An elementary history of art of all ages 

Identification and bibliographical details

Number of components: 1   

Title/descriptive signifier: An elementary history of art of all ages: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting

Dimensions (mm): (h) 250 (w) 154 (d) 49

Collection/client details: City & Guilds of London Art School 

Provenance: City & Guilds of London Art School archive

Historical context and details of research:

An Elementary History of Art: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting by N. D'Anvers was originally created for the sole purpose of expanding the fine art education of the people of America and England. The book also includes a wonderful array of illustrations to help further the reader's understanding of art and increase their cultural literacy.

Condition

Category 4 - the book is broken, and several gatherings are detached from the textblock, which makes it unstable and prevents use. 

• The spine is broken

• The hollow back is lost

• The front and the back interior joint is broken, but the boards are still attached to the textblock

• The corners of the boards are abraded and are delaminating. 

• The leather on the board is peeled, discoloured, and abraded. 

• Self-adhesive tapes with a paper carrier around the spine, leaving tape residues on the spine and the leather. 

• 4 gatherings of textblocks are detached 

• The first flyleaf is detached from the textblock

• Between pages 73 to 76, page edges have been roughly opened by a shoe knife and ripped the edges off. 

• There is discolouration (might be acid migration) at the head of the paste-down. 

• Surface dirt is heavier on the endleaves and throughout the head of the textblock.

Treatment description

1. Dry surface cleaning 

It was carried out using a soft Japanese brush to remove loose particles on the text block, especially the head of the text block as the dirt was heavier on the head. Then a smoke sponge was used to remove any further surface dirt. This was done throughout the whole text block. 

2. Cleaning the spine lining with a wheat starch paste poultice

A wheat starch paste poultice was applied to the spine, allowed to sit, and then the old adhesives and the old lining were scraped off with a blunt spatula (figure 1).

3. Tape removal 

The self-adhesive tape with a paper carrier has been removed by applying a wheat starch poultice and lifting the tape using a flexible Delrin Hera.

4. Leather consolidation

The covering leather has been consolidated by brushing the mixture of Klucel G and IMS directly onto the leather. This prevents the flaking and peeling of the leather. 

5. Section guarding

There are 4 detached gatherings where the spine is broken, so each folio was guarded with strips of Japanese paper to be re-sewn (figure 2). Also, the first detached endpaper was guarded. 

6. Re-sewing & endpaper re-attach

Originally the textblock was going to be re-sewn, reusing the existing sewing supports, but every gathering was torn around the kettle stitch, which made it impossible. Instead of removing the existing sewing, a linen band was adhered by starch paste on top of the existing sewing structure, then the thread looped around the original thread holes to consolidate the textblock. This method is weaker than resewing the whole sections, but the original sewing could remain, so it’s more suitable for museum objects which will be more likely to be stored than to be read by people. Then the guarded four sections and the endpaper were sewn all along. The extra threads were then frayed and pasted down using wheat starch paste (figure 3). 

7. Spine lining

The spine was lined with Japanese paper (30 GSM) with wheat starch paste (figure 4). This gives strength and flexibility to the spine and holds the boards in place.

8. Making hollow & Hollow insertion

A hollow was constructed from Archival Manila and inserted between the spine of a book and its cover to strengthen the spine and allow the book to open smoothly without putting stress on the covering material (figure 5).

9. Leather dying & paring

The archival leather that has a similar surface texture to the original covering leather was dyed with water-based leather dyes to match the original colour of the leather (figure 6). Next, the leather was pared with a paring knife to make it thinner on the inside of the boards and the spine, especially around the headcaps.

10. Aero linen dying

Scoured aero linen was colour matched to the colour of the covering cloth using acrylic.

11. Re-attached the boards

The detached boards were positioned, and frayed sewing supports were adhered in between the covering material and the board. 

12. Re-backing the spine

The spine was covered with dyed archival leather using a wheat starch paste, and the extra width of the leather was inserted between the board and the leather. The extra length and width of the leather were turned over the outer edges of the boards from the outside to the inside. 

13. Covering the corners

Abraded corners have been covered with toned aero linen. 

14.  Reinforcement of inner joints

Inner joints were reinforced with a strip of Japanese paper as necessary to improve the board attachment.

After photodocumentation

Requirements/future recommendations:

The book should be kept away from direct sunlight to prevent fading or discolouration. The environment should be around 45-55% to prevent mould growth.