The Brut Chronicle: Revived and Reconstructed

Deborah Howe, Collections Conservator, has been published in the latest issue of The Book and Paper Group Annual, a publication of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Book and Paper section.  Deborah's article describes her study and conservation of the Beeleigh Abbey Brut, also known as the Dartmouth Brut Chronicle and the ensuing considerations and solutions for its rebinding.

The Dartmouth Brut Chronicle is a history of Britain from 1377 to 1419 and was written around 1430.   Dartmouth's Brut was significant as it arrived in a 16th century stationers binding, which is unusual for the type of manuscript it is.  Deborah analyzed the manuscript's binding and through collaboration with faculty and other scholars determined a method of repair and binding that was sympathetic to the time period the Chronicle was composed yet maintained the physical flexibility needed for active classroom use and put minimal stress on the quires.

The article may be found in the Book and Paper Group Annual, 34 (2015) p. 50-56.

Storage Housings for Cased Photographs

Introduction

The Iconography Collection, which I have been working with this year, includes many non-traditional items, such as paintings and three dimensional objects, as well as items of various sizes. As this is a library, most of our storage spaces are divided into typical library shelving, and it can sometimes be a challenge with this type of collection to keep items in the desired order while using the available space efficiently and providing proper protection for the objects. This subject was also addressed in the recent Northwestern University "Beyond the Book" Blog Post by Stephanie Growler, entitled "Fitting In: Storing Objects in Library Stacks" .

I was inspired by this blog post to create a folder structure, similar to the one depicted for petri dishes, during my rehousing project for a collection of cased photographs within the Iconography Collection. While this group of cased photographs is considered a single item, as it is cataloged under one item number, Iconography 1507, it includes over 75 cased photographs, mainly daguerreotypes and ambrotypes and a few tintypes.

Ambrotype on the left, daguerreotype on the right, missing cases.

 

Example of an ambrotype in an unusual case with two openings.

I wanted to improve the housing because the cased photographs were placed haphazardly in two boxes and were housed in poor quality envelopes. They were not properly enclosed or protected and were poorly organized, which increased the risk of damage and dissociation.

Iconography 1507 Box 1, cased photographs stored in envelopes.

The Challenges

- Utilize the same exterior boxes so that the objects will occupy the same space on the shelves.

- Objects needed to be stored vertically. Housing objects horizontally was not the best option for the space, given the large number of small items, and the objects needed to stay in the same place on the shelves in order to maintain chronological order.

- Housing items individually on the shelves was not ideal because this would have resulted in many small, loose items, as well as inefficient use of the space.

- Standardize the housing for a majority of the objects. Most objects were 3 3/4" x 4 3/4" or smaller, but several were larger.

- Keep the objects in alphabetical order within the boxes while meeting other goals.

- Create secure, durable enclosures with archival (non-damaging) materials.

Solution

-Decided to modify pre-made folders to fit approximately 2 cased photographs per folder, with two folders fitting next to each other inside of the box. This allows for enough protection while taking up less space than pre-made standardized boxes. Using pre-made folders also saves time and expense.

        - Bonus: Only 3 items did not fit inside the chosen folder size, which meant the folders could be           mostly standardized. Out of 35 folders, only 3 required larger dimensions.

Overall view of modified folder containing two cased photographs.

 
-Used blue corrugated board scraps for the walls of the boxes. This gave me the opportunity
to use up many scraps, while providing added protection for the objects.

-Added Volara on lids, custom fit to the individual compartments, to create added support and pressure.

-Added Mylar strips to lift cased photographs up and out of compartments, or thumb-slots if possible.

-Embedded Velcro in walls of folder. This allows the folder to be flush on all sides and does not
take up more space. However, the Velcro is time-consuming to attach. We used PVA which took a long time to dry, and was not always immediately successful if not enough PVA was used.

Interior view, showing two daguerreotypes.

Once I had completed a prototype and determined a workflow, Deborah Howe and Stephanie Wolff helped to make many folders, which made the project go quickly!

Deborah Howe and Stephanie Wolff helping to make custom folders.

Tips for batch construction of folders

1. First group the cased photographs in pairs according to alphabetical order and size to determine the      number and size of folders needed.

2. If trimming the folders so that two will fit adjacent in the box, do not use the spine to square the         edge! The spines are cloth and are irregular. Use the boards only, otherwise you can end up with off-square, irregular folders.

3. Calculate the number of strips of corrugated board you will need in which sizes, then cut these
    standardized pieces accordingly. This takes time, but it is worth it. Extras are also good idea.
 

         a. In general, avoid making strips thinner than 1 inch. If walls need to be thinner than this,                        then turn on their sides.

         b. Avoid leaving space in the joints between the walls, and make sure the walls are as flush as                  possible.

4. Use a tape gun or double-sided tape to build walls from corrugated wall pieces.

5. When attaching the walls to the folder use PVA. At first I attached to the bottom of the folder            using double-sided tape, but found this resulted in an unstable structure. PVA in the joints between     the walls is also key.

6. Cut space on top of a wall for Velcro, and use sandpaper on lid to make slightly rougher surface.         Attach with PVA and weight. This will likely need about 8 hours to dry, but longer is always               better.

7. It is recommended that you allow the Volara to dry under a good amount of weight, then close the       box and weight more. Otherwise, you can may get a lot of warping of the lid.

The design may be modified slightly (and easily) to accommodate cased photographs of different sizes:

In the end, we made 35 folders. Of these, 16 folders were exactly the same inside and out, 32 have the same exterior dimensions. Only 3 needed larger folders, which are oriented horizontally.

Both boxes, filled with cased photographs in new folders.

Written by Tessa Gadomski

Baker Library in the Dartmouth College Photographic Files Collection

During the month of May, close to 1500 photographs of Baker Library were added to the Dartmouth College Photographic Files Collection. Included are many photos of the Baker Library building, interior and exterior, including its construction, as well as people that have worked here over many years. Here are some samples:

Baker Bery Under Construction

The Main Corridor

The Treasure Room

Baker Circulation Desk

Baker Library in Winter

View a much larger selection here.

The Dartmouth College Photographic Files project began in early 2012 and is part of the Dartmouth Digital Collections. The project's goal is to make over 80,000 photographs stored in file cabinets in Rauner Special Collections available online. Images date from the early years of photography (ca. 1850s) to the present and include images of nearly all aspects of Dartmouth College life. To date there are over 36,000 photos from the collection online. We add approximetly 1,000 photographs to the collection every month. We are working through the photographs alphabetically and have reached the letter "M". See additional photographs of Feldbery Library; Dana Biomedical Library and Kresge Library.

If you have questions about the Photographic Files Collection contact Rauner Special Collections If you have questions about the ditital imaging of the collection contact William B. Ghezzi or Ryland Ianelli in the Digial Production Unit.

Written by William B. Ghezzi

Structural Intervention: Treatment of Albums from the Iconography Collection

As a Samuel H. Kress Conservation Fellow, I have been spending my first post-graduate year revamping Rauner’s Iconography Collection. The Iconography Collection is an image-based collection which includes prints, photographs, negatives, albums, and various other materials.  In my initial survey of the collection I found that a number of the top treatment priorities were albums.  I decided to focus on treatment of these albums not only because they were in poor condition, but also because this allowed me to further explore my interest in album structures. 

Example of a damaged album discovered during the survey.

   

In conservation we try to preserve the original structure of the books we work with, but there are times when the original structure is inherently problematic and must be altered to prevent future damage. I have found that this is especially applicable to albums.  A common condition issue was that either one or both of the boards were detached. 

For the album shown below, I successfully reattached the boards and preserved the original structure of the album.  The detachment occurred between two of the front pages, and the spine covering had pulled away from the text block.  I cleaned the old adhesive from the inside of the spine covering and the spine of the text block, and then placed new linings on both.

Carte-de-visit album before treatment, showing detached front board.

 Here you can see that the new spine lining was used to successfully reattach the front board.

  

Carte-de-visit album after treatment, showing reattached front board.

  

However, for some of the other albums treated, such as the next example shown below, I decided that returning the album to its original structure was not the best solution.      

  

Carte-de-visit album before treatment, showing detached front pages 
and detached cover.

While I placed a new lining on the text block spine and attached the text block to the back cover, I chose to leave the front board detached. Reattachment would have made the album too difficult to open and would have caused it to break again in the same exact manner. 

  

Carte-de-visit album after treatment, showing reattached front pages and front cover 
left purposefully detached  (back cover has been attached to the text block).

My favorite album from the collection features stunning watercolors from 1857-58 made by Sir Henry Hugh Clifford, who was stationed in Canton, China an Assistant Quartermaster General in the British Army.  While Clifford was stationed in China to serve in the Second Opium War, his meticulous paintings capture serene and colorful landscapes and portray scenes of everyday life in China.

Watercolor painting by Sir Henry Hugh Clifford entitled "Chinese Junk"

As we are nearing the end of a long, cold winter, this album has been a treat to work with, and has led me to start fantasizing about warmer weather and beaches.

Watercolor painting by Sir Henry Hugh Clifford entitled "Sunset, Victoria".

Prior to treatment, the album was bound in a post-style binding.  After close examination, it became clear this was not the original binding structure and the cover did not add informational value to the object. 

Overall image of album: please note the significant amount of
surface dirt on the pages in the upper right.

Detail of post binding structure: cord strung through two holes through
text block and tied together, pages are not secure.

We decided that removing the album from the binding completely and storing the leaves in an enclosure was the best solution, because this will allow for easier access and prevent strain on the pages.  While dis-binding the album, I conducted dry surface cleaning of the pages to remove the highly noticeable, easily-transferable dirt.

Dry surface cleaning a page from Sir Henry Hugh Clifford's album using
cosmetic sponges.

Album page after surface cleaning.

Album page before surface cleaning.

Collectively, these treatments show that, while we strive toward minimal intervention, altering the structure of bound materials is sometimes the best course of action to prevent further damage. 

Written by Tessa Gadomski

Kress Conservation Fellow Tessa Gadomski arrives!

In August we announced that we were recipients of a Kress Conservation Fellow grant from the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation, funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. grant.

On September 8th, Tessa Gadomski, started her Fellowship. Tessa, recently graduated with a Master of Science in Art Conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, with a major in Library and Archives Materials. Along with this degree, she has also completed a Certificate of Advanced Study in Preservation from Simmons College, Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Delaware receiving Honors with a Bachelor of Arts in Art Conservation, her second major was Art History with a minor in Chemistry.

Tessa has worked are the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution Archives, the Weissman Preservation Center of Harvard and Heugh-Edmondson Conservation Services in Kansas City Missouri which specializes in restoration of works of art on paper and photographs.
One of her intern appointments was at University of Delaware, working on Russian Icons. She created a reproduction of a Russian icon using traditional materials and techniques, and then participated in conserving a Russian icon from the University of Delaware Museum’s Collection.

While here at Dartmouth Tessa’s focus will be to address and perform conservation needs of Rauner’s Iconography collection. This collection within Special Collections has over 1,300 cataloged items that include printed images, glass slides, original art on paper and other media, photographs, albums and digital files. A particularly significant subcategory of the collection is focused on the history of Polar exploration.

Tessa is well prepared for such a project with her broad background and wide experience, not only will we be able to advance the work needed on this collection but we will be able to learn from Tessa and glean new techniques and ideas she can share from her conservation experience.

Tessa is original from Albany, New York, so she is very happy to be back in the northeast closer to her family.  Welcome Tessa!

Written by Deborah Howe