her voice it did quell and sent the Hunt Saboteur scurrying up vale to the full cry of hounds drowning out her [...] Read more →
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DECORATED or “sumptuous” furniture is not merely furniture that is expensive to buy, but that which has been elaborated with much thought, knowledge, and skill. Such furniture cannot be cheap, certainly, but the real cost of it is sometimes borne by the artist who produces rather than by the man who may [...] Read more →
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Add 3 quarts clover blossoms* to 4 quarts of boiling water removed from heat at point of boil. Let stand for three days. At the end of the third day, drain the juice into another container leaving the blossoms. Add three quarts of fresh water and the peel of one lemon to the blossoms [...] Read more →
The Interrogation of Joan of Arc by Cardinal Winchester
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This beautifully illustrated New Testament based on the 1611 KJV Bible is published in Limited Edition of 500 Copies World Wide. Included at the end of the text is an unabridged copy of Albert J. Edmunds 1917 classic work, The Oldest Resurrection Documents. Edmunds’ book on the Resurrection utilized source [...] Read more →
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Work in Progress…
THE VARNISHES.
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The downloadable audio clip is of FDR’s Second Fireside Chat recorded on May 7th, 1933.
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For the somewhat startling suggestion in the heading of this interview, the missionary interviewed is in no way responsible. The credit of it, or, if you like, the discredit, belongs entirely to the editor of the Review, who, without dogmatism, wishes to pose the question as [...] Read more →
By the time I got to California the blondes had gone home The Beach Boys were sporting dreadlocks and singing reggae songs The life guard at the tower didn’t have a tan Said if you’re looking for Mama Cass she’s asleep over there in the van
From A History of Fowling, Being an Account of the Many Curios Devices by Which Wild Birds are, or Have Been, Capured in Different Part of the World by Rev. H.A. MacPherson, M.A.
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THE answer to the question, What is fortune has never been, and probably never will be, satisfactorily made. What may be a fortune for one bears but small proportion to the colossal possessions of another. The scores or hundreds of thousands admired and envied as a fortune in most of our communities [...] Read more →
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“November 27, 1818. Monticello. Thomas Jefferson to Henry E. Watkins, transmitting succory seed and outlining the culture of succory.” [Transcript] Thomas Jefferson Correspondence Collection Collection 89
If ever it could be said that there is such a thing as miracle healing soil, Ivan Sanderson said it best in his 1965 book entitled Ivan Sanderson’s Book of Great Jungles.
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Reprint from The Pitfalls of Speculation by Thomas Gibson 1906 Ed.
THE PUBLIC ATTITUDE TOWARD SPECULATION
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The following is taken verbatim from a document that appeared several years ago in the Maine State Archives. It seems to have been removed from their website. I happened to have made a physical copy of it at the time I was looking into the preservation of leather book bindings back in 2006.
Harvey Wiley, Chief Chemist of the Department of Agriculture’s Division of Chemistry (third from the right) with his staff, not long after he joined the division in 1883. Wiley’s scientific expertise and political skills were a key to passage of the 1906 Food and Drugs Act and the creation of the FDA.
Pencil sketch of Sir Charles Lock Eastlake by John Partridge (Queen Victoria’s favourite portrait painter), 1825
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3-4 Young Squirrels, dressed and cleaned 1 tsp. Morton Salt or to taste 1 tsp. McCormick Black Pepper or to taste 1 Cup Martha White All Purpose Flour 1 Cup Hog Lard – Preferably fresh from hog killing, or barbecue table
A terrestial globe on which the tracts and discoveries are laid down from the accurate observations made by Capts Cook, Furneux, Phipps, published 1782 / globe by John Newton ; cartography by William Palmer, held by the State Library of New South Wales
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If you’re looking for that most refreshing of summertime beverages for sipping out on the back patio or perhaps as a last drink before walking the plank, let me recommend my Blunderbuss Mai Tai. I picked up the basics to this recipe over thirty years ago when holed up in [...] Read more →
I swapped a parakeet for a red-headed Macaw That drank my rum and called me paw I’d rock in my chair, she’d swing on her perch When the preacher came around she’d pretend it was church
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Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. “Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!” he said. Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. Home Top of Pg. Archives [...] Read more →
Salmon caviar was originated about 1910 by a fisherman in the Maritime Provinces of Siberia, and the preparation is a modification of the sturgeon caviar method (Cobb 1919). Salomon caviar has found a good market in the U.S.S.R. and other European countries where it [...] Read more →
The following is taken verbatim from a document that appeared several years ago in the Maine State Archives. It seems to have been removed from their website. I happened to have made a physical copy of it at the time I was looking into the preservation of leather book bindings back in 2006.
