Category: bookbinding

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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.

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The Best One Paragraph Summary of Nineteenth Century Bookmaking?

The entire nineteenth century history can be seen as a continuous struggle against bottlenecks, many of them caused by the sudden speeding up of a single operation previously performed by hand in a more or less leisurely manner.  Thus, the invention of the papermaking machine, which produces a continuous web of paper, calls for the rotary press into which this web can be fed; then there was need for the stereotyping process which allows the production of curved printing plates; and last but not least, composing machines which can produce a sufficient amount of set type to feed hungry presses.  And of what good to anyone would have been the accumulation of printed paper if there had not been machines developed which would cut, fold, sew and bind the sheets?

Lehmann-Haupt, Hellmut.  The Book in America, Second Edition. New York: R.R. Bowker Co., 1952. (p. 147)

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Letter to a Young Bookbinder, 1889: Don’t Go Into This Trade!

 The British bookmaker, Vol. 3, 1889  (p. 185)

It is odd to be in a field that has such a long history of not just pessimism, but an impending sense that the entire trade is nearing death. But this must be tempered with the knowledge that this has continued for at least 120 years, and likely much longer.  A long, slow death, indeed.  So when I attempt to dissuade a young, would be book conservator from entering the field, perhaps I am just continuing this somewhat old tradition.  Or maybe it is an established method to keep the field populated by those who are passionate, determined, cantankerous, and foolhardy enough not to be deterred by its eternally gloomy future.

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Next week, at the annual AIC conference, I’ll be guest blogging for AIC, covering the panel discussion,  “Models for Educating Library and Archives Conservators”.  Hopefully it will prove to be a lively and provocative session – at least my questions will be!  Most of the presentations at the conference will be covered by various bloggers on the new AIC Blog.

Description of the session:

This session, “Models for Educating Library and Archives Conservators,”
will explore a variety of approaches for the education of the next
generation of library and archives conservators.  The discussion will
include a brief overview of educational programs and consider lessons
learned from various educational approaches of the past.  Representatives
from several art conservation programs will describe their approaches to
educating students who wish to specialize in the conservation of materials
in libraries and archives.  Issues to be explored, with the participation
of the audience, include the key components of these programs, new
curricular directions in the United States and abroad, the emergence of
online and hybrid courses, the job market, and the continuing need for
internships and mentors.

The panelist will include Michele Cloonan, Graduate School of Library and
Information Science, Simmons College, Margaret Holben Ellis, New York
University and the Morgan Library and Museum, Lois Price, the University of
Delaware-Winterthur, and Judy Walsh, Buffalo State.