Categories
Conservation

Treatment of “Martini Opitti Deutscher Poematum”

Before treatment (head)

Information about this item

  • Date: July 2009
  • Conservator: Suzy Morgan
  • Call Number/Collection: SPEC 831.5 061d, Northwestern University Library, Special Collections
  • Author: Martin Opitz
  • Imprint: Breslau, 1637
  • Title: Martini Opitti Deutscher Poematum
  • Dimensions (binding): H 22.4 x W 14.7 x T 3 (cm)
  • Dimensions (text block): H 21.7 x W 13.5 x T 2.7 (cm)
  • Before treatment (head)
  • Before treatment (tail)

Treatment Report

CONDITION AND DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

Description

This is a contemporary, full parchment binding with wooden boards laced on with 3 leather sewing supports and 2 parchment tapes. The endbands are made of blue and white linen thread sewn over a core of binder’s waste (parchment), which is laced into the boards. The spine has a moderate round and shallow sho ulder. There are no spine linings except for the parchment tapes and leather sewing supports. The textblock is comprised of handmade, laid paper that has been printed with a black printer’s ink. There is a visible type impression. The front pastedown is adhered only along the spine-edge of the board, where the parchment tapes extend onto the board. There is a spine label at the head that reads “Opitz 1637” and a paper label at the tail spine with the call number.

Condition

Both boards are split, with the front board completely split into two pieces. There is also a loss in the front wood board, at the head along the split. There is a minor split at the head on the back board. The parchment is scarred, torn and stained. There is a loss in the parchment on the spine, at the head. There is a split in the parchment along the back joint, halfway down the spine from the head. The parchment has shrunk vertically, exposing the front board edge and the headband. The headband is loose and nearly detached from where it was laced into the boards. The textblock consolidation is in good condition. The edges of the textblock are sooty. There are several tears within the textblock at the following pages: 9, 315, 347, 350, 351, 355, 395. The last page is detached (p 697) from the textblock.
The front pastedown is tattered along the edges.
The front board has detached from the textblock and the sewing supports are split at the joint on the front board.

TREATMENT PROPOSAL

  • Remove and line pastedown (and reattach as flyleaf).
  • Unwrap parchment from front fore-edge to mend split in wood.
  • Lift tapes from front board to release case.
  • Use Paraloid B-72 to consolidate wooden boards along split, and a mixture of sawdust and B-72 to reattach the two pieces to each other.
  • Rebridge sewing supports and reattach case to textblock.
  • Mend losses in the parchment along the spine.
  • Mend tears in textblock.

TREATMENT PERFORMED

  1. Removed the front paste-down mechanically and lined it with Tengujo tissue that had been pre-coated with methyl cellulose which was reactivated with damp blotters prior to lining.
  2. The headband was removed by unlacing it from the board.
  3. The lining paper beneath the parchment along the spine was repaired using thin tissue and wheat starch paste.
  4. The parchment turn-ins on the front board were humidified and opened so that half of the split front board could be removed. This was the half of the board along the fore-edge, as the other half could not be removed because it was still laced into the case and adhered to the lining paper.
  5. The loose board piece was consolidated along the edges with B-72 and then lined with MacGregor paper and gelatin. The paper extended past the split edge of the board and was cut into tabs. The loose piece was then reattached to the other half of the board using the paper tabs and gelatin. The loss in the front board at the head was then filled in with a putty of cellulose powder and gelatin, which was then toned to match using pastels.
  6. Rebridging the sewing supports was determined to be too invasive, so instead, 2 extra supports of Okasan tissue were applied to the spine with gelatin between the sewing supports at the head and tail. The case was then reattached by adhering these new supports onto the board, and reattaching the lifted parchment tapes with gelatin.
  7. The lined front paste-down and loose back page were hinged onto the textblock with gelatin.
  8. The split in the parchment along the joints and the split at the head turn-ins were repaired with colored Kozo tissue applied with gelatin.
  9. The loss in the parchment at the head was filled using two layers of colored Kozo tissue and gelatin.
  10. The headband was reattached to the parchment turn-ins using extensions of Kozo tissue and gelatin adhered to the original laces.
  11. The front paste-down was given a second lining of Kizukishi tissue applied with wheat-starch paste, as the first lining was deemed to be not durable enough when rubbing against the edge of the parchment turn-ins.
  12. The various tears throughout the textblock were mended with thin Japanese tissue applied with wheat starch paste.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Before Treatment:

Before Treatment

After Treatment:

After Treatment
After treatment