Author: Jeff Peachey

Book conservator, tool maker, book historian.
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Useful Phases for Insulting Bookbinders in French from 1729. Cette relieure n’est pas bonne!

Abel Boyer, The Compleat French-master, For Ladies and Gentlemen, Tenth edition,

London: Printed for Samual Ballard, 1729

There are two particularly interesting phrases in this text.  “Will you have them bound in sheeps, calves or Turkey leather” indicates that the bookseller was selling unbound sheets or books in a temporary binding. “This binding is not good.” suggests the purchaser was considering the purchase of a bound book. Together they seem to indicate there was not a set standard regarding the purchase of books bound or in sheets in early eighteenth century France. There is also a clear distinction between the items for sale by the stationer— paper, pens, etc.—and bookseller.

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New Tool! The Finger for Conservation

The Finger

The Finger® in use conserving a plate from C. Collodi’s Pinocchio, Gift Edition, 1920.

Many conservators, in a variety of specialities, like to make their own tools.  However this can be time consuming and distract the dedicated conservation professional from the more necessary tasks of endless paperwork. Last year, I introduced the now ubiquitous SPIT™. After a year of making prototypes and incorporating suggestions from testers, I feel I have finally perfected a new essential tool: The Finger®.  

The idea came to me late one night when I was using a Yad to read my Torah, and I’m not even Jewish.  The small size of the finger, and more importantly finger nail, would be ideal for the mechanical removal of surface accretions. FIngernails have an ideal flexibility and hardness. But a regular fingernail is often much too large for the types of delicate paperwork that conservators generally engage in, and is inconveniently attached to the extreme outer ends of our fingers. The Finger® is a delicate and versatile tool for use on the most sensitive of substrates.  It has a pleasing weight and a gentle warmth, and will pay for itself after the first successful treatment. Above all, it will be a constant reminder that the conservator is subservient to the objects of cultural heritage that we treat.

The Finger® is made from hand carved swiss pear wood, 6″ (152mm) long and .6″ (15mm) wide at the palm. .25 oz (7 g). The nail is replaceable, contact me for current prices, though there is often a three month delay while I grow a new one of adequate length.

THE FINGER® (ITEM# FU) $495.00

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It Is Not His Book. Huh?

this is not his book

Samuel Daniel, The Whole Works of Samuel Daniel, London, 1623. Collection David Kasten.

Seeing someone’s name, or a list of names, in a book is not unusual. It is still practiced to indicate ownership, prevent theft, and possibly to add value depending on the name. Names when accompanied by dates are often useful for establishing family history and can aid in dating bindings and repairs.

Earlier books sometimes posit the locus of identity to the book itself; “I belong to Peachey” for example. Sometimes a name is followed by the phrase, “this is my book”.  This has always seemed a bit strange to me—why would someone sign a book that wasn’t theirs?  Doesn’t the name alone signify ownership?

In this case, perhaps it doesn’t. Did Thomas Sedgewick sign a book that wasn’t his? The writing appears to be from the same hand; the ink color and degree of corrosion are quite similar, and the handwriting looks similar to me, especially the heavy “k”‘s at the end. Another possibility is that after reading the book he no longer wanted to be associated with it. Or maybe someone else added the second line, to deny Thomas Sedgewick ownership, or simply as a joke?