Collins Unbound

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

Images by Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi: “Trout Traveling Upstream and Bush Clover” and “Catfish and Trout”

Looking for some Japanese artwork for that ARTH 368 class project? Need some inspiration for your own art piece? Intrigued by Asian art in general? Then come and check out Hiraki korekushon ukiyoe in the Archives & Special Collections! These oversized volumes (20!) feature a multitude of pieces ranging from snowscapes to seascapes, and everything in between. With 20 volumes full of countless pieces by a wide selection of Japanese artists, you’ll be sure to find exactly what you’re looking for! Perfect for art history majors and art connoisseurs alike! So come and check it out Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 1:00-3:00pm in the Archives & Special Collections, room 211!

By Monica Patterson