Projects
Book of common prayer psalms. Church of England 1681. A book conservation project for the Church of Ireland, Dublin
This is a seventh century Bible that was found stored in a cupboard in relatively damp conditions. A condition assessment was vital in order to assess the overall condition of the volume and to establish if there was evidence of mould. There was no evidence of mould but the paper text block had traces of water damage. The text block was in fairly good condition with minor tears and creases. The sewing was intact and the cover was attached front and back. There was a tear in the joint of the endpaper but the original endpaper was still intact.
Treatment: The visual assessment helped to establish the condition of the volume and a treatment was established. It was decided that all treatments would be carried out in situ and that the binding structure would remain intact. All of the original elements would be salvaged and there would be no alteration to the historical structure and format of the volume.
The text block and cover were mechanically dry cleaned with a chemical sponge and soft brush in order to remove any surface dirt and debris. The creases were flattened and the tears were marked for repair at this stage of the treatment.
The text block was repaired in situ using shoufu wheat start paste and a lightweight Japanese paper. The endpaper was also repaired with Japanese paper that was toned to sympathetically match the original marbled paper.
The headband was re sewn and the cover was consolidated with Klucel G and repaired with toned Japanese paper and wheat starch paste.
A solander box was made to house the Bible as it was to be returned to the Church of Ireland archive and potentially be used in a future exhibition.
