Volume 38, Issue 2 -

This paper probes the particularities of Chinese ancient books (the global dissemination, the complexity of versions, the embrittlement of the paper, and the special methods of binding) and the problems in the existing digitization projects (non-uniformity of retrieval languages and non-uniformity of description standards). The paper reveals the necessity for the digitization of Chinese ancient books and the importance of large-scale international cooperation. The authors finally make recommendations for database models and for the focus of international cooperation.

In this study, the suitability of reconstituted parchment as a repair material for three-dimensional and movable parts of books, such as joints and the spine, was assessed. Reconstituted parchment sheets were produced with the “dry method” following five recipes: Budapest, Giovannini’s, Forstmeyer’s, Wouters’ and a new recipe. Tensile and lap-shear resistances were tested. Half the samples for the tensile and the lap-shear tests were folded 1, 000 times to model the mechanical stress. As the result of the tests, Forstmeyer’s reconstituted parchment was applied with 3 % (w/v) gelatin mousse to repair damaged spines of parchment book models.

Results of entomological and thermo-hygrometric monitoring carried out at the Angelica Library in Rome are presented and discussed. Monitoring was carried out for a whole year, from April 2015 to March 2016. The purpose was to verify the possible presence of infestations of the stored goods within the building by pest species and to evaluate the possible correlation between environmental parameters found within the various areas examined and the density of the pest species found. Several pest insects were found in the library but only the beetles of the family Dermestidae can be regarded as particularly harmful and dangerous. This family was present with the genera Attagenus and Anthrenus . The presence and the frequency of other pest organisms (silverfish, booklice and isopods) can be kept under control by monitoring the environmental parameters. Psocottera were represented by the genera Liposcelis and Dorypteryx . More dangerous pest species such as anobiids, termites, cockroaches or rodents were not found in the library.

The aim of this study is to characterise the chemical composition of the support materials, binders and pigments used in sales catalogues of Spanish Art Deco jewellery to determine the source of the damage observed in the samples analysed, and to formulate an appropriate conservation method. The difficulty in maintaining these collections in good condition without dismantling them lies, on the one hand, in the use of gouache on a variety of supports not usually used with this aqueous media (nitrocellulose, casein formaldehyde, starched cotton fabric and sulphurised paper), and on the other, in the vulnerability of these materials to agents of deterioration found in archives and libraries. The analysis was performed on a collection of 500 drawings, using the following analytical techniques: optical microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), and Raman spectroscopy. The study shows the problems arising from storing some of the before mentioned materials in the same container, and highlights the need to classify each sample by its component materials and not by designer, chronology or type of jewellery.

Peacock ink, known as Murakkabi ṭāvūsī , was created and used by Persian master calligraphers especially from the 14th century onwards. It is a sub-category of Persian ink which contains four main ingredients: lamp black, gum Arabic, green vitriol (ferrous sulphate) and gall nut extract (tannic acid). It is differentiated from other inks in that it contains many additional secondary ingredients which will be covered in this paper. Peacock ink derives its name from the range of different coloured materials added to the ink as well as the blue-green undertone this predominantly black ink is said to have. It is reputed to be a high-quality product, rumoured to stay on paper for centuries and is not affected by water, abrasion or other detrimental factors. It was the aim of this investigation to identify and describe in detail ingredients used to make this ink by finding and translating 17 recipes contained in 11 Persian treatises (15th–16th ce ). Of the 31 ingredients found, 16 are plant based, 13 minerals, and 2 animal (protein) based, and in all cases water was used as the vehicle.