Title: The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
Author: Emily Dickinson
Published/Created: Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1929
Owner: Harvard Houghton Library
Dimensions: H 17.50cm x W 11.50cm x T 2.50cm
The volume is bound in full black leather with a fine pebble-grain texture. The boards are semi-limp with only minimal stiffener. The pastedowns and flyleaves are made of leaf-patterned printed paper. The half-title page is inscribed in black ink: “Martha Dickinson Bianchi 1929.”
The book exhibits moderate water damage throughout the textblock. White marks on the backboard suggest abrasion against another book or object while the leather was wet. The spine covering is missing, with only a small fragment of leather remaining. Both the textblock and boards are slightly cockled and cupped toward the backboard. Water stains are visible throughout the text, indicating wicking from both the head and tail edges. Additionally, there is a moderately strong preferential opening at the center of the textblock.
As one of three leather treatments, this book was rebacked using an acrylic cast composite on a paper support. The composite was adhered to the surface of the original leather, with its grain pattern aesthetically matching that of the original. This approach was chosen because the original leather was too thin and brittle to be lifted.
Additionally, a miniature model of this case binding was created, using the same acrylic cast composite for the covers. This allowed for testing the composite’s flexibility and evaluating its suitability as a covering material. Localized stain reduction was performed on a few pages, including the signed page, using steam. The treatment was done in consultation with Catherine Badot-Costello.
