Collins Unbound

Images displaying the damage that can be done to materials by paper clips, and rusted metal fasteners

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.

Metal Fasteners:

Metal fasteners can cause considerable damage to materials, whether it be through the rust and corrosion of the metal, or the tearing and damage done by metal points. It is therefore important to remove these items from materials (even if they are in good condition). Metal fasteners include commonplace paperclips and staples (and even small nails!). Considerable damage can be caused by careless removal of these metal fasteners, but there are a few simple techniques to follow when removing them:

Staples – using a flat spatula or similar instrument, lift the legs of the staples to pry all fastened edges away from the paper (essentially straightening the staple) before removal.

Paper clips – using a flat spatula or similar instrument, pry up the front and back of the clip before removal.

Sources:

https://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/librarypreservation/meolda/preservation/basicremedial.html

 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.

Frayed Edges:

Frayed or chipped edges are defined as “a mark or flaw caused by scuffing, gouging, or breaking off of a small piece of the dust jacket, pages, or back-strip [of a book].” These flaws are caused not only by scuffing or gouging; they may also be caused by a number of environmental factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in temperature and humidity (causing a degradation of paper), direct light, oxidation, and water damage (paper weakness and fraying), and acidity (brittle paper). Therefore, as a preventative measure, be sure to keep your materials in ideal conditions. And if it’s too late, protect your delicate and damaged materials in preservation binders rather than on an open shelf, such as the example above.

Sources:

https://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/publications/PreservingBooks.pdf

http://www.alibris.com/glossary/glossary-books#c

By Monica Patterson

Tuesday, May 5^th, 4:00 p.m.
Archives & Special Collections,
2nd Floor, Collins Library

Documenting the Slide from Hope to Chaos:  The Road to Tian’anmen Square, Professor David Hull, Asian Studies

The Egge Collection is a vast trove of media sources tracking the lead-up to the chaos of Tian’anmen Square in June of 1989.  Aside from a couple of very interesting unique artifacts of the movements, the collection’s real value lies in the Chinese print media collected in the weeks leading up to the violent clearing of the square.

Please join us for tea, cookies, and conversation.  All are welcome!

Part of the Behind the Archives Door series!

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.

Detached Book Boards:

The term book “board” originated from the time when book covers were made of wood in the fifth century and onwards. In the modern day, these boards are typically made of stiff cardboard or paperboard. However, due to environmental factors and mishandling, these boards can become misshapen and even detach, such as in the example below. Tips to prevent this from happening include proper shelving, never pulling a book off a shelf by its spine, and proper storage conditions. In the case of misshapen boards, books can be placed under a moderate weight for several days. Detached boards and torn spines are, however, more difficult to treat. In specific cases, a small amount of paste, PVA, or Japanese tissue with wheat starch paste can repair or reinforce these mishaps, but you want to talk to a professional conservator for that. The joints of books and their boards are the areas that take on the most stress, making them even more susceptible to weakness, so be careful!

Sources:

https://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/publications/PreservingBooks.pdf

http://www.alibris.com/glossary/glossary-books#c

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookbinding

By Monica Patterson

In honor of Anthony Trollope’s 200^th birthday this Friday, April 24^th, I am writing today about a little known work of his, a play entitled, The Noble Jilt, a first edition copy of which can be found in the Archives & Special Collections.

Born in London in 1815, Trollope’s family experienced a rather drastic downfall over the course of his lifetime. His father, originally a barrister, lost his practice, as well as an expected inheritance. As a result of the family’s declining circumstances, Trollope changed schools frequently, and though he tried to attain University scholarships, he was unable to get one. While Trollope’s father was never very successful, his mother actually had a moderately successful writing career, and is most famous for her first book, Domestic Manners of the Americans. For a number of years, the family was largely supported by Frances Trollope’s career.

As an adult, Trollope wound up working as a clerk in a post office and was eventually transferred to Banagher, Ireland as a deputy postal surveyor in 1841. It was here in Ireland where Trollope first began writing. Introduced to the political discontent of the Irish, Trollope hoped to explore this through his novels. He began his first novel, The Macdermots of Ballycloran in 1843, and it was first published in 1847.

In the early years of his writing career, in 1850, Trollope wrote one of only two plays, The Noble Jilt. Plays were not Trollope’s strong suit- The Noble Jilt would not be published until 1923, when Michael Sadleir, a British novelist and book collector, edited and published the first edition of the play based on Trollope’s original manuscript. The first edition of the play was limited to only 500 copies, one of which now resides in Special Collections here at UPS.

In his preface of the first published edition, Sadleir defends Trollope’s failed play, writing that:

So far as is known, Trollope wrote only two plays during the prolific five and thirty years of his life of authorship. The genre was uncomfortable to him. It limited his elbow room and forbade him the accumulation of detail that was his genius. He liked a large canvas and a crowded one. . . The limitations of dramatic form cramped him intolerably

Despite the failure of his attempts at writing plays, Trollope adapted The Noble Jilt as a novel entitled, Can You Forgive Her? which explored the success of traditional Victorian marriages, and questioned the importance of the sexual aspect of marriage, something which would have been a relatively dangerous thing to do with his Victorian audience. So, I suppose you could say that out of the ashes of The Noble Jilt, the phoenix of Can You Forgive Her arose 🙂 Happy 200th to Mr. Trollope!

By Kara E. Flynn