User:Cmccarthy
Christine Elizabeth McCarthy, co-compiler BPG Book Conservation Catalog[edit | edit source]
Purpose[edit | edit source]
The Book Conservation Catalog is a collective volunteer project of the Book and Paper Specialty Group of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). As part of the AICWiki, the Book Conservation Catalog is intended to provide information on the broad range of materials and topics encountered in the conservation of objects. The primary purpose of the Book Conservation Catalog is to record information about a variety of materials and treatments in current use or with a history of use in book conservation and to serve as a convenient reference for practitioners in the field. The catalog is designed for practicing book conservators and is intended as an aid in the decision-making process. It is understood that the individual conservator is solely responsible for determining the necessity, safety and adequacy of a treatment for a particular object and must understand the effect of his or her treatment. Inclusion in the catalog does not constitute an endorsement or approval of the procedure described.
The creation of the Book Conservation Catalog in the Wiki format, which affords new opportunities for information sharing and collaborative writing. The Catalog builds upon the work begun to create a print work.
Professional Experience: Christine is currently the Chief Conservator for the Yale University Library. She manages Conservation Services, which includes the following units: General Collections Conservation (GCC), Special Collections Conservation (SCC) and Exhibition Preparations.
Education: MLIS and Certificate of Advanced Study in Conservation, University of Texas at Austin,Austin, TX, 2000. BFA - illustration and graphic design, University of the Arts,Philadelpia, PA, 1989
Interest: My professional interests include education and outreach, project management, and breaks involving cake, preferably chocolate.
The other conservators here and Yale and I are working on a medieval book materials culture kit. We have been working with a professor in the English Dept. who teaches classes based around medieval English literature and the medieval manuscript as object/artifact.
Conserving the Maps of the George Washington Atlas[edit | edit source]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Condition of Binding
Chapter 3. Condition of the Maps
Chapter 4. Condtion Assessment
Chapter 5. The Proposed Treatment
Chapter 6. Special Treatment Challenges
Chapter 7. Facsimiles and Final Steps
Chapter 1. Introduction
In 2007, The Yale University Library received a generous donation to support conservation treatment for the George Washington Atlas. Treatment of the maps occurred over the course of a two year period. The dedicated funding allowed the Library’s Preservation Department to hire a part-time paper conservator, Sarah Dove, to carry out the treatment on-site in Preservation’s special collections conservation laboratory.
'Chapter 2. The Condition of the Binding' At the start of the treatment project, the Atlas, consisting of forty-three maps of North America once belonging to George Washington, was held together in a modern binding presumed to have been put on the atlas in the early 1970s. This binding, was added before Atlas became part of the Library’s collection, placed considerable physical stress on the forty-three hand-colored maps.
Chapter 3. The Condition of the Maps Repeated unfolding and re-folding of the maps caused tears along the intended fold lines and new unwanted creases set into the sheets. The rigid stubs used to hold the maps together in the binding caused additional tears and creases. The adhesives used to line many of the maps with cloth backings deteriorated over time, leaving stains and yellow discoloration on the maps. Both the stubbing and the old linings caused severe distortions to the maps, making them appear warped and cockled. Chapter 4.The Condition Assessment Dove worked closely with the Library’s Assistant Chief Conservator, Paula Zyats, a book conservation specialist, to develop the treatment plan. Dove and Zyats carefully examined the binding and maps and documented the Atlas’ before-treatment condition. The conservators also carried out extensive testing to help them to understand the response of each of the inks or colors to the application of water and any chemicals that might used as part of the treatment approach.
Chapter 5. The Proposed Treatment
Once the documentation and testing was completed, the conservators developed a treatment proposal outlining the options for corrective actions as well as the associated risks and anticipated benefits of each choice. The conservators discussed their proposal with the collection curators. With a plan approved, the maps were removed from the binding. Next the damaging stubs and all of the old linings and adhesives were removed. Most of the maps were washed, humidified and gently flattened. Finally, Dove mended all of the tears.
Chapter 6. Special Treatment Challenges
Treating these maps in a laboratory originally designed for bookbinding posed special challenges for Dove. Dove constructed oversized temporary washing trays from heavy polyester sheets to wash many of the largest maps since they did not fit in the lab’s only treatment sink. Dove’s work often required an extra pair of hands from another conservator or technician to safely lift and move the maps from the bath. Some colored inks, particularly the yellows, would not tolerate immersion in a water bath. Dove painstakingly removed the damaging old back linings from these maps by hand.
Chapter 7. Facsimiles and Final Steps
With treatments for the maps completed, specialists from the Digital Studio of Beinecke Rare Book Library photographed each of the maps to create high-quality digital surrogates for use and publication. Following the digitization, the conservators and the collections curators decided to take a second look at the final treatment step that called for rebinding the Atlas. They knew that the old binding was the cause of much of the wear and tear that necessitated treatment and any binding would require folding some of largest maps again.
Zyats created full-scale paper models for each of the maps. She then tested out various strategies for the size and shape of the binding in an effort to re-fold the maps the least number of times. Each strategy was demonstrated and discussed with the curators. None of the rebinding schemes proved to be a satisfactory solution to provide for the long-term preservation of the conserved maps. Curators are now considering the possibility of producing a bound true-scale facsimile to document the previous grouping of the maps as an atlas, while allowing the original maps to be left flat and unfolded.
