Attachments: Book Arts Style

My last post discussed attachments with a conservation focus. Sometimes the creative possibilities are more important than the archival ones, or piercing holes in items is part of the artwork itself. In that case, here are some further ideas to attach loose items onto a page or in a book.

Just keep in mind that some of the methods below may create permanent changes in the mounted item and are not recommended for valuable, historic, or borrowed materials. Consider the long-term effects of any of these before using in your own projects.

As we saw in the last post (July 22) these were some options for attaching loose items to pages:

Paper clips:

Historically paper clips were made of metal, but those can be prone to rust over time in certain environmental conditions. Alternative shapes to the classic double loop include this dog and the circle. Those made from plastic or coated wire are also commonly available. The binder’s clip is useful for thicker materials. Both paper and binder’s clips come in a variety of sizes.

Eyelets:
 

This creates a hole in both the page and the item attached. It requires an eyelet setter such as this one often available where craft or sewing notions are sold.

Brads: 

Brads usually come in a brass colored metal, but are also available in mini sizes and in a variety of colors. Some even have a shaped head, such as a star or square, like this one.  Brads, like eyelets
and staples, create holes in both item and page.

Staples: These can be hard to remove without causing damage.

Adhesive: Paste and Glue

Adhesives are generally a permanent method of attachment, whether glues, double-sided tapes, or dry-mount adhesives.  Pastes (as opposed to glue) are generally reversible, however they often leave evidence of their application and use.

Pockets & Envelopes:

Loose pockets or envelopes can be attached by a variety of methods, like any loose item. They can also be incorporated into an album during its creation by sewing them in as part of a section or in binding of single sheets. Extensions (or guards) can be attached to the binding edge to allow for ease of use, like in this example where the purple extension is sewn in on the binding edge of the brown envelope. This album is bound with screw posts.

Slits and slots:

Photo corners:

Snaps:

 

These plastic snaps are a scrap-booking item, and operate much like a traditional sewn snap, but are attached more like a brad. A tiny hole is made in both item and page. The two parts of the snap are inserted through from front and back and “snap” together holding them in place.

Screw posts:

Screw posts are much like eyelets, as holes must be made in both item and page. They can hold thin to very thick items, and come in a variety of metals. These are usually used for binding, with extensions available to adapt the original to hold a collection of expanding material. But they can be used for putting a single item onto a page. These are often available at hardware and stationary stores.

Adhesive: Tape

All kinds of tape can work: traditional adhesive tapes such as medical paper adhesive tape, electrical, masking, double-sided, or cellophane. Newer products like colorful washi tape can also be used highlighting the attachment or construction while at the same time adding decoration. Just keep in mind that all tapes have adhesive that is extremely difficult if not impossible to remove.

Needle and Thread:

By machine or hand sewing a needle and thread can attach paper together not just cloth. Paper is not as forgiving of mistakes when sewing, but it works well for many things. I’d recommend testing the paper, needle size and type, and thread combination with the intended materials before embarking on a big project.

Buttons:

Attached with thread, buttons can also be used with a paper page to attach items. To help avoid tearing through the paper, sew a small piece of Tyvek behind the button to reinforce the attachment. Old shipping envelopes can be cut up for this purpose. The button can be used to help secure the thread attachment, sewing through the item and page, or it can be used with a buttonhole if the item can be cut into and has enough flexibility and strength to do so. Often flat buttons are most useful, especially if they will go into some kind of book or album. Stores that sell scrapbook supplies often have such flat, decorative buttons, and these are available at sewing stores as well.

Paper Frames:

Like pockets and envelopes, paper frames can be attached to a page as a means to hold a photo or bound in as pages when binding a new album. These frames can be folded to fit a photo and hold it in place without using adhesive.

This photo shows the reverse side of the frame above.












As I mentioned in my last post, with all these attachment methods remember to keep the spine and foredge of your book balanced with regard to the thickness of your added items. Doing so will help you avoid the foredge splaying out and the book not closing. When creating a new binding, stubs can be added at the spine to accommodate the addition of items over time.

I hope these suggestions prove helpful. I often collect small pieces of paper or ephemera, especially as reference for future projects. Sometimes I just toss these into a box, but perhaps I ought to create a “book of inspiration” using some of these attachment methods. Like commonplace books of the past, my book would be both personal and useful. What kinds of uses do you see for these attachments? What other attachment methods do you find helpful?

Written by Stephanie Wolff

Kress Conservation Fellowship

Dartmouth Iconography Collection:

Portrait of Daniel Webster needing the outside case

repaired and possible stabilization of photo.

I am pleased to announce, on behalf of Preservation Services, that we are a recipient of a Kress Conservation Fellowship.

As quoted from their web site: “The purpose of the Kress Conservation Fellowship program is to provide a wide range of post-graduate fellowship opportunities that will help develop the skills of emerging conservators. At the crossroads of science and art, the fields of conservation and technical art history demand a complex knowledge of chemistry and materials and an extraordinary sensitivity to artistic intent, as well as physical dexterity, patience, and powers of concentration. Initial training, typically at one of a handful of institutions in North America, provides basic qualifications that must be supplemented with an extended period of specialized concentration on paintings, objects, textiles, antiquities, ethnic materials, photographs, prints and drawings, books and manuscripts, furniture, etc. Within a supervised environment, the young conservator develops the specific skills, the hands-on experience, and the confidence on which to base a future career.”

“The Kress Conservation Fellowships provide competitive grants to museums and other conservation facilities which sponsor supervised internships in the conservation of specific objects and onsite training.” This Fellowship has been supported by a grant from the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation, funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

For more information: http://www.kressfoundation.org/fellowships/conservation/

Our application was submitted with a proposed fellow, Tessa Gadomski, who recently graduated with a Master of Science in Art Conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, University of Delaware 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. Tessa’s first day will be the 8^th of September, 2014.

Dartmouth Iconography Collection:

Acidic mat needing to be removed from water

color painting.

The primary focus for Tessa will be to address 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. There are documents that are part of the College Archives but it also includes several of the other collecting areas including the White Mountains, Daniel Webster and Robert Frost. A particularly significant subcategory of the collection is focused on the history of Polar exploration and the majority of its images relate to Dartmouth College and New Hampshire history. 

Dartmouth Iconography Collection:

Negatives of Dartmouth and New Hampshire needing rehousing 

and assessment.

Tessa will be at Dartmouth for a full year, concluding her Fellowship in August of 2015.

Written by Deborah Howe

Petite Papermaking for Conservation Repairs

We recently hosted Renate Mesmer, Head of Conservation at the Folger Shakespeare Library, for a workshop on The Use of the Suction Table in Book and Paper Conservation. Co-sponsored by the Dartmouth College Library Preservation Services and The New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers we spent two full days watching demonstrations and trying our hands at flattening, stain reduction, pulpfilling, washing and drying of paper, and paper repairs. Renate provided packets of handouts elaborating on the techniques, and her slide presentation reinforced the concepts with clear diagrams and explanations about the microscopic effects of water on paper. One reference that will be very useful is the book Paper and Water by Irene Brueckle and Gerhard Banik.

The suction table is a new piece of equipment in our lab and will be a very useful tool.

We covered many ways to use a suction table during the workshop, including making paper for repairs. Why make your own paper? Sometimes an item has a lost corner for example. You can attempt to find a match of an appropriate weight and color from your stock of commercial Western handmade papers, or decide to use an Asian paper, but another option is to cast your own paper. This way you can alter the color and weight to match your item. Renate covered a number of ways to do this using the suction table, and one way that uses very little equipment. Since not every conservator has access to a suction table I thought I would explain the basic method of this low-tech papermaking technique.

First take Western handmade paper scraps and tear them up. Soak them overnight in water. I thought I would separate them into their four tones so I could vary the color when making the sheets.

Then take each batch of soaked paper and beat them up in a regular kitchen-style blender.

Once they have been well blended you have a slurry. You want to make sure the slurry is fine enough to eliminate the possibility of lumps in your paper.

Now set up your papermaking station. You will need:

• two large thick sponges (if they are new, make sure you rinse them thoroughly to get out any soap 

or other deposits)

•  a set of two containers the same size (one to hold the pulp, the other will become a tube to be the “mold & deckle”). Plastic containers work well for this. The size of the opening is the size of your paper piece, so they must be smaller than your sponge. Cut off the bottom on one of the containers so you have a tube.

• 2 pieces of Remay cut slightly bigger than your sponge.

Once you have your pulp slurry ready, it is time to make a sample piece. Measure out a specific amount (such as a teaspoon, tablespoon, etc.) and make a note of this. Place it into the plastic container (the one with the bottom) and add water up to the top. Stir this up so the slurry is dispersed.

Pre-wet sponges and wring them out. Wet the Remay also. Then take your two sponges and pile them on top of each other, then the Remay, and then your other plastic container tube on the very top.

With one hand push down compressing the sponges, with the other pour the slurry into the tube. Now holding the tube with both hands slowly release the pressure on the tube, allowing the sponges to release to their regular thickness. Do this slowly.

The water will seep out the bottom as the pulp is drawn down onto the Remay. Soon the water will be all gone and the pulp will be distributed on the Remay forming a petite sheet of paper. Now carefully remove the plastic tube.

Take the second sheet of Remay and cover the newly formed paper. You can flatten it through the Remay with a wide bone folder if desired.  Press between blotters and dry.

Once you have dried the sample, you have a basis to figure out the thickness and color of paper you can make with that slurry. In other words, that particular amount of slurry (whether a teaspoon, tablespoon, etc.) using that particular plastic form will create the thickness and color of that sample you made. By keeping careful notes you should be able to alter the recipe to adjust these variables to make new paper that closely matches the item in need of repair. Consider weighing the paper pieces or measuring the square inches of the paper that goes into the original slurry mixture and noting down the amount of water in the original slurry mixture. Do not alter the main slurry batch once you have made your sample. Change the amount of slurry you add to each sheet’s formation to alter the thickness of the sheet. To change color change proportions of the various colors of pulp added to each sheet’s formation.

If you prefer you can make a variety of paper pieces to have in stock for future repairs, rather than making paper for a specific repair.

One other option for this kind of paper casting includes masking off areas of the Remay under the tube to fit specific areas of loss. Instead of tearing a paper to fit an edge, you can make a piece of paper with the edge formed to fit the missing edge. To do this copy the edge you want onto Mylar and cut that and a matching piece of Remay. Place the formed edge of the Mylar/Remay within the boundaries of the plastic tube, extending these pieces out from under the tube. (By cutting these oversized to stick out under the tube they stay in place.) Continue to make the paper as usual. Once the paper piece is dry, the Remay and Mylar can be pulled away leaving an edge that fits into area that’s missing from the original.

Once these paper pieces are made, they can be attached using conventional practices, such as with wheat starch paste.

The sponge in this technique stands in for the action of the suction table. With or without a suction table, the idea of casting your own paper for repairs and losses is a nice option to have in my toolbox of techniques. Thanks Renate!

Written by Stephanine Wolff 

Occom’s Manuscripts: Preserving Dartmouth History

Samson Occom

Though Eleazar Wheelock is well remembered as the founder of Dartmouth College, it’s largely thanks to the efforts of Mohegan Native American minister and intellectual Samson Occom that Wheelock’s dream was made reality. And while Occom’s role in the founding of Dartmouth was undoubtedly crucial, the Occom Circle Project intends to assert his rightful place as an important voice in early American history as well. With the help of Professor Ivy Scheweitzer, Rauner Library, Computing Services, the Digital Production Unit, Preservation Services, and many other departments and individuals, we are nearing the project's goal.

In 1743, Eleazar Wheelock met a young Mohegan named Samson Occom. Occom had been taught English by missionaries at a young age, and had already converted to Christianity. During the four years they initially spent together, Wheelock found Occom to be an excellent pupil, and he successfully prepared Occom to be ordained as a minister. Occom, for his part, encouraged Wheelock's goal of educating and enriching the lives of the Native American population. This bore fruit in 1755, when Wheelock founded Moor’s Charity School in Lebanon, Connecticut, which accepted both Native American and British students on charity.

Letter from Samson Occom to Eleazar Wheelock, regarding fundraising plans for Moor’s Charity School

By then Occom had already departed from Wheelock's instruction to seek his own fortune. In 1749 Occom was offered a position as the schoolmaster for the Montauk Native Americans on Long Island. It was there he met his wife, Mary Fowler, and started a family. In 1759 he was ordained. Occom spent the next several years traveling New England as an itinerant minister, first as a missionary to the Oneida Native Americans and eventually returning to the Mohegan tribe in 1764.

It was here that his path crossed yet again with Eleazar Wheelock; a meeting that would have a profound and lasting effect on the Upper Valley. At this time the Moor’s Charity School was financially troubled. Wheelock had had small success fundraising throughout New England, but it was not enough. What he proposed was a fundraising trip to England, to be undertaken by his most accomplished pupil. Occom agreed. He was joined by the Reverend Nathaniel Whitaker.

The pair left for England in 1766, and after two years they had raised over £12,000, a truly substantial sum at the time. As Francis Lane Childs wrote in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine: "[A]n Indian preaching in the pulpits of English churches was naturally a sensation, and large throngs came to hear him and his colleague. The subscription papers which they carried were filled with all the way from small contributions... to ones of considerable amount from wealthy, pious-minded persons. In fact, they ranged all the way from 5 shillings given by an anonymous widow to two hundred pounds donated by King George III himself. One of the gentlemen who headed the list was William, Second Earl of Dartmouth. Another was a philanthropic and well-to-do merchant of London, John Thornton."

It is safe to say that without this fundraising on Occom’s part, the founding of Dartmouth would have taken substantially longer, or indeed, may not have been possible at all from Wheelock’s position. In 1769 the school charter was signed by Governor John Wentworth, and true to its roots in the Moor’s Charity School, it declared "that there be a college erected in the province of New Hampshire by the name of Dartmouth College for the education and instruction of youth of the Indian tribes in this land in reading, writing, and all parts of learning which shall appear necessary and expedient for civilizing and Christianizing children of pagans, as well as in all liberal arts and sciences, and also of English youth and others...[It shall not] exclude any person of any religious denomination whatsoever from any of the liberties and privileges or immunities of the said College on account of his or their speculative sentiments on religion."

In June of 2010 Dartmouth English Professor Ivy Schweitzer was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to establish an online archive of Occom's writings. Schweitzer's project began in 2005, when, teaching a first-year seminar, she had difficulty providing access to Occom's letters for her entire class. The solution of the online archive accomplishes this, as well as making the history of the college (and Occom’s role within it) accessible to a much wider audience. Schweitzer said: "This puts Occom at the center of a larger cultural movement in which you can see how important his work is."

The letters themselves are currently available in a beta website, with a finished version projected for 2014. The Occom collection presented some interesting challenges; first and foremost there is the lack of an actual collection, with the 500-plus letters and manuscripts culled from other areas of Rauner Library and assembled specifically for this project. It's up to College Archivist Peter Carini and his team at Rauner Library to make sure the articles are genuine and the information is up to date.

One of the Occom letters, torn along a fold

The letters then arrive at the Preservation Services department, where our Collections Conservator Deborah Howe does everything possible to conserve and keep these documents in optimal condition. Torn documents are mended with Zen Shofu paste, a wheat-based adhesive, as well as Japanese tissue, which is tinted in an acrylic bath to best match the original documents' hue. In some circumstances a very thin gossamer tissue is used in order to best preserve the fidelity of the text.

The same letter, after conservation treatment

After Preservation Services has repaired the documents they come to the Digital Production Unit, where they are scanned and added to the temporary online database. From there, Project Manager Dawn Dumpert, Professor Schweitzer, and a rotating cast of student workers transcribe and mark up the documents in TEI (Text Encoding Initiative). The document then goes to Cataloging and Metadata, where Text Markup Unit Manager Mina Rakhra's team creates a cataloging record and applies metadata to the newly-scanned documents. For the finished product, Paul Merchant in the Digital Library Technologies Group is working on the search features, and Susan Lee in Computing Services is working on the design of the website.

This project represents both a major step forward in early-American cultural history, and an example of how well the various library and faculty members can collaborate. It’s safe to say that without the exceptional work of Professor Ivy Schweitzer, Rauner Library, the Digital Production Unit, Cataloging and Metadata Services, the Digital Library Technologies Group, Computing Services, and the Preservation Services department, this project would not have been possible.

Written by Ryland Ianelli.

Not All Pretty

Being located in a rural area has its perks in regards to natural beauty, but when it comes to gifts and donations to the library from local collections, these items can carry some serious baggage. Case in point are two collections that were clearly stored in a barn or shed where the storage container was used as alternative housing for some little furry friends.

Challenge Number One:

Ryland holding an unopened tube.

This was one of two tubes. The first one had been unrolled for a quick look and unveiled a few fluffy remnants, some chewed edges and urine spots, hinting at what might be in this tube.

When unsure of the contents of boxed items that have been stored in dubious locations, we always take extra precautions, including opening items in a fume hood or contained area (or even outside), wearing protective masks and gloves, and proceeding slowly in case something nasty comes out.

Fortunately the occupants had long gone away; unfortunately it appeared they had stayed for a bit of time. These blueprints having been rolled suffered multiple layers of damage.

The first goal was to get the items unrolled and flattened. At the same time preliminary surface cleaning was done using a brush and soft towels. Care was given to cleanliness and washing the brushes afterward. Animal secretions can cause negative reactions in people.

Chewed and stained.

This piece took a hard hit and seems to have been quite the favorite for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

The prints were weighted down for a few days then put in an oversized folder. The decision on what to do with them will be deferred.

Challenge Number Two:

Not only were these papers stored in a barn but they were housed in very acidic wooden boxes with the lids nailed shut.

Again proceeding with caution, I was able to fit a box inside our fume hood and carefully pry off the lid.

Working with these items did make me feel squeamish as I had no idea what I would find besides the papers in the boxes.

This box was well lived-in and was made quite comfortable by its occupants.

Luckily, in all the boxes I found essentially an empty house with no one home either deceased or alive, much to my relief. After removing the papers and discarding all else, the papers were surface cleaned and put into acid free folders so they could be processed at a later date.

So when dealing with items that have previous dubious storage conditions it is helpful to examine them in a separate dirty room if possible, wear protective clothing and gear, and take caution.

Written by Deborah Howe.

Scrubba-Dub-Dub

Every time it's my turn to write a blog post I can't help but feel mystified by a technique that I've learned while here at Dartmouth. 'But Beth,' I hear your cry, 'how can there really be something that amazing every month?!' I promise you, I can explain no further than 'there just is!'

This month's new trick of the trade is something I love to tell my friends and family about because it makes their jaws drop. It made mine drop too, the first time I saw this done! Washing paper. That's right, dear readers, I've spent numerous hours this week scrubbing 1800's dirt and grit out of the pores of paper. Now don't get me wrong, this isn't for all paper. We spent a lot of time making sure the ink wasn't going to bleed or run or act strange when introduced to water and here in Dartmouth's Preservation Services, we have a SUPER WATER FILTER that removes everything except two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen, I'm talking about H2O, ladies and gentlemen.

A quick word of caution: The following conservation treatment was performed under the direction of a trained conservator. Please do not attempt to put valuable paper materials in a bath without guidance from an expert. If you want to practice this nifty process, we ask that you use discarded items such as yesterday's newspaper. For treatment of artwork, historical materials, or treasured family documents, please consult a qualified conservation professional. Thanks! Now back to the post...

There is something oh-so-strange about dipping and submerging a piece of newsprint paper from 1800's in a bath of water, but you get used to it! This particular volume had a lot of glue and over-sewing so when we took it out of its binding, it wouldn't lay flat! After some deliberation, Deborah Howe (Conservator) decided that the fastest and safest way to remove all the glue would be to wash each folio. And that's where I come in!

Before I can start introducing paper to water, I have to make sure everything is ready to go to assembly-line the process. With a lot of glue to clean off, the more streamline the easier it is on me and my schedule! So that being said, I draw up a bath of the filtered water, and introduce a little bit of Isopropyl alcohol. The Isopropyl will help open the pores of the newsprint up so that the water can get in and the dirt can get out. Then I fill up a kettle of just the filtered water and heat it up just below boiling and pour that into the bath until the bath is more warm than it is cold. The heat just helps the glue loosen up faster. I mean, come on, I don't have all day to be scrubbin' this paper down.

Finally, it's time to begin! Each folio is opened flat on a sheet of Hollytex and sprayed down with the filtered water (otherwise known as 'wetted-out') so that we don't shock the paper when it's introduced to the bath. Then, carefully, I grab the diagonal corners and dip the Hollytex and folio into the water. Slowly with my hands I "walk" from the edges of the paper toward the middle to allow the water to cover the folio completely. Once the folio is submerged we do it again! I keep piling them in until I run out of room or Hollytex, whichever comes first.

Now there are about 20 to 30 folios in one bath, I let it sit for about 7 minutes, after which I go back and stick my hands in and agitate the water. This simply means gently pressing the folios down and tapping lightly to move the water around in the bath and between each layer. Then I repeat one more time.

By now the water in the bath is getting a little dark, and that's not doing anyone any good. So by applying pressure to one corner of the stack I can hold them in place while I dump the water. After it's all poured out, I fill the bath back up but with just water this time. Let sit for 15 minutes, and now it's time to remove the items!

When there's glue involved it takes a little longer because for each issue I need to examine the fold and sometimes literally scrub the glue off. EWWW!!!

Or sometimes I have to put stuck text back in place. I've even had to peel off old repairs that are hindering rather than helping. Below is a sequence of photos showing the issue that is stuck to itself, making the text un-readable. I used my spatula to ease the chunk of text off one side and back to the other, eventually separating the two sides from one another.

Once the issue has had alien items removed from it, I carefully grab hold of the paper and the Hollytex at one end and pull up slowly, making sure nothing loose is going to fall off. Once out of the water, I tip it a little to allow for the water to run off. I then place it on a piece of blotter, and pat it down with another piece of blotter. Then holding on to the diagonal corners again I can carry it to the drying rack. Repeat until everything is out and drying!

As I pass the torch of Blog Wrangler to Helen Bailey, dear readers, I just wanted to say 'Thank you' for a great run and keep tuning in. And that, my friends, is all she wrote.

Last Post Written by the one and only Beth Hetland