Cut and Tape: Marguerite Yourcenar’s Emendations to a Typescript of L’Œuvre au noir
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Theresa J. Smith
Theresa J. Smith is Assistant Professor of Paper Conservation in the graduate Art Conservation Program at SUNY Buffalo State College. She received an M. A. and Certificate of Advanced Studies from Buffalo State College in 2006. She has worked as a paper conservator at the Weissman Preservation Center, Harvard Library (2007 –2016); the Straus Center for Conservation, Harvard Art Museum (2006–2007 ): and the Kupferstichkabinett Berlin (2005–2006), among other institutions. Her research interests include historical conservation treatments, technical study of artworks, history of the book and printing, and the production of moveable prints.
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Thea Burns
Thea Burns holds a master’s degree in Art Conservation from Queen’s University in Canada (1978) and a Ph.D. from the Courtauld Institute, University of London (2002). She taught in the art conservation program at Queen’s (1987–2001) and was Senior Paper Conservator for Special Collections in the Weissman Preservation Center, Harvard University (2002–2008). She has presented many papers and workshops, and published numerous articles and several books:The Invention of Pastel Painting (2007),The Luminous Trace: Drawing and Writing in Metalpoint (2012), andL’Art du pastel (2014), translated into English asThe Art of the Pastel (2015). She now follows her interests as an independent scholar and has recently completed a book on theCompositiones variae (Lucca, Bibl. Capitolare Feliniana 490) .
Abstract
Marguerite Yourcenar’s manuscript L’Œuvre au noir was off limits to scholars for years because of its fragile condition. In all there were 6,725 inches (17,081.5 cm) of rubber-based and synthetic adhesive tapes used in the two-volume manuscript. The primary challenge was the failure of the rubber-based adhesive, causing the composite leaves to flutter in a pile of paper scraps when a page was turned. To complicate matters, Yourcenar often typed and wrote directly on the tapes, necessitating their preservation and reattachment. It took two conservators 290 hours to stabilize this manuscript, facilitating safe consultation by researchers.
Zusammenfassung
Cut and Tape: Marguerite Yourcenars Korrekturen ihres Typoskripts L’Œuvre au noir
Marguerite Yourcenar’s Typoskript L’Œuvre au noir war aufgrund seines fragilen Zustandes viele Jahre lang für die Forschung nicht zugänglich. Insgesamt fanden sich 17 081,5 cm Selbstklebebänder auf Kautschukbasis bzw. auf Basis von synthetischem Klebstoff in dem zweibändigen Typoskript. Die größte Herausforderung des Projekts bestand im Umgang mit den sich ablösenden Kautschuk-Klebebändern, wodurch die aus mehreren Teilen zusammengesetzten Seiten in einen Stapel aus Papierschnipsel zerfielen, wenn sie umgeblättert wurden. Was die Angelegenheit noch weiter verkomplizierte war die Angewohnheit von Yourcenar, direkt auf die Klebebänder zu schreiben, was deren Erhaltung und Wiederbefestigung unabdingbar machte. Zwei Restauratoren arbeiteten 290 Stunden an der Stabilisierung des Typoskripts, wodurch eine sichere Handhabung ermöglicht wurde.
Résumé
Couper-coller: Les corrections du manuscrit de L’Œuvre au noir par Marguerite Yourcenar
Le manuscrit de Marguerite Yourcenar L’Œuvre au noir a été inaccessible aux chercheurs pendant des années en raison de sa condition fragile. Il y avait en tout 6 725 pouces (soit 17 081,5 cm) de rubans adhésifs à base de caoutchouc et d’adhésifs synthétiques utilisés dans les deux volumes du manuscrit. Le défi principal était l’échec du rôle du ruban adhésif à base de caoutchouc, permettant aux feuilles composites de s’accumuler en une pile de fragments de papier à chaque fois qu’une page était tournée. Pour compliquer les choses, M. Yourcenar tapait et écrivait directement sur ces rubans adhésifs, nécessitant leur conservation et refixation. Il a fallu deux conservateurs travaillant pendant 290 heures pour stabiliser mécaniquement ce manuscrit, permettant ainsi sa consultation en toute sécurité par les chercheurs.
About the authors
Theresa J. Smith is Assistant Professor of Paper Conservation in the graduate Art Conservation Program at SUNY Buffalo State College. She received an M. A. and Certificate of Advanced Studies from Buffalo State College in 2006. She has worked as a paper conservator at the Weissman Preservation Center, Harvard Library (2007–2016); the Straus Center for Conservation, Harvard Art Museum (2006–2007): and the Kupferstichkabinett Berlin (2005–2006), among other institutions. Her research interests include historical conservation treatments, technical study of artworks, history of the book and printing, and the production of moveable prints.
Thea Burns holds a master’s degree in Art Conservation from Queen’s University in Canada (1978) and a Ph.D. from the Courtauld Institute, University of London (2002). She taught in the art conservation program at Queen’s (1987–2001) and was Senior Paper Conservator for Special Collections in the Weissman Preservation Center, Harvard University (2002–2008). She has presented many papers and workshops, and published numerous articles and several books: The Invention of Pastel Painting (2007), The Luminous Trace: Drawing and Writing in Metalpoint (2012), and L’Art du pastel (2014), translated into English as The Art of the Pastel (2015). She now follows her interests as an independent scholar and has recently completed a book on the Compositiones variae (Lucca, Bibl. Capitolare Feliniana 490).
Acknowledgements
Theresa J. Smith would like to thank Leslie Morris, Curator of Modern Manuscripts at Houghton Library, Harvard University, for her collaborative support of this project.
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Materials and suppliers
Hot air tool
Zephyrtronics AirPencil ZT-2-MIL-120, zeph.com/pencil.html
Interleaving paper
Chartham Translucent, 17 grams, Arjowiggins, distributed by Legion Paper Corporation, legionpaper.com
Japanese paper
HP 73 Hinging Paper, white, 20 grams, Hiromi Paper International, store.hiromipaper.com
Each sheet is pre-divided into strips of several widths for mending and hinging.
© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- A New Housing Concept for the Karl Friedrich Schinkel Collection: Chemical and Mechanical Aspects
- The Soaking Resistance of Electronic Storage Media
- An Unexpensive Self-Produced Trap for Entomological Monitoring in Libraries and Archives
- Cut and Tape: Marguerite Yourcenar’s Emendations to a Typescript of L’Œuvre au noir
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- A New Housing Concept for the Karl Friedrich Schinkel Collection: Chemical and Mechanical Aspects
- The Soaking Resistance of Electronic Storage Media
- An Unexpensive Self-Produced Trap for Entomological Monitoring in Libraries and Archives
- Cut and Tape: Marguerite Yourcenar’s Emendations to a Typescript of L’Œuvre au noir
