As a result of a water leak, about 100 volumes of old books in my family collection (the majority 17th and 18 h century) were  water damaged. Worse, mould set in furiously and many of the books became heavily infested and incrusted in the worst cases.

I found Archaic Treasures by chance and it was a lucky chance. Liz Fagg-Shuttlewood took in my precious books and treated them as her own. She froze them, stabilized the situation and over the course of the next year repaired them all. It was a horrendous task involving soaking and treating thousands and thousands of pages individually. She also repaired and restored much of the leather covers and bindings. In short she worked miracles. I would recommend her to anyone!”

‘Liz’s strengths lie in her long experience of conservation practice: this is evident in her methodical and measured treatment approach, with excellent pitch to accommodate client needs and the requirements of clients and stakeholders. She is clearly operating in a comfortable sphere of conservation practice that comes from experience but is not at all afraid to accept challenges in terms of complexity or format. She seeks solutions by investigation, innovation and ingenuity, referring to colleagues and reference sources extensively to inform her decision making. A natural communicator, Liz’s engaging and approachable manner is wonderful and must make colleagues and clients alike feel comfortable and trusting of her skills, abilities and integrity. Liz is everything a conservator should be: meticulous, methodical and object-focused; this combined with an approachable and accommodating positive attitude make her a proficient and able practitioner in the book and paper sector’ 

Liz is a very supportive member of the team and I receive glowing feedback from all levels on the success of the project being her can-do attitude. She owns her projects & makes empirical decisions.

Liz’s tenacity was exactly needed for this project! While writing a new Collection Emergency Plan we defined that time would be of the essence and if protective measures could be made in advance they could be fitted easily and timely, allowing us to move onto the next item.

 A note of praise, on the conservation of your work for me. The Hogarth has been wonderfully returned to being a functioning book. Your lifting of the stains from the “courtship and Matrimony” series was more than I hoped.  What I most admire though is you approach. Being able to scale the needs of very different clients, whilst absolutely maintain the ethics of the profession, is not a widely- held ability.

Our 12 volumes of Hasted’s History of Kent, which were in dire condition, have been restored to a pristine state by Elizabeth Fagg-Shuttlewood. 

We certainly are impressed, we had never thought that the plans could look so good. The quality of the conservation work is excellent. We will defiantly recommend you to others.

The books that required binding are of considerable age and where in a very sorry state. The work done returned them to the attractive original style of binding of that ere. This has not only improved their appearance, but has conserved them for research and examination by future generations. The cost is very reasonable and was the winner in competition with other similar companies. In all ways an excellent job.