Emily Lynch, The Morgan Library and Museum: An alternative approach to rebinding medieval manuscripts

Traditionally, rebinding medieval manuscripts has involved the use of a variety of materials used historically in bookbinding, such as leather and wood. These materials have questionable suitability for use in conservation due to their acidity and aging properties, yet they are still often employed for reasons of aesthetics, historical faithfulness and continuity, and their working properties. This poster will explore attempts at the Morgan Library & Museum to balance creating a binding that combines conservation-grade materials and modified structural features to best protect the textblock, while still being aesthetically appropriate and historically sensitive for medieval materials.