Category: book conservation

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A Mysterious Press

Jennifer Evers sent me this description and images of a mysterious press.  I’m baffled. At first glance it appeared to be some type of foreedge painting jig, but this doesn’t seem right. It also looked a bit like a double fan adhesive press, but not quite. Possibly some type of tooling jig?  The metal edge on the top platen might be for cutting against? The whole press looks owner made.  NB: I would like to buy some handles like these:  they seem great for applying a lot of pressure with one hand, look easy to spin with one finger, and have an attached freely rotating collar to protect the platen surface. Reward offered.

Jennifer writes:

“I recently acquired an unknown piece of bookbinding equipment, and am trying to determine a) what it is, and b) how to use it.  The piece consists of a stationary wooden base with footings on each side. Two long threaded rods are counter-sunk into the base just inside the footings. Each of these rods has a handle that can be cranked down to apply pressure on the platens.

The interior platen is the same size as the base. A small rectangular piece of wood is hinged to the underside on both sides. These hinged pieces can either be flipped down to allow the platen to rest a set distance from the base, or flipped up, to serve an as yet unknown purpose. Two small pieces of wood are adhered to the top of this platen and run parallel to its shorter edge, possibly to serve as jigs.

The exterior platen is the same length as both the interior platen and the base, but only half the width. It is angled at approximately 70 degrees on both of the shorter edges, and has a metal edge recessed into the middle of one of the longer edges. This metal edge does not extend down over the edge of the platen like the edge on a brass-edged board, but lies flush with the board edge.”

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Mystery Solved!:  This is an early version of the “Digby Stuart Press”.  New versions are still available from Russels. “This is an ideal piece of equipment for the student bookbinder or a person working at home. The Digby Stuart has two main functions:
1. As a nipping press: when the folding flaps are turned down onto the base the lower platen is supported, leaving both hands free to arrange the material to be pressed.
2. Thin books and boards can be trimmed by running a sharp blade along the built-in metal straight edge on the upper platen. A metal plate should be placed beneath the work to protect the surface of the Digby Stuart Press.” Page 10 of their catalogue.

Thanks to Keith Stuckless for this info. Unfortunately, the new handles are much more pedestrian looking….

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Book Jack

Many forms of book wedges are available for the reading room, ranging from the familiar Clarkson foam, wood ones, as well as some newer ideas from the At the Bench blog.  There are also many options for the safe display of books.  A third need — to secure books partially open while undergoing treatment and examination — seems to have been ignored, or commonly jerry rigged with weights and pressing boards as the need arises.

I developed the in-situ book conservation fixture to securely hold a textblock open while performing page repairs, working under magnification, media consolidation, etc. It is large and heavy, and can easily accommodate parchment textblocks.

The book jack is small, lightweight, and designed for use on the workbench. It quickly and easily adjusts from 15 to 60 degrees, locks securely into place by a built in handle, and provides a more rigid support than foam. This fixture that holds the book, or boards, open in a wide variety of positions to reduce strain while performing treatments.   The small size permits it to be used inside a book to work on board edges and corners. It can also be used to support a textblock upright when rebacking or humidifying warped vellum boards, although additional weights may be necessary to stabilize it.  I use this fixture constantly, from initial examination throughout the treatment.

The natural, translucent .25 inch thick polypropylene platens are lined with an easily replaceable .0625 inch thick closed cell polyethylene foam ( aka. Volara). The adjustment mechanism is 6061 T6 aluminum and a comfort grip handle, which has a lower profile than the platens at any angle, so that relatively large books can be supported.

Item#  BJ-1 $125.00 for one, or $225.00 pair

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An Easy Way to Strain Wheat Starch Paste

Wheat starch paste is widely used as an adhesive and size in bookbinding and conservation because it is long lasting, strong, reversible and non-yellowing.  After making wheat starch paste, it is generally strained, thinned, aged, or otherwise worked to give it the appropriate working qualities for the task at hand. A horsehair (or other non-metalic, ie. silk screen fabric) strainer is commonly used, however the technique below is quick, easy, fun and impressive. It results in a paste suitable for many bookbinding and book conservation purposes.

TWIST AND SQUEEZE: AN EASY WAY TO STRAIN WHEAT STARCH PASTE

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OBSERVATIONS:

-Use an undyed, unbleached, natural fiber square of cloth that does not shed fibers.

-The cloth can be prewetted, to various degrees, to alter the final consistency of the paste.

-Rinse and clean the cloth immediately after use.

-Note the use of the thumb during the final squeeze.

–Caution: Too vigorous a twisting and squeezing motion can cause the paste to fly out, in equal proportions, into your eye and onto the floor.

-I imagine different weave tightness or thread counts could change affect the consistency of the paste.

-The main drawback of this technique is that it is best suited for small quantities of paste.

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Thanks to Clare Manias, Rare Book Conservator of the Museum of Biblical Art for sharing this tip.