Identification of Special Collection Materials - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Identification of Special Collection MaterialsSlide2

Table of Contents

Papyri

Incunabula

Paper, Parchment

& Vellum

Books & Book

Covers:

Rigid and Flexible – Parchment, Vellum &Fabric

Slide3

Papyri Collection

Papyrus

is a

thick paper-like material

produced from the

pith of the papyrus plant

,

Cyperus

papyrus

(papyrus sedge or paper reed

) which was abundant in the Nile Delta area of Egypt.

Papyrus is first known to have been

made and used

in

ancient Egypt

as far back as the third millennium

BC. It was

also used throughout

the Mediterranean region.

Yale Papyrus Collection

began in 1889 and

numbers over six thousand inventoried items

that are

cataloged, digitally scanned, and accessible online for close study

.

http://

beinecke.library.yale.edu

/

digitallibrary

/

papyrus.htmlSlide4

Incunabula

Incunabula

is a generic term coined by English book collectors in the seventeenth century to describe the first

books, pamphlets, and broadsides that were printed - not handwritten - before the year 1501 A.D. The term

is

formed

of two Latin words meaning literally "in the

cradle”.

One

of the world's major repositories for books printed in the fifteenth century, the

Beinecke

Library has over 3100 incunabula, with approximately 425 elsewhere at Yale. Highlights of the collection are the

Melk

copy of the Gutenberg Bible,

as

well as the 200 titles in the Edwin J.

Beinecke

Memorial Collection. Holdings are strong in Greek and Latin classics, Italian humanist literature, historical texts, biblical literature and exegesis, and Hebrew printing. More recent areas of concentration are secular vernacular texts, illustrated books, and works by fifteenth-century authors. Copies in early bindings, notably a large group in German monastic bindings, or with evidence of early

readership or

provenance are prominent in the collection and in current collecting. Rare presses or typographically significant or innovative volumes document the history and spread of printing. Holdings are strongest in Italian, German, and French imprints, but English and Spanish presses are well represented

.

Records for these can be found in

Orbis

, the Yale University Library’s online catalogue. To browse, follow the directions on Yale’s Library Help Page.Slide5

Background Information: Paper, Parchment & Vellum

There

are a variety of plants that can serve as sources of cellulose for

paper-making, which include

linen,

cotton, hemp,

and mulberry.

Prior

to the 19th century paper was made by hand. Most paper consisted of cotton, hemp, linen or mulberry

fibers and are commonly

referred to as

rag paper

. Rag papers are

quite durable

and can be preserved for hundreds of years.

With the onset of

the modern paper industry in the early 19th century, wood-based papers became an abundant and inexpensive alternative to costly

rag papers

. As with many inexpensive materials, cost efficiency did not coincide with durability

.

Wood-based papers

are prone to degradation due to the presence

of the chemical compound lignin. Lignin forms acidic compounds if it is not removed during the paper making process.

The presence of these acids causes the paper to

degrade becoming

yellow and brittle, eventually leading to total disintegration.

Parchment

and vellum

are made from the skins of small animals. Traditionally, the skins are treated with slaked lime which acts as a preservative. The skin is then rubbed smooth with an abrasive such as chalk or pumice. Generally, parchment refers to the skin of sheep and goats, while vellum refers to

finer

quality skins

of calves

, kid or lambs

.

*

* Above information from: The Care and Preservation of Archival Materials by

Mary

Fahey

,

Head of Preservation/Chief Conservator, The Henry Ford **Slide6

Background

Information

: Books & Book Covers

BOOKS - Three Basic Components

(

1) pages or leaves consisting of parchment or

paper

(2) a protective covering made from leather, parchment or

fabric

(

3) the media that has been used to create the

document

BOOK

COVERS

- Rigid and Flexible

Both

flexible and rigid book covers

made

parchment, vellum

and fabric

have been used over the years.

For rigid covers - cardboard

, pasteboard and wood have been used as the underlying support. Pasteboard is a rigid material that is made by lamination of leather and parchment scraps.

Leather

has been used for the manufacture of book covers since medieval

times, made

from a variety of

animals as cattle

, pigs, deer and sheep. For the majority of book coverings, tanned leather was utilized. Tanning

is a

process by which leather is chemically treated in order to impart strength and stability. A variety of tanning processes have been developed over the

years and

each

varies

in its effect upon the longevity of the leather.

Leather

that was produced prior to the

17th century

using a vegetable-tanning process has proven to be highly stable.

During

the

mid-1800's

, an increased demand for leather goods led to the development of a variety of new processes which vary in stability.

Much of

the vegetable-tanned leather that was produced during

the 19th century

is

especially unstable

and prone to the development of Red rot.

Red rot

appears as powdery red degradation that is caused by the presence of sulfuric acid in the leather.

** Above information

from: The Care and Preservation of Archival Materials by Mary Fahey

,

Head of Preservation/Chief Conservator, The Henry Ford

**Slide7

Background Information:

Book Covers continued...

PARCHMENT AND VELLUM

Parchment

and vellum were widely used for written materials up until the 19th century. Like leather, parchment and vellum are manufactured from animal skins. Both materials are

strong

and

durable but are

highly sensitive to moisture changes. Parchment and vellum undergo dramatic expansion and contraction corresponding to absorption and evaporation of water which leads to the formation of wrinkles and puckers. When utilized as coverings over wood or cardboard, this instability can lead to warping and distortion of book covers.

FABRIC

In

recent times, the use of fabric and paper has increasingly replaced leather as book covers. Sized linen or cotton fabric is frequently

used. Sizing refers to the application of adhesive such as gelatin, plant gums and starches to the surface of a sheet of paper. It is added to make the surface less absorbent in order to prevent the bleeding of ink and other printing media.

Bookcloths

,

first

manufactured in England in the early 1820's, were sized with starch which imparted rigidity and resistance to water damage. In 1910,

pyroxylin

-treated

fabrics

came into

use but were

found to be unstable. Acrylic materials are becoming a common replacement for the traditional starch-based sizing. Other fabrics that have been used as cloth covers include silk and velvet.

*

* Above information from: The Care and Preservation of Archival Materials by Mary Fahey

,

Head of Preservation/Chief Conservator, The Henry Ford **