OU Farfel Rehousing – Yungjin Shin Conservation Portfolio

Projects at Shin Book & Paper Conservation

Rehousing and Stabilization of Farfel Collection

Leaf directly attached to the mat board (Farfel 128)

Leaves housed in a plastic sleeve, sealed (Farfel 449)

Tape residue sticking to Mylar and support (Farfel 500)

Leaf stuck to the board, with yellowed tape (Farfel 500)

Palm leaf strapped to a board (Farfel 526)

Palm leaves strapped to a board (Farfel 641)

Papyrus fragment housed in a Mylar sleeve (Farfel 627)

Project: Rehousing and stabilization of the Farfel Collection

Owner: Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries

Collection: Gilbert and Ursula Farfel collection of incunable and manuscript leaves

Country of Origin: Primarily European, with additional items from Japan, China, Korea, Mexico, India, and Mongolia.

Date Range: 10th-20th Centuries

About the Project

Eighty-seven items from the Gilbert and Ursula Farfel Collection of Incunable and Manuscript Leaves were stabilized and rehoused in preparation for digitization. While the collection is primarily composed of flat paper leaves, it also includes folios, stacks of leaves, palm leaves, a piece of papyrus, and a parchment leaf. I began with an item-level survey to assess the condition and housing of each. The materials were still in their original enclosures as received by the library—some housed in acidic or unstable materials, others mounted to boards with pressure-sensitive tape. While most items were in good and stable condition, all required removal from their old housings. Only a few needed additional treatment, such as tape removal, tear mending, or stabilization.

Ohio University Libraries requested that the items be rehoused in standardized enclosures, grouped by size and, when feasible, by region. Each group was placed in a corrugated clamshell box, and each item was housed individually in a 10 pt. cardstock folder with a Mylar L-sleeve. A few exceptions required custom solutions: the papyrus fragment was sandwiched between two sheets of Gorilla Glass, sealed around the edges with Tyvek tape; the palm leaves were housed in a double-window sink mat that allows both sides to be viewed without direct handling. To facilitate future digitization, I designed these housings with magnetic closures and tabs for safe, easy access.