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.
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Money box in shape of a temple, from house 25 in Priene; 2nd century B.C.. , Photo by Marcus Cyron
Reprinted from Bitcoin.org
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The Tulip Folly, by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1882. A nobleman guards an exceptional bloom as soldiers trample flowerbeds in a vain attempt to stabilise the tulip market by limiting the supply.
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION16 CFR Part 23Guides for the Jewelry, PreciousMetals, and Pewter Industries
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Country House Essays, the book is now in print. This is an eclectic collection of both original, and historical essays, poems, books, and articles created for our loyal reader hear at CountryHouseEssays.com. It is jam packed with reprints of articles from this website. The cost is $49.95 for this massive [...] Read more →
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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.
“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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A Lecture Delivered at the Guildhall, March 2, 1853 by Rev. H.M. Scarth, M.A., Rector of Bathwick.
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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 →
Western prairie quiet broken by forged steel Sage Grouse dance, feathers of resplendent golden lace oblivious to Manifest Destiny’s race Juniper trees observe from high peaks Wisps of threadbare clouds converging on progress
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Reprint from The Sportsman’s Cabinet and Town and Country Magazine, Vol I. Dec. 1832, Pg. 94-95
To the Editor of the Cabinet.
SIR,
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The following recipes form the most popular items in a nine-course dinner program:
BIRD’S NEST SOUP
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From The Historian’s History of the World (In 25 Volumes) by Henry Smith William L.L.D. – Vol. XVI.(Scandinavia) Pg. 308-310
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Cannone nel castello di Haut-Koenigsbourg, photo by Gita Colmar
Without any preliminary cleaning the bronze object to be treated is hung as cathode into the 2 per cent. caustic soda solution and a low amperage direct current is applied. The object is suspended with soft copper wires and is completely immersed into [...] Read more →
Awakened to mild rumbles of thunder and pounding rain washed down by a steady drizzle and more downpour coating asphalt with mirrored reflections of oily alluvial runoff easing back into a soothing pattern of velvety rain drops drizzling down the foliage encased wrought iron balcony rails
Water, 1 gallon; sugar 2 pounds of water. 61/2 pints, and simple syrup. 2 1/2 pints; 2 pints of pineapple stock or 1 pint of pineapple stock and 1 pint of grated pineapple juice of 6 lemons. Mix, strain and freeze.
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 →
Add the following ingredients to a four or six quart crock pot, salt & pepper to taste keeping in mind that salt pork is just that, cover with water and cook on high till it boils, then cut back to low for four or five hours. A slow cooker works well, I [...] Read more →
Pencil sketch of Sir Charles Lock Eastlake by John Partridge (Queen Victoria’s favourite portrait painter), 1825
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The following highly collectible Franklin Library Signed Editions were published between 1977 and 1982. They are all fully leather bound with beautiful covers and contain gorgeous and rich silk moire endpapers. Signatures are protected by unattached tissue inserts.
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Modern slow cookers come in all sizes and colors with various bells and whistles, including timers and shut off mechanisms. They also come with a serious design flaw, that being the lack of a proper domed lid.
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What follows is a chapter from Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward’s 1852 treatise on terrarium gardening.
ON THE NATURAL CONDITIONS OF PLANTS.
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Take the large blue figs when pretty ripe, and steep them in white wine, having made some slits in them, that they may swell and gather in the substance of the wine.
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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 →
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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Liquorice, the roots of Glycirrhiza Glabra, a perennial plant, a native of the south of Europe, but cultivated to some extent in England, particularly at Mitcham, in Surrey.
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From Conquest of the Tropics by Frederick Upham Adams
Chapter VI – Birth of the United Fruit Company
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Felix Weihs de Weldon, age 96, died broke in the year 2003 after successive bankruptcies and accumulating $4 million dollars worth of debt. Most of the debt was related to the high cost of love for a wife living with Alzheimer’s. Health care [...] Read more →
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 →
Tuna fish being weighed on quay-side in Greece – Photo by Tom Oates
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The arsenicals (compounds which contain the heavy metal element arsenic, As) have a long history of use in man – with both benevolent and malevolent intent. The name ‘arsenic’ is derived from the Greek word ‘arsenikon’ which means ‘potent'”. As early as 2000 BC, arsenic trioxide, obtained from smelting copper, was used [...] Read more →
The following recipes are from a small booklet entitled 500 Delicious Salads that was published for the Culinary Arts Institute in 1940 by Consolidated Book Publishers, Inc. 153 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill.
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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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“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 →
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Gold or silver watch chains can be cleaned with a very excellent result, no matter whether they may be matt or polished, by laying them for a few seconds in pure aqua ammonia; they are then rinsed in alcohol, and finally. shaken in clean sawdust, free from sand. [...] Read more →
Effective 01 August, 2013, the U. S. Coast Guard terminated its radio guard of the international voice distress, safety and calling frequency 2182 kHz and the international digital selective calling (DSC) distress and safety frequency 2187.5 kHz. Additionally, marine information and weather broadcasts transmitted [...] 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.
