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Noteworthy Projects

A sampling of some of the more notable projects
I've been involved with since 1992

Photo documentation of the rebinding of a 1633 Danish Bible

Thoughts on cleaning and repair of a leaf of the Gutenberg Bible owned by University of Missouri

Photo documentation of the rebinding of a 1518 copy of Ovid

Photo documentation of the restoration of a 16th century breviary

Tree of Heaven - an interpretive binding of the 1994 Iowa Poetry Prize winner

Design & execution of a memorial book for Governor Mel Carnahan

Flattening and cleaning of numerous land-grant documents as early as the Revolutionary War

Selection as a contributing paper artist for Design and Pattern in Decorated Papers:  Wet and Dry Techniques

Both the family Bible and the personal Bible owned by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Mark Twain’s Library

Cleaning and repair of personal letters by Florence Nightingale, Samuel Clemmons, "Buffalo Bill,"
President U.S. Grant, et cetera, et cetera

Legacy Bookbindery

Noteworthy Projects

Contributing Paper Artist

I was honored to be selected as a contributing paper artist for Design and Pattern in Decorated Papers:  Wet and Dry Techniques

This limited edition portfolio book was published by Hand Papermaking, Inc. in 1994.  Twenty-one artists from around the world were selected to contribute samples of their work for the entire edition.  The first of six such portfolio books, it is considered to be a survey of some of the finest handmade paper art being produced at that time.

Legacy Bookbindery

Noteworthy Projects

Gutenberg Bible

I had the opportunity to clean a single page of the Gutenberg Bible owned by the University of Missouri.  OK, this really wasn’t one of the most challenging projects that I’ve undertaken.  But it’s something which never fails to impress people, me included.  The Gutenberg Bible has such cachet to those who know history and books that it was a real thrill to have the opportunity to perform the routine cleaning needed.

Legacy Bookbindery

Noteworthy Projects

Land-grant Documents

Land-grant documents dating back as far as the Revolutionary War often require cleaning and flattening.  These are usually on vellum (animal parchment) until about 1820, paper after that.  Typically, they have been folded multiple times, sometimes have a wax or metal seal attached by means of a ribbon which pierces the document.  Almost always, these need to be placed in a humidity chamber for a period of several hours to a couple of days in order to allow the document to relax sufficiently that it can be unfolded and then dried under mild restraint prior to further treatment.

Legacy Bookbindery

Noteworthy Projects

Laura Ingalls Wilder Bibles

I did a complete rehabilitation of both the family bible and the personal bible owned by Laura Ingalls Wilder for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum.  This required the books to be uncased from their covers, taken apart, page repairs done, then resewn and put back into the original covers (which had been extensively repaired).

Legacy Bookbindery

Noteworthy Projects

Mark Twain’s Library

I love Twain, and was going to do my MA Thesis on him before I got sucked into the Iowa Center for the Book program.  So when the State Historic Site people contacted me and asked me to perform conservation work on a number of the pieces in their collection, it was a melding of two great loves.  Other than that, the work was fairly routine, and typical of what one would see of 19th century volumes.

Legacy Bookbindery

Noteworthy Projects

Cleaning and repair of
historic personal letters

Cleaning and repair of personal letters by Florence Nightingale, Samuel Clemmons, "Buffalo Bill," President U.S. Grant, et cetera, et cetera.

Now, to be honest, I can't even tell you how many times I've had occasion to work on such collectible items.  Usually, these items need minimal cleaning, de-acidification, and preparation for archival framing or encapsulation in Mylar-D.  Sometimes they need more extensive care, such as that usually required for land-grant documents.  But they're a great part of our history, and I always enjoy having the opportunity to make sure they survive for others to appreciate.