Student reweing papers into book

Student Blog: American Philosophical Society

September 03, 2024 Written by CAS Staff

​I spent the last few months in the conservation lab at the American Philosophical Society​ (APS) under the guidance of Renée Wolcott, Assistant Head of Conservation and Book Conservator, and Anne Downey, Head of Conservation and Paper Conservator. The American Philosophical Society is located in Philadelphia and was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin to “promote useful knowledge”. It is the oldest learned society in the United States, with library collections focusing on early American History, Native American ethnology, scientific study, and technological innovation. As one can imagine, I had a range of items to work on at my bench.​​

Spine linings and endbands on the textblock of the Thomson Bible

​Some of the treatments that I completed include: reattaching the front board to a bible printed in Mohawk, humidifying and flattening parchment documents, consolidating friable pigments on an Audubon print, and making a chemise and girdle housing for a parchment covered book. The most complex treatment that I worked on was the rebinding of a copy of the Thomson Bible, which was originally bound by Jane Aitken in 1808. Aitken was a printer, publisher, and bookbinder who operated in Philadelphia in the late 18th to early 19th century. This was the first book that I had worked on that was bound by a woman, and I really wanted to honor her work.

The first step in this treatment was to make a sewing diagram to understand how the book was made. There were a surprising number of bookmarks in this bible, from short blond hair, to filigreed paper, to scraps of textile. I saved all insertions and documented their locations in the textblock. From there, I lifted as much of the original leather spine as I could and saved it for later reattachment. I reduced the brittle spine linings and pulled the original sewing. I adhered a thin strip of mulberry tissue to the center fold of each folio in preparation for resewing. I sewed the textblock using the original sewing pattern and reattached the original boards. A new spine covering was adhered to the spine of the textblock and the original spine leather was adhered on top. A part of this treatment that I particularly enjoyed was recreating the endbands based on fragments that I found when I was removing the original spine linings. Overall, I am really happy with how this treatment turned out.

My time at the APS and WUDPAC have prepared me for the next step of my conservation journey. I now have experience with the in-situ repair of books as well as more complex rebinding and rebacking work. I have more experience treating parchment artifacts, and I have expanded my skillset for constructing library housings. I feel prepared to begin my third-year internship at the Library of Congress, which starts mid-September. I am looking forward to working on the paper repair of Persian manuscripts, the construction of daguerreotype cases, and the stabilization of parchment fragments. I have a deep appreciation for historic craftsmanship and I am always amazed and inspired with every artifact that comes across my bench. I am excited for the learning opportunities and new experiences that this year will bring.​

— Brittany Murray, WUDPAC Class of 2025

​​Original boards and disbound textblock of the Thomson Bible

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