Dear Colleagues, The Conservation Department at the State Library Victoria, with the assistance of University of Melbourne Conservation student Cancy Chu, are currently researching a first edition copy of Johannes Kepler's Astronomia Nova, published in 1609. The paper in the book is in extremely poor condition, showing discolouration, softening and severe fracturing throughout the volume. From a cursory survey, digitised copies of the book in other libraries do not show the same degree of paper deterioration, although they share the brown discolouration in some sections.
We are curious to know if our colleagues have seen examples of severe paper fragmentation in paper of this period, or in other copies of the Astronomia Nova. We also conjecture that the paper may have been given a historic treatment in the past, such as bleaching, which may be a factor in causing the fragmentation of the paper. We are wondering if anyone has seen examples of historic treatments causing similar damage. The paper is likely to be sourced from Germany due to the printing location. We have located a number of obscure watermarks that have yet to be identified, which we would be happy to make available. Please contact Jean Holland at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. Jean Holland | Senior Conservator Books | Preservation & Conservation State Library Victoria | 328 Swanston Street | Melbourne VIC 3000 T +61 3 8664 7353 | [email protected] slv.vic.gov.au<http://slv.vic.gov.au> [selfmade]<https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/self-made?utm_source=esig&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=self-made> [follow us] [SLV facebook]<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melbourne-Australia/State-Library-of-Victoria/32256104331> [SLV twitter] <http://twitter.com/Library_Vic> [SLV youtube] <http://www.youtube.com/user/statelibraryvictoria> [SLV flickr] <http://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofvictoria_collections/> [SLV instagram] <http://instagram.com/library_vic> This message and any attachment is intended only for the use of the Addressee and may contain information that is PRIVILEGED and CONFIDENTIAL. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please delete all copies of the message and its attachments and notify the sender immediately. Thank you. ****** Unsubscribe by sending a message to [email protected] Searchable archives: http://cool.conservation-us.org/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/
