book conservation – Page 78 – Peachey Conservation

April 1, 2014April 1, 2014

For Sale: Guttenberg Bible

Nuremberg, 1454-1455. 2 vols. 1,272pp. This is the first book printed with moveable type in the Western World, only 48 copies known to exist, and only 21 are complete. This is the only one currently available for sale.

BACKGROUND. Detailed records of Gutenberg’s life and work are scant. He was born around 1400 in Mainz, where he trained as a gemstone cutter, goldsmith and door to door Bible salesman. In 1438, after moving to Strasbourg, Gutenberg entered into a partnership with Andreas Dritzehn, which enabled him to conduct experiments in printing with moveable metal type. It worked. He decided to release three collectable versions: the Gutenberg Bible, the Mazarin Bible, and the B-42. Gutenberg is credited with being the father of modern printing. There is much speculation who the mother is.

PROVENANCE. Although completely undocumented, this copy most certainly belonged to King Villhelmzholt of Strasbourg. For many centuries this volume must have languished in a remote castle in the Alsace-Lorrane. Then a little bird asked someone to ask a friend to ask me to sell it for them.

Inscription below Psalms XL:9 to XLII:8 which reads “COMPLIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR/ P.S. HAVE YOU SEEN MY NEW TOP TEN COMMANDMENTS”

DESCRIPTION. To date, this is the only know copy with the author’s signature “in the beginning”, an inscription from the author in Psalms XXX, containing a mysterious reference to “new top ten commandments”, and the original professionally unrestored dust jacket. Except for a few gaping holes at the foreedge, the dust jacket is is superb condition and has the only known photograph of the author. The lower margin of the text has intermittent light soil, some faint offsetting, a lingering odor of dog breath and tobacco smoke, and other trivial imperfections, but quite well preserved considering this grand old dame is over 500 years old! The binding is broken, the corners have cracked, the flyleaves have flown, the clasps no longer clasp, the foreedge is fricasseed, bosses are broken, head caps are decapitated, and the spine suffers from scoliosis. Else fine.

This exquisite volume speaks eloquently of an antiquated age; of a time when skilled artists and craftsmen honored their Creator by creating churches, paintings, and books which combined spiritual contents with material beauty. A very handsome and proper copy with a flawless, professionally unrestored dust jacket. Without a doubt the centerpiece of any book collection. $175,000,000.00 OBO. Buy now! Won’t last! Shipping within continental US $4.14 USPS Media Mail.

March 25, 2014March 25, 2014

Three Methods of Measuring

1. DIRECT. If at all possible, I prefer to measure directly, as this is often the most accurate, easiest and quickest. For example, you are measuring a book for a box. Put the book on a squared corner of binders board and mark the height and width directly on the board.

2. COMPARATIVE. This involves two steps. For example, you want to measure the width of a spine. You could take a piece of paper and fold it around the spine, marking the width with a fold, pencil mark, or thumbnail indentation, then this can be used comparatively to transfer the measurement to a spine piece. An additional benefit of this method is repeatability. Dividers (technically called divider calipers) also measure comparatively, and they are often used in bookbinding to space sewing holes or holes. A jig (aka. template or guide) would also fall into this category, since they are a separate materials set at a desired measurement. Examples of this include using the width of a ruler to trim turn-ins after the boards are adhered to the covering material, or a corner jig to cut a precise 45 degree corner. Also, the inner and outer gauges on a board shear (which can be set comparatively or numerically) are technically fixtures, not jigs, since the hold the workpiece and don’t guide a cutting tool.

3. NUMERIC. This is often what people think of as measuring. It involves taking a comparative measure, then transferring it to numbers, then transferring the numbers back to a comparative length. This gives you three chances to make a mistake. But for large projects, or ones with multiple workers, this is often the best method. Vernier, Dial or Digital Calipers can be used comparativly or numerically, in fact if they have Statistical Process Control (SPC) they allow a third party to track and record the accuracy, possibly placing them in a different category altogether. Digital box measuring machines, such as the KASEMAKE Book Measure, also convert physical dimensions to numbers.

There is not one best way of measuring for every circumstance, but it is good to evaluate options depending on the task.

March 11, 2014March 11, 2014

19th c. “Recycled” Leather

Charles Tomas Jacobi The Printers’ Handbook of Trade Recipes, Hints & Suggestions (London: Chiswick Press, 1891), 256.

Quite possibly too good to be true, but nevertheless a delicious conceit: “fashionable people” are unknowingly hanging reconstituted stinky old boots and shoes on their walls to imagine themselves “going away back to mediaeval times”. Note this embossed leather is also sold to carriage-top makers and bookbinders. Because this type of leather is actually made of leather, it can be very difficult, sometimes, to tell it from the real thing, or an artificially grained split.