Xiaoping Cai
Photo Documentation
Front cover: before treatment
Spine: before treatment
Front joint: before treatment
Back endleaves: before treatment
Board corner: before treatment
Front cover: after treatment
Spine: after treatment
Front joint: after treatment
Back endleaves: after treatment
Board corner: after treatment
Treatment Record Documentation
Conservator: Xiaoping Cai
Date of Issue: 15/10/2015
Date of Completion: 30/10/2015
Title: Les Oeuvres Spirituelles de Monsieur de Bernieres Louvigni
Author: Jean de Bernières-Louvigny
Publisher: Chez Guillaume Henry Streel，1676
Owner: Lambeth Palace Library
Shelf Mark: A 68.4 L93
DESCRIPTION:
The full style, paper board, tight-back and tight-joint binding is fully covered in brown tanned skin. The leather is finished on the spine with six gold-tooled panels. There is a gold-tooling title on the spine between the first and second bands. There are sewn front-beads endbands on both head and tail, which made of blue and white silk. The boards were originally attached to the textblock with five sewing-support slips laced through the boards. There are two chain holes at the upper - right corner of the right board.
The text-block is comprised of cream coloured, handmade laid paper. It is sewn on five single-raised-supports of twisted cords, with two kettle stitches at head and tail. Edges of the textblock are trimmed and sprinkled with red colour. The tipped-on, single bifolio endleaves of laid paper are similar to the text. And the outermost endleaves are fully pasted down on the inner side of the boards. The left fly leaf has a deckle edge at the bottom. There is a book label of Edward Waple on top of the left pastedown.
There is black printer’s ink through the text. A black stamp of Sion College Library is found on the title page. Cataloguer’s annotations written in purple copy pencil and black iron-gall ink are found on the left pastedown.
CONDITION:
The binding is in poor condition overall with detached boards, abraded corners and deteriorated covering material. Both the left and right boards are detached from the textblock. The corners are abraded and the boards are exposed. The leather covering is deteriorated throughout and has red-rot coming off. The endcaps at both head and tail are damaged. The endbands are fragile.
The textblock is in fair condition overall with very tight spine, brittle endleaves, and discoloration through out. All sewing supports are broken at the joint. The spine is very tight and the text-block is difficult to be opened flat. Both the left and right fly leaves are separated and the edges are brittle.
TREATMENT PERFORMED:
(1) Surface cleaning for the first two section by using a soft brush.
(2) Stopped the red-rot dust coming off by consolidating the deteriorated leather with Cellugel.
(3) Repaired and consolidated the corners by using cord fibre and toned Japanese paper. After the corners had been repaired, a layer of SC6000 was applied on the surface of the repaired paper, to resemble the finishing effect of the original leather.
(4) Repaired the spine edge of the left (or front) fly-leaf with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste. Attached the flyleaf back to the text-block with a Japanese paper hinge, leaving the
outermost flap unattached at this stage. The same treatment was carried out for the right (or
back) fly leaf.
Note: To preserve the historical evidence of the deckle edge, the bottom right corner of the left
fly leaf was left to unfilled, only the edges had been consolidated by using thin Japanese tissue.
(5) Scraped off the leather in the first, third and fifth raised cords area. Then pasted down the fry-
out new cords over the old ones. And linen thread was used to sew them together from the
inside. After sewing, the leathers on boards were lifted for 3 cm from the spine edges. Cut the
new cords shorter and pasted them onto both the left and right boards. A small piece of
polyester film was used to prevent the moisture from darkening the leather.
(6) Prepared the solvent-set tissue by using Lascaux 498HV and toned Japanese paper.
Note: The leather is severely degraded and very moisture sensitive, even the mixture of EVA
and wheat starch paste can darken the leather. So solvent-set Japanese paper coated with Lascaux 498HV was decided to be used.
(7) Covered the raised cord areas with small strips of the solvent-set Japanese paper and reactived
it by using IMS.
(8) Used two long strips of solvent-set tissue as hinges and then to cover the joint area. After the
repair was complete, coated the strip with a light application of SC 6000.
(9) Used watercolour to modify the appearance of the Japanese hinges.
(10) Pasted the free flaps of the Japanese tissue over the board edge of the pastedown.
MATERIALS USED:
Japanese paper: 11gsm Tengujo, 23gsm Kozo paper
Linen thread, cream
SC6000
Wheat Starch Paste, unmodified, 4:1.
Lascaux 498 HV
Daler Rowney System 3 Acrylic paint, Raw Umber
Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colours
DRAWINGS:
The Boards Lacing Pattern:
