Patricia Engel, Donau University, Krems

Old repairs on historical books: How to treat them in modern day conservation

In the course of conservation of historical books, conservators are often confronted with results of old repairs and treatments undertaken at their time to make books appear nice and tidy. This includes the use of some particular adhesives, lubricants and synthetic materials and, in general, ignoring the way the conservation treatment may “obscure” the artefact in terms of information gathering and scientific research. From the viewpoint of today’s conservation ethic codes and the overall understanding of the purpose of conservation, such methods and materials are deemed inappropriate. The contribution will bring together a number of such examples and show how to deal with such cases, both in technical and ethical terms. Furthermore, it will point out the kinds of damage that are “impossible” to be treated and the way of addressing them in accordance with the current conservation ethics.