Conserving MS OGDEN/7/21, a 17th century manuscript conservation project

This conservation treatment is part of a project funded by the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust focused on six limp and semi-limp parchment bindings from the first half of the 17th century, held in the Special Collections of University College London.
In the case of this Commonplace Book manuscript by William Drake, the conservation process aimed at stabilising the book, retaining as much as possible its original features, components and aspect, so that it could safely be made available for students and scholars for research. The documentation and conservation work, carried out at the UCL Special Collections Conservation Department, took well over 100 hours, and required far more complex operations than the ones shown in this film.
The conservation of the six books from the same collection allowed conservators to gain a specialised knowledge base regarding this specific type of bindings as well as to establish parallels between books based on their specific features and structures that should guide curators and scholars towards identifying the places where they were bound or the period, whereas, previously, the books were not related except for their previous shared ownership.
Learn more about the manuscript: archives.ucl.ac.uk/DServe/dse...)
Learn more about William Drake:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Wil...
Learn more about UCL Special Collections:
www.google.com/search?client=...
Learn more about the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust:
www.nmct.co.uk

[@maartenhappel9014]

Love watching these kind of preservations. Thnx for sharing!

[@pergolascentralcoastspecia1961]

You're a role model for aspiring creators.

[@claybahl5107]

Very cool. My heart skipped a beat when you flipped through after sewing and I saw that a page was upside down. I was put at rest by your clarification 😂

[@davidkelsey2864]

I love how you conserved the nature of the original book and didn't add that last gathering to the book block. Maintaining the history of the work. Nice.

[@paulwomack5866]

The reference number (for searching) is now MS OGDEN/7/21

[@BoltiKahaniyaByMamtaBhatt]

Found this channel suddenly. Thankyou so much. Iam a paper conservator too.

[@melodymacken9788]

Spectacular.

[@TheTerrylwg]

Very impressive; I learned a lot from this.

[@dannoakl]

Beautiful work.

[@debbrunette650]

Beautiful. Amazing.

[@jeffreycrawley1216]

Was anybody else holding their breath during the dismantling? I've rebound/repaired favourite hardbacks and paperbacks for myself and friends but nothing on this scale. Love the idea of being able to reverse some of the work - it can be so disheartening to open up a much loved book to find a dried out strip of Sellotape and the brown gunge left behind. Would never have thought to patch individual needle holes though! Good for another 300 years do we think?

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

I certainly hope so! :)

[@maricarmenbasauri1101]

Amazing

[@Galileosays]

This also shows how expensive books were. A lot of hours to ensemble the pages and cover.

[@volakis1966]

Beautiful work...meticulously filmed...Surprised to see conservation work being performed while wearing metal jewelry though. I would think that would be risky...(unintended knuckle drag or accidental impression/abrasion of metal on paper). Thanks for sharing this content...much appreciated.

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

Hi!. Well spotted. My rings are round and smooth, so they don't catch (that's the main risk), but I do remove them for certain treatments. They also are a bit of "my signature" on videos that show only my hands ;)

[@py2rpjrubens450]

Fantastic job, tank's for sharing

[@jdsown]

nerve wrecking . unconsciously i hold my breath lol

[@syraublue]

It's a joy to watch you working! What is the material you used on the spine of the book and I think also at the spine of the pages? Is this a kind of Japanese paper and if so, which kind is it?

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

Hi. Thank you. Yes it is a Japanese tissue. It's a kozo-fibre Tengujo, non bleached, about 11 gsm.

[@paulwomack5866]

There was a golden opportunity to photograph/scan the pages after you had un-sewn everything - was this done?

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

True. It was not done on this occasion, unfortunately. The book opens quite flat after treatment though.

[@tuexss]

What do you use for surface cleaning?

[@carmenpdl8918]

Very very interesting! I love this job. But I noticed that other master restorers usually wear lattice or cotton gloves when they touch books, why it's not happening in this case?

[@soledadcorrea8768]

When restoring, its important to feel the material directly with your fingers. If you wear gloves or something that interferes with this contact, you can easily damage the delicate material, with out even noticing it.

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

Conservators have carried out several studies to balance the risks and advantages of wearing gloves. Gloves are mandatory to handle metallic and photographic material. They are also needed to protect the user from the objects (either because they are dirty or could contaminate, with heavy metals for example). Cotton gloves, even lint free, are no longer used because they leave residue and they can catch on protruding elements. Don't worry, we've got this.

[@marcuslai669]

I'm kinda curious about the structure. I'm not an expert this style (or any style). In this book, the last gathering is sewn to the cover. It is separated from the text block. Does this provide any benefits? Why not just sew all pages together and attach the text block to the cover?

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

The last gathering was added to the book after the book was sewn. The conservation work replicated the object's original intent and structure. Conservation is about the materiality of objects so that they can tell the most complete story. If the last gathering had been sewn with the rest of the text block, the materiality attached to the fact that it is an appendice would have been lost. There was also no structural reason to not respect the original structure. :)

[@marcuslai669]

@@laurentcruveillier1371 uh yes, thank you so much for answering!! I missed the part you explained the structure was uncommon. Your video is super helpful. Not only did it teach how to repair books, but the rich details observed also showcase the uniqueness and stories of these old books.

[@LunteBooks]

Very impressive and interesting! Curious how much time it took overall. Thanks for the detailed video!

[@richardh8082]

The documentation and conservation work, carried out at the UCL Special Collections Conservation Department, took well over 100 hours, and required far more complex operations than the ones shown in this film

[@LunteBooks]

​@@richardh8082 Thanks for the explanation! Great work!

[@lilashelton535]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a conservative work without gloves.

[@BoltiKahaniyaByMamtaBhatt]

What adhesive you applying?

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

It depends where. On paper: Methylcellulose and Klucel G, gelatine on the parchment. I also used wheat starch paste and mixtures of the above... the type and concentration of adhesives depends on the analysis of the substrate. :)

[@jeanettecook1088]

Good work. Please let us know the subject matter of the book. Was this a journal? 🎉

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

You can find more information in the UCL catalogue entry for MS OGDEN/7/21: archives.ucl.ac.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo==%22MS%20OGDEN/7/21%22)

[@emilyk2562]

Ambient sounds without any music would be more magnificent I imagine.

[@jeffreycrawley1216]

Er, volume control?

[@sk5054]

So the ambient sounds get lowered too? Genius

[@jeffreycrawley1216]

@@sk5054 Why thank you kindly but my IQ is only 131 so quite a bit below "genius" level.

[@lindafarnes486]

I thought the first step to conservation would be wearing cotton gloves.

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

That is because you are not a conservator. The issue of wearing gloves has been the object of several scientific studies for decades now, and we use different types of gloves according to rigorous protocols. Cotton gloves are most often banned because they leave residue on the objects (even the "lint free" ones), and the knitted fabric can catch on the material, causing damage. It is funny to see, nevertheless how the public still thinks they know better than trained and experienced conservators. I guess it comes from a good place and a try concern for the preservation of heritage.

[@user-wf5co6ct7l]

⁠@@laurentcruveillier1371 If we do speak from a misconception then is it not for the conservators to communicate the current understanding better. Instead of some on screen notes, a voiceover giving an explanation would’ve been handy here. It doesn’t have to be your voice just your words.

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

@@user-wf5co6ct7l Thanks for the suggestion. I'll include that in my next video. Especially because the public "wants" gloves, and we always have to explain, despite all the videos that treat solely of that issue. But, yes. It's a useful suggestion. thanks.

[@zeekwolfe6251]

The monotonous pounding sound adds nothing to this video.

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

Pounding sound? Do you mean the music background?

[@zeekwolfe6251]

@@laurentcruveillier1371 If you are referring to the unpleasant noise in the background, yes. KZbin contributors are learning that wispy, non irritating music helps, not hinders ideas or projects they are promoting. This is an over-all generalization, of course, but positive feedback seems to confirm it. Most people want the music or lack of same to match the views. For example, romantic violin music does fit into scenes of a steam engine chugging up Cajon Pass or...relentless pounding music while a rare book is being conserved.

[@Belzediel]

...OK, but why? not trying to be a douche, I'm genuinely curious, why is this being preserved?

[@museumoflosttime9718]

The new material aspect is small but looks dreadful, a wonderful job ruined by a small but terribly, scaring intervention, a horror that now happens to buildings, this is where a contemporary conversation is driven by machine-like scientific types, people that need to stay away from objects with a soul and a history. Bring back aesthetes into conservation and banish the dead heart scientific types that are killing the past they claim to be protecting.

[@nathanielscreativecollecti6392]

Can you be more specific as to what you're talking about? Looks like it was cleaned, stabilized, and modifications were made to be reversible. What's wrong?

[@laurentcruveillier1371]

@@nathanielscreativecollecti6392 , I think the intervention is about considering that this was a "restoration" job. In a teaching setting, such as the special collections of a university, it is necessary that contemporary additions are clearly identifiable, so that our intervention is not mistaken with the original. Even is we document everything, eventually documentation records can be lost, and the only thing capable of telling the true story is what we leave obvious in our interventions. Plus, as you said, all is reversible, here.

[@colinsmith6116]

I am not sure EXACTLY you have done. It is not a full proper restoration? As for upside down pages, never ever heard of a restorer ever allowing that.