Collins Unbound

One of the more frustrating things about working in Special Collections is that often there are books written in foreign languages, and they don’t come with translations. One example of this is a reproduction of an illustrated manual of military technology called Bellifortis. This treatise, which was originally written in the very beginning of the 15^th century, includes illustrations of everything from catapults and trebuchets to crazy death pitchforks.

Unfortunately, the manuscript itself is written in Latin, the book of accompanying essays we have for it is written in German, and the academic area of the Internet does not seem to be very keen on sharing their research on this treatise. Therefore, the actual captions and relevance of most of the illustrations is a bit of a mystery. These seven horsemen were clearly inspired by astrology and mixing the zodiac symbols together into outfits and horses. Since there are really no accompanying captions, the actual reasoning behind these images is unknown, but they’re kind of fun to look at, especially if you know your zodiac sign (and those of your friends!).

If you’re interested in seeing some of the crazy death pitchforks, you can always visit the Archives & Special Collections on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday between 1:00-3:00 p.m.!

By Morgan Ford

It’s preservation week! An entire week dedicated to discussing the concerns and solutions regarding preservation of rare books and unique collections. Here in the Archives & Special Collections at the University of Puget Sound, we’ll be showing you some common preservation concerns, highlighting our own collections.

Tape:

In the case of rare book conservation, adhesives utilized have some important criteria to meet. They must be of sufficient strength (maintaining adhesion for an indefinite period), have no tendency to discolor the paper to which it is applied (stains, yellowing, or darkening), and be reversible to assure its removal with no damage to the book. Good examples of adhesive that meets these criteria is starch-based paste, used for centuries by Japanese scroll mounters, or a pressure-sensitive paper-based tape with acrylic adhesive. Yet it is all too common that we encounter commercialized tapes holding pages together. Not only do these tapes cause staining over time, while requiring toxic solvents to remove, but they most definitely damage the materials they are “repairing”. In the case of this poor book (see above), we find a commercialized duct-tape to be the culprit.

Sources:

https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/7.-conservation-procedures/7.1-guidelines-for-library-binding

https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/7.-conservation-procedures/7.3-repairing-paper-artifacts

By Monica Patterson

It’s preservation week! An entire week dedicated to discussing the concerns and solutions regarding preservation of rare books and unique collections. Here in the Archives & Special Collections at the University of Puget Sound, we’ll be showing you some common preservation concerns, highlighting our own collections.

Mounting Photographs:

Since photographs are often thin and flimsy, they can be mounted on mats to increase their durability and protect them from dust, dirt, and fingerprints. The standard mounting procedure includes a “sandwich” made of a backboard and a window that encloses the photo, made with acid-free paper, appropriate adhesives (usually a starch-based paste, never glue), backing or spacers for the photo, and “glazing” (something like Plexiglas or acrylic). The least possible amount of these things should touch the photo itself. The following is an example of how not to mount a photo: the photo is crooked and glued to the paper backing, the glue is not starch-based (you can tell by the discoloration around the top and left sides), there’s a hole in the photo itself, the backing is taped to a piece of cardboard, everything is creased, and there’s no window or glazing to protect the photograph.

Sources:

https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/4.-storage-and-handling/4.10-matting-and-framing-for-art-and-artifacts-on-paper

By Morgan Ford