Keeping a large circulating collection in usable shape means you are often so busy fixing or boxing books to get them back on the shelf that you don’t have time to look at the contents. When a first edition of Mary Van Kleeck’s Women in the Bookbinding Trade came into the lab, however, we all … Continue reading Box Girls on Boxing Day
Last month, Senior Conservator Erin Hammeke shared her treatment of a caoutchouc binding, which incorporated a clamshell enclosure with integrated cradle. There are many items in the collection that can benefit from an enclosure like this (henceforth referred to simply as a “cradle box”): books which require a restricted opening to reduce the risk of further … Continue reading Cradle Boxing Day
We are undergoing an epic boxing day…boxing the entire lab to move temporarily off site. Construction work needs to be done in our ceiling, which means we need to move out to make way. We are packing up the entire lab and moving some of it to temporary space, some will go into storage. If … Continue reading Boxing Day: The Entire Lab Edition
You know you had a great Boxing Day when all of the recycle bins are overflowing with scraps. The aftermath (left), and the results (right).
As you loyal readers already know Boxing Day comes around every month, in fact it now comes around twice a month because we have so much coming into the collections that need enclosures. We crank out the work on Boxing Day but we also get to stop ever so briefly to take a closer look … Continue reading Boxing Day Favorites
Traditionally, Boxing Day is celebrated on December 26th. Often cited as having British origins, it is the day the wealthy give to those less fortunate. December 26th is also St. Stephen’s Day on the Christian calendar, and Wren’s Day in Ireland. If you are looking for some nice music to go with these two celebrations, … Continue reading Happy Boxing Day
On this day in 2009 our blog was born! Looking back, we have accomplished quite a lot here over those 11 years. We are rapidly approaching our 500th post. It seemed fitting to celebrate by highlighting our eleven most popular stories or “quick pics” from the lab: 1. Working From Home Options for Conservation Labs … Continue reading Happy 11th Birthday, Preservation Underground!
Apparently the afternoon before a holiday is a good day for an impromptu Boxing Day We all decided independently that making boxes was a good thing to do today. There are so many boxes being made all at once it is epic. Somehow we are all working around each other at the board shear in … Continue reading Quick Pic: It’s July 4th Eve and Everyone is Boxing!
Welcome to our first 1091 Project post, a new effort in collaborative blogging! 1,091 is the number of miles between Ames, Iowa and Durham, North Carolina. Ames is the home of Iowa State University and our colleagues who write Parks Library Preservation. On the third Friday of each month, we will pick a topic and … Continue reading 1091 Project: A Day In The Life Of The Conservation Lab
As evidenced by the archives from the tag “Boxing Day“, we make a lot of boxes in the lab. Some objects require specific enclosures and we have many materials and techniques at our disposal for fulfilling the needs of the object. Of particular interest to me lately have been enclosures appropriate for parchment over boards bindings, which include some … Continue reading Hold me closer… protective enclosure.
