This hands-on studio class focused on developing two essential skills for a book conservator, understanding the history and structure of historic bookbindings by making models of them, and gaining competency with fundamental bookbinding craft skills.
During this two-day workshop, LACE majors (myself and Laura McNulty) and Preventive majors (Maddie Copper and Marie Desrochers) surveyed the condition of Winterthur Library’s collection of trade catalogs containing samples. We practiced random sampling and created a survey form for this project with the guidance of Ellen and Melissa.
This week we learned about parchment, including its making process, historical and modern uses, deterioration, traditional repair methods, and current conservation treatment approaches. The lectures were followed by hands-on practice of humidification and flattening, filling, mending, and mounting.
During this workshop, we learned a comprehensive history of bookbinding with examples selected from the collections of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University. The goal was to build a practical framework for connoisseurship in book and bookbinding history. This workshop was taught by Alexis Hagadorn, Morgan Adams, and Emily Lynch from Columbia University Libraries.
Emily Runde led us to basic paleography (the study of ancient handwriting). This workshop aimed to learn to distinguish scripts from different time periods and geographical locations and to use online tools to help read old scripts.
During this Leather Week, LACE, objects, and furniture majors gathered to learn about leather, its deterioration, and treatment techniques. This seminar was led by Melissa Tedone and Lara Kaplan (the objects conservator & affiliated assistant professor of WUDPAC). The seminar started with species ID and then moved on to discussions and practices on collagen shrinkage temperature testing, consolidation, mending, and loss compensation.
