Conservation of medieval manuscripts on rag paper with rolled sewing

  • Owner: Regional Archive of Baix Ebre (Tortosa, Tarragona, Spain).
  • Artefact: Two medieval manuscripts on rag paper and limp vellum binding. The sewing thread is made of rolled parchment,  sewn  with independent knots onto inner parchment stays. One of them onto outer leather tackets as well (see video below, although there is almost no trace of the leather support).
  • Date: Dated 1356 and 1369.
  • Damages: Paper and parchment is seriously woodorm eaten. Covers are wrinkled, sewing is partially broken and folios have tide lines and mould stains.
  • Conservation treatment:  Disbinding, dry cleaning. Reporting collation and fragments of papers.  Wet cleaning and leaf-casting the folios with paper pulp. The parchment covers were reinforces with toned japanses tissue, The restored bindings swen back on the textblock, reproducing the original rolled sewing on parchment, with leather tackets.
  • Conservators: Maria Correa, Se Hee Song, Rita Udina.
  • Other liks: Facebook album and Instagram. Read the POST of this project if you want to see two medieval angels jumping happy as Larry.
    The discussion wether sometimes the binding is restored, and other reproduced, has these manuscripts as an example in the lecture about conservation of reused bindings (minutes 5:20 – 7:40″, at the end of this post).
    In the interview with IBookbinding ethical issues of this conservation is discussed (bottom).

Rolled sewing on medieval limp vellum binding, before and after conservationMedieval manuscript on rag paper with limp vellum binding, before and after conservationRolled sewing on medieval limp vellum binding, before and after conservation
Conservators assembling fragmented medieval mansucript

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AHEH (10) Alcon-Cusi Pharmacy Museum (5) Archive Barcelona Sants-Montjuïc Dst. (5) Archives (50) Barcelona City Council (13) Barcelona Municipal Archive (9) CoAC (Association of Architects of Catalonia) (15) Cores (5) Documentation Center of Catalan Orfeó (3) Domènech i Montaner (5) Gaboche Ars (3) Galleries (23) Gazi Husrev-Begova Biblioteka (3) GenCat (Government of Catalonia) (19) Historical Archive of Barcelona (3) Historical Archive of Lleida (4) Industrial Museum of Ter (4) Institute for Photographic Studies (IEFC) (3) INTACH (Dehli) (7) La Pedrera Foundation (3) Laura Corso (3) Libraries (29) Municipal Archive of Renteria (4) Museums (25) Márk Somogyi (3) National Archive of Catalonia (ANC) (8) National Museum of Norway (4) NSK - National Library and University (Zagreb CROATIA) (5) onLine (12) Pere Sacot (3) private collector (23) Provincial Council of Barcelona (DiBa) (5) Public Library of Girona Carles Rahola (7) Regional Archive Baix Ebre (3) Regional Archive Urgell (4) Regional Archive Vallès Occidental (4) Research Library of Dubrovnik (CROATIA) (4) Restauratoren Nederland (4) Rijksmuseum (4) Sant Cugat del Vallès Council (5) SICP (Chile, ARGENTINA) (3) SICP Chile (3) Sitges Museums (4) Tapestry Art Centre Grau Garriga (5) University of Granada (Spain) (4)

Types of projects