https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1597-5866
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ABSTRACT
The reengineering broken book (RBB) technique allows for repair of hollowback structures, both natural and made, while preserving the original function and materials of the artifact. The repair utilizes a continuous sheet of thin tissue Kashiki Tengu-jo to line the contours of the internal surfaces exposed by broken shoulders, joints, and hinges. Subsequent layers of thin tissue introduce support only where needed. RBB requires no specialized tools or equipment and few supplies. Tracking the repair on 58 books in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Libraries published over a 200-year span has shown that this layering procedure results in a thin, flexible, and robust repair that is gentle enough for rare books and durable enough for circulating collections. Described here in its most straightforward application with suggested adaptations, RBB is an economical and minimally-interventive treatment.
© 2021 Jana Dambrogio. Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
日本語訳
Reengineering Broken Books (RBB)技法は、自然にホローバック(hollowback)構造となった、またはそのように作製された本を、元の機能や素材(materials)を保存しながら補修を可能にする修復方法である。
補修には薄い鹿敷典具帖紙の一枚和紙を使用し、ショルダー(shoulders)、ジョイント(joints)、ヒンジ(hinges)部位の破損によって露出した本の内側を輪郭に沿って覆っていく。その後、その和紙を折り重ねながら必要な部分のみを補強する。RBB修復法では専門的な道具や器具を揃える必要がなく、材料もほとんど使用しない。
マサチューセッツ工科大学図書館所蔵において、この200年あまりの間に出版された書籍から、この折り重ね方法で補修された58冊を追跡調査した。その結果、薄くて、柔軟性があり、丈夫なこの修復法は希少書には十分穏やかに、また、貸出し可能な書籍には十分に耐久性があることが示された。
ここでは、最も簡単な適用例と適応例を説明しながら、RBB技法が経済的で最小限の干渉 (minimally invervantive)を図った修復方法であることを述べる。
RÉSUMÉ
La technique de réingénierie de livres brisés (Reengineering Broken Books [RBB]) permet la réparation de reliure à dos brisé, autant lorsque celle-ci est conçue comme telle que lorsqu'elle est le résultat d'un accident, tout en préservant les fonctions et les matériaux d'origine de l'artéfact. La technique comprend l'utilisation d'une feuille continue de papier fin Tashiki Tengu-jo pour chemiser le contour des surfaces internes exposées par des mors, des mors intérieurs et des charnières abimés. Des couches supplémentaires de papier sont appliquées ponctuellement afin de fournir un support uniquement là où il est nécessaire. La technique RBB ne requiert aucun outil ou équipement spécialisé et un minimum de matériel. Le suivi de la réparation de 58 livres en provenance de la bibliothèque du Massachusetts Institute of Technology, publiés sur une période de 200 ans, démontre que ce processus de superposition produit une réparation fine, flexible, et robuste. Celle-ci se montre aussi délicate pour les livres rares que durable pour les collections en circulation. Décrite ici dans son application la plus simple, avec quelques suggestions d'adaptations, la technique RBB est un traitement économique qui demande un minimum d'intervention. Traduit par Anne-Marie Guérin.
RESUMO
A técnica de reestruturação de livros de capa solta permite o reparo das lombadas ocas, tanto as originais quanto as modificadas, ao mesmo tempo em que preserva a função original e os materiais do livro. O reparo utiliza uma folha contínua de tecido fino Kashiki Tengu-jo para alinhar os contornos das superfícies internas expostas pelo rompimento dos cantos, junções e charneiras. As camadas subsequentes de tecido fino dão suporte somente onde é necessário. A técnica RBB não requer ferramentas ou equipamentos especializados, apenas poucos materiais. O acompanhamento do reparo de 58 livros das bibliotecas do Instituto de Tecnologia de Massachusetts (Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT), impressos ao longo de 200 anos, mostrou que esse procedimento com camadas resulta num reparo fino, mas, ao mesmo tempo, forte e flexível, que é delicado para os livros raros, mas também durável o suficiente para o acervo em circulação. Descrita aqui em sua aplicação mais direta, com sugeridas adaptações, a técnica RBB é um tratamento econômico e minimamente invasivo. Traduzido por Valeria Gauz.
RESUMEN
La técnica de reingeniería del libro roto (Reengineering Broken Books -- RBB) permite la reparación de estructuras de lomo suelto, tanto naturales como fabricadas, conservando la función y los materiales originales del objeto. La reparación utiliza una hoja continua de papel japonés fino Kashiki Tengu-jo para cubrir los contornos de las superficies internas expuestas por hombros, gracia o cajos roto. Las subsecuentes capas de papel japonés fino no generan soporte sino donde es necesario. La técnica de RBB no requiere de herramientas o equipos especializados y de pocos suministros. El seguimiento de la reparación en 58 libros en las Bibliotecas del Instituto Tecnológico de Massachusetts publicados durante un período de 200 años ha demostrado que este procedimiento de capas da como resultado una reparación delgada, flexible y robusta que es lo suficientemente suave para libros raros y lo suficientemente duradera para colecciones en circulación. Descrito aquí en su aplicación más sencilla con adaptaciones sugeridas, el RBB es un tratamiento de mínima intervención y por tanto económico. Traducción: Amparo Rueda; revisión: Alejandra Garavito Posada.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank their colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Libraries for supporting this research, including Alyssa Maynard, Nicole Araya, Beverly Turner, Jeremiah Graves, and Nancy McGovern. They would also like to thank colleagues Emilie Hardman, Anna Boutin, Greg Eow, Lorrie McAllister, Tom Rosko, Stephen Skuce, and Ann Marie Willer. Many thanks to our former temporary and student workers who provided valuable feedback about learning the repair, including Erin Stalberg, Katharine Dunn, Lucy Brown, Camille Dekeyser, Marc Hammonds, Leslie To, and Linnea Vegh. Thanks to colleagues who read versions of this paper and provided valuable feedback and suggestions including Jeffrey Altepeter, Tom Conroy, Betsy Palmer Eldridge, Christopher Letizia, Consuela (Chela) G. Metzger, Nancy Schrock, and Valentine Talland. Thanks to colleagues for sharing repair techniques over the years including Irene Brückle, the late Christopher Clarkson, Tony Cains, Jerilyn Glen Davis, Deborah Evetts, Martha Fitzpatrick, the late Nicholas Hadgraft, Gail Harriman, Nancy Jacobi, the late Kathy Ludwig, Sally Muster, Betsy Palmer Eldridge, Don Swanson, Pamela Spitzmueller, Yoonjoo Strumfels, the late F. Christopher Tahk, and Jonathan Thornton. The authors are grateful for the support of the late Thomas. F. Peterson and E. Martin and Ethel Wunsch through their contributions to the Wunsch Conservation Lab.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability
The RBB data is freely available for download at Harvard's Dataverse (https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/rbb). The following files are uploaded as screen reader PDF-accessible documents, where applicable: instructional videos (4:55 min abstract and full-length versions) with transcription documentation; linked data terminology and concepts; treatment checklist; treatment tracking table; ; and further reading list.
The documentation of the research process for RBB has been archived at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries, Department of Distinctive Collections, Wunsch Conservation Laboratory Notes, TC0001, Treatment Series, “Reengineering Broken Books” https://archivesspace.mit.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/350546.
Notes
1 Developed by Kashiki Seishi in Kochi Prefecture, thin tissue Kashiki Tengu-jo is an indispensable material in the success of the RBB repair as it does not readily dissolve when it comes in contact with a water-based adhesive. “The paper, available in many weights and made with 100% Japanese kozo, is hand-cleaned after cooking in soda ash. Kashiki Seishi in Kochi Prefecture, invented the machine in 1959 which mimics the movement of the sugeta in hand papermaking.” (Jacobi and Mizumura, Citation2016; Nancy Jacobi, personal communication, 2019; Gould, Hashimoto, and Jacobi, Citation2021). Produced with conservation in mind, the product is unusually stable and long-lasting. Though thin tissue is often associated with paper repair, Kashiki Tengu-jo is durable and versatile. It can be layered to replicate traditional hand bookbinding materials, such as parchment and leather. Its thinness makes it suitable for repairing cloth and paper bindings, providing flexible support and sympathetic reinforcement without the bulk of cloth or pared leather. Thin tissue layering techniques can be used in many types of repairs and on a variety of book constructions, including tight backs, limp vellum bindings, and tacketed bindings. Layers can be localized only in areas in need of reinforcement, including prior repairs. Between 2007 and 2016, The Wunsch Conservation Lab purchased 5 g/m2, 10 g/m2, and 13 g/m2 Kashiki Seishi Tengu-jo in various amounts from the Japanese Paper Place in Toronto, Canada. Over that time period, the price of the tissue ranged from $12.35 to $20.00 per meter square. Given the immediate success rate of this tengu-jo, other repair tissues have not been tested. If RBB is attempted with another type of tissue, the practitioner should take care to test that the chosen tissue does not dissolve on contact with wet adhesive.
2 Methocel A 4C is too weak for RBB. Sodium carboxymethylcellulose (SCMC) may also be an appropriate adhesive for this repair technique, especially in the case of circulating materials where a slightly stronger bond may be desirable (Baker Citation2007).
3 While a number of materials were tested, 1.5 mm double-sided silicone release coated polyester film was the only soft, flexible option for this spine barrier that did not degrade and stick to other parts of the repair over time. Its soft edge prevents tearing of the thin tissue or the extant spine covering.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Jana L. Dambrogio
Jana Dambrogio has been working for 20 years as a conservator and bookbinder researching and teaching about books and material culture, to help better understand and protect the objects and technologies that tell us about the past. She has studied and conserved collections for the National Archives and Records Administration, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the Vatican Apostolic Archives. She is the Thomas F. Petersen (1957) Conservator for the MIT Libraries, and is the recipient of the 2008 Booth Family Rome Prize in historic preservation and conservation at the American Academy in Rome. For two decades she has pioneered the study of letterlocking, publishing the first ever theory of the subject in Nature Communications in 2021. Address: Wunsch Conservation Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Libraries, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Building 14-0513, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Email: [email protected].
Emily Hishta Cohen
Emily Hishta Cohen earned an MS in the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works and a MA in the History of Art and Archaeology from the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. After an internship year and subsequent contract work for the Wunsch Conservation Laboratory at MIT, she created the private practice and art studio, Heirloom Conservatory, LLC, in the Greater Boston area. Address: Heirloom Conservatory, 24 Clearwater Road, Winchester, MA 01890, USA. Email: [email protected] Website: www.heirloomconservatory.com.
Ayako Letizia
Ayako Letizia has been a conservation associate in the Wunsch Conservation Laboratory of the MIT Libraries since 2010. She earned her diploma in hand bookbinding from the North Bennet Street School (2004) and then a diploma from the West Dean College in Sussex, England (2006). Address as for Dambrogio. Email: [email protected].
Mary Uthuppuru
Mary Uthuppuru, is a private conservator, contemporary book artist, and owner of Spring Leaf Press and Colophon Book Arts Supply. She earned her BA in Art History and a Masters in Library Science with a specialization in rare books. She lives and works in Bloomington, Indiana. Email: [email protected].
Brien Beidler
Brien Beidler is a toolmaker and bookbinder. In his work, Brien is inspired by the structure and design of historic bindings, and he seeks ways to create new compositions from these precedents. He also cuts, carves, and engraves an assortment of finishing and other specialized hand tools for bookbinding and its related trades. Address: 300 E Smith Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47401, USA. Email: [email protected].
Kate Beattie
Kate Beattie worked as the preservation associate in the Wunsch Conservation Laboratory of the MIT Libraries from 1987 to 2020. She is a graduate of the North Bennet Street School - Bookbinding Program. Address as for Jana Dambrogio. Email: [email protected].
Laura Bergemann
Laura Bergemann earned a BS in Chemistry from MIT in 2019 and worked in the Wunsch Conservation Laboratory as a conservation assistant from 2017 to 2020. She is a conservation graduate student at the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Address as for Dambrogio. Email: [email protected].
Jennifer Pellecchia
Jennifer Pellecchia is a member of the Unlocking History Research Group at the Wunsch Conservation Laboratory, and worked as a preservation assistant on the MIT Libraries staff in 2019 and 2020. She holds MAs in English and Literary and Cultural Studies and a diploma in hand bookbinding from the North Bennet Street School. Address as for Dambrogio. Email: [email protected].