Treatment Report Special Collection Publisher S Binding

TREATMENT REPORT—SPECIAL COLLECTION PUBLISHER’S BINDING Date Examined: 2/6/08 Date Completed: 5/6/08 Conservator: Stephanie Gowler Instructor: Chela Metzger Call Number/Collection: personal collection Author: McHarg, Charles K. Title: Life of Prince Tallyrand, with Extracts from His Speeches and Writings. Imprint: 1857 Publisher: C. Scribner, NY Collation/foliation: 382 p.; first 3 pages unnumbered, iv-xi, 2-382. Format: quarto Dimensions (binding): 19.6 H x 13.9 W x 3.5 T (cm) Dimensions (text block): 18.7 H x 13 x W x 3.5 x T (cm)

TREATMENT OBJECTIVE The current condition of this publisher’s binding makes it unsafe to handle. The goal of this treatment is to stabilize the publisher’s binding while preserving as many of the original structural and decorative features as possible. It is an opportunity to explore special collections treatment options for publisher’s cloth bindings.

DESCRIPTION Binding This is a case binding with a full brown starch-filled cloth covering. The case is embossed with a design on the front and back of the case forming an ornamental border. Case-to-Text Attachment The case is currently detached from the textblock. It appears that the case was attached to the textblock with a paper stub under the pastedown. Textblock The textblock is stereotype printed in black ink, with a negligible type impression, on machine made paper. The paper is white, medium weight, and stiff, with no visible watermark and a somewhat soft surface. The textblock is sewn 2-on with linen thread on sawn-in hemp cord supports. The edges of the textblock are trimmed. The textblock spine is moderately rounded and backed. The original spine linings (adhered with animal glue) are missing; the textblock spine is currently lined with long fiber paper (adhered with starch paste). The double-folio endleaves are sewn-on, with the first leaf cut to a stub and adhered under the paste down. There is one illustration—a portrait of Tallyrand—on the verso of the second leaf; it is tipped on to the recto of the third leaf, with a sheet of interleaving between the illustration and the title page. The first eight pages (four sections) are repeated in the binding—presumably a binder’s mistake, though I did not see this noted in OCLC. Marks of ownership include an iron gall ink MS mark on the front flyleaf; graphite MS marks on both pastedowns and at the head of front flyleaf; and a pressure-sensitive adhesive dealer’s label on front flyleaf. CONDITION REPORT Binding The case is completely detached from the textblock, and the spine of the case is missing. Boards are intact except at the tail near the spine of the front cover where some of the board is missing (appears to be the result of rat chewing). The other board corners are bent and slightly delaminated. The covering material is soiled, abraded, and torn in places. The finishing is intact except for loss at the missing corner.

Case-to-Text Attachment The case is completely detached from the textblock. Textblock The textblock sewing is broken between pages 96-97 and has been repaired with a long- fiber paper lining and a link-stitch. The textblock paper suffers from severe foxing and tidelines. The edges of the textblock are sooty and damaged, with losses at the tail near the spine.

PROPOSED TREATMENT Re-construct case, consolidate textblock to control opening and ease stress on the repaired area, and reattach to textblock, keeping original endpapers intact.

PHOTODOCUMENTATION Before and after treatment photos: full spectrum fluorescent lights; normal illumination; Pentax K110D camera. During treatment photos: ambient lab lighting with Pentax K110D.

TREATMENT PERFORMED 1. Lined spine of textblock with long fiber paper; adhered 3 additional strips over the break in the spine to reinforce consolidation. 2. Hinged lose flyleaf onto spine with long fiber tissue. 3. Lined spine of textblock with textile lining – hinging linen; no need for additional spine linings. 4. Cleaned edges of board and lifted pastedowns; cut tabs at head and tail turn-ins on boards. 5. Filled in losses of cloth covering material on corner of front board with toned cloth (lined with lens tissue). 6. Created replacement spine piece using toned hinging linen (acrylics – cadmium yellow medium, dioxazine purple, and Payne’s gray) lined with lens tissue; used aero linen for spine strip. 7. Covered spine edges of boards with toned long fiber tissue, adhered with WSP. 8. Consolidated corners of boards with WSP; filled losses in covering material at comers and along edges of boards with toned long fiber tissue. 9. Used colored pencils (dark brown, yellow ochre, and black) to performed additional toning of textile fill on front board; consolidated edge of original covering material along the loss with MC and toned along this line with colored pencil to blend in to the fill. 10. Reconstructed case by adhering replacement spine piece to original boards under original pastedown.1 Nipped in press. 11. Cased in textblock by adhering cloth lining flanges under original pastedown. 12. Re-adhered tabs of original covering material. 13. Consolidated areas toned with pencils with MC. 14. Covered inner hinges with long fiber tissue and WSP.

MATERIALS USED Aero linen textile Hinging linen Long fiber tissues (various) – lens tissue, machine-made kozo, Usu-Mino Precipitated wheat starch paste (WSP) mixed 1:4 with distilled water, cooked 20 minutes Methylcellulose (MC) 2.55 dispersed in hot then cold distilled water Lacscaux 498 HV Watercolor pencils Acrylics Mylar Long fiber tissues (various) – lens tissue, machine-made kozo

1 As described by Bill Minter in “Cloth Rebacking Using a Modified Bradel Binding Technique” (BPG Annual, vol. 18, 1999).