Dan Paterson, Library of Congress

A study of two vellum manuscript waste bindings and a survey of similar bindings in American research libraries

In 2010, two incunabula bound in recycled vellum manuscript from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress were selected for treatment and rehousing. Both volumes were covered with leaves from fifteenth century antiphonals and exhibited unusual degradation patterns. Each was suffering from iron gall ink corrosion that had damaged the volumes significantly in the area of the joints. Also, both had distinct green stains that appeared in various places on the bindings, not necessarily related to the ink corrosion. Interestingly, they shared other characteristics, such as being printed in Cologne and having the same endpapers. Despite their similarities they had never been shelved together since coming to the Library of Congress in 1930 as part of the Vollbehr collection; bibliographically they are not related and were stored first by Hain numbers (numbers assigned based on the catalogue by Ludwig Hain) and later by LoC classification. The goal for the treatment was attempting to identify the green stains and if possible, removal and stabilization of the areas of the bindings impacted by the ink corrosion.

As background before treatment, a survey tool was created to identify similar bindings in the Library of Congress collections. The goals of the survey were to locate other bindings with similar condition issues as well as learn as much as possible about the different types of bindings made from recycled manuscript in LoC collections. As the survey developed and insights were gained, the scope was broadened to include other research libraries. Bindings from institutions outside LoC were identified for the survey through a number of avenues, including using online databases and catalogues, consultation with curators, conservators, and librarians, and in some cases being given access to stack spaces to do visual searches. At present, bindings made from recycled vellum from six different American institutions have been examined and documented. While no other examples of the unusual green staining were found, the survey revealed some surprising trends in the practice of using manuscripts for covering material. Broadly speaking, distinct categories emerged that define the different types of recycled manuscript waste bindings found in American collections. Among these are: early or proto-stiff board vellum bindings, early modern vellum bindings, and modern anachronistic bindings. Additionally, a smaller grouping of bindings has been documented that is notable for its lack of shared characteristics with the other categories making these bindings more difficult to classify and understand.

This paper will summarise the results of the survey and give examples of each category as a means to illustrate how traditions and techniques of recycled vellum manuscript bindings, as represented by those found in American research library collections, evolved over time. Additionally, the successes and failures of the treatment of the two incunabula from Cologne will be discussed.