Welcome back to Part Two of the conservation treatment of Special Collections’ 1542 edition of the Decameron. When we left off, our cover-less book had been assessed, a treatment plan had been devised, surfaces were cleaned, and materials were prepped. In this post, we will dive a little deeper into the materials prepared, get the board reattached, and take a weather break to make a box!
As briefly touched on in the previous post, I prepared all my materials before getting deep into treating the book. This took some of the nerves out of the process, and helped me to make sure I didn’t forget a planned treatment step.
Creating the New Attachment
Step one was to expose the spine so I could create a support that would reattach the cover to the book. Pre-treatment photos show that the Decameron had small areas of separation at the head and tail, but that the spine was generally attached at the joint. Using a microspatula, the spine covering (leather and false raised bands) was gently lifted, allowing access to the spine of the textblock.
Many leather books feature what are called “laced-in boards” where in the case of a book (the cover boards and outside covering) are created around a textblock, and the boards are attached via “laces” or cords that the textblock has been sewed onto. Passing the cords through holes in the cover board attaches the two pieces, and provides the support for the cover materials (in this case leather) to be attached. Books made in this manner typically have either tight-backs (A and B below), where the covering material is attached to the prepared spine of the book, or hollow-backs (C below), where a hollow tube is attached. Our Decameron is a hollow back, which made work on the book much easier!
Bookbinding, and the Care of Books, by Douglas Cockerel
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/26672/26672-h/26672-h.htm#Page_17
After the spine was lifted, I attached the four prepared tackets to the spine, aligning them with the false raised bands to be in line with the design of the book cover. These were attached using Jade R. This adhesive is a PVA that is reversible. In conservation, we always want our treatments to be reversible. As this adhesive is soluble in water, it can be reversed but is somewhat stronger than our usual adhesive, wheat starch paste. (Be on the lookout for a future post on the types of adhesives used in conservation!) After drying, the new hollow was attached. Using a previously prepared piece of 20 gsm Sekishu tissue sized with methylcellulose, the hollow was first attached to the spine over the newly attached tackets with wheat starch paste. After drying overnight, the other side could be attached to the spine covering. A small piece of Hollytex, non-woven, spunbound polyester fabric that we use as a release layer, was placed between the two sides of the hollow while drying to prevent the sides from sticking together and creating a tightback.
Reattaching the Board
Before reattaching the board, leather on the front cover of the book had to be lifted so that the tackets could be attached without interfering with the cover design. This was easily the most nerve-wracking part of the treatment. An extremely thin leather was used for the cover. While of great quality, it also shows every imperfection, so any scratches, tears, or pokes would easily show. Using a sharpened lifting knife, I carefully lifted the leather in semicircles where the tackets would go. This was much easier to accomplish while the board was still detached. Additionally, the four tackets were shortened and frayed at the ends. The tackets remained coiled at the shoulders. This was done to help with the strength of the reattachment and also make the new materials under the leather be less obvious.
I reattached the board first at the interior hinge. Using wheat starch paste, I attached a toned piece of Japanese tissue to the flyleaf, the decorative endpaper that matches the piece fully pasted to the board. The Decameron has lovely marbled endsheets that would have been very difficult to match. After discussing it with our rare books librarian, it was decided that the maroon tone prominent in the endsheet would be the best choice for the visible repair. Once dry, the board could be attached to the unattached flap of the tissue by using wheat starch paste and fitting the board into the shoulder of the book.
With the aid of Mylar (a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate) strips, the tackets were reattached to the board, under the leather, with Jade R for a strong bond. After drying overnight, the Mylar was removed, and the leather reattached to the board, again using Jade R. As Jade R is a PVA, wheat starch paste won’t stick to the dried Jade R. The reattached leather dried overnight with small weights on top. Unfortunately, I ran into trouble on the top tacket the next day. There was a very distracting bump right along the edge of the fanned tacket. I chose to re-lift that area with my sharpened lifting knife, being carefully not to cut the new tacket. What turned out to be a tiny burr in the board was removed and the leather was reattached without incident.
Final Touches
The final touches for repair were much simpler. Once all the above work was dried, the small areas of frayed leather along the tear could be addressed. A 2% mixture of Klucel G was applied to only the areas of raw leather, and two small areas on the back board where the leather had worn through due to typical use. Klucel G can act as a consolidant for leather and can mitigate further wear that can turn powdery overtime.
The other final touch was to address any of the new hollow that was peeking through. The light color of the tissue was very distracting. Fluid acrylics matched to the color of the leather were carefully applied to those areas to reduce any visual distraction of the repair.
A New House in the Snow
The very last thing on the list for this book was to create a new enclosure for it to live in on our shelves. For books that see frequent use, such as the life the Decameron was heading for as part of the teaching collection, having a custom box for the book can help protect it from damage. As this whole process took place in the winter, it fit that the final step was impacted by snow. Winter weather led to two snow days where I was able to work from home. To prepare for the expected weather, and to keep with the deadline, I planned to make the Decameron’s box at home. As someone who binds books as a hobby, I had all the tools I needed to make this happen! Before the snow set in, I made a quick box that fit the dimensions of the Decameron so that I could custom fit the box to the book. I created a clamshell box out of B-flute corrugated board that is both acid and lignin free. The box also features a drop-front for easy removal. Once back in the lab, I checked the fit of the book with the box, took many, many pictures of the finished repair and enclosure, and sent the no longer detached Decameron on to its new life in Special Collections!
