The Conservation of Dante's 1477 *La Commedia* Jeffrey S. Peachey, Independent Book Conservator, New York City
3:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 22, 2018 Rare Books and Special Collections 102 Hesburgh Library University of Notre Dame The conservation treatment of the Hesburgh Libraries’ important copy of Dante's *La Commedia *(Venice: Vindelinus de Spira, 1477) will be detailed in this profusely illustrated lecture. Its deteriorated and damaging 20thcentury binding structure will be described, as will considerations and decisions leading to its resewing and rebindingin a historically sympathetic alum tawed goatskin conservation binding. Evidence uncovered during treatment, which suggests the Inferno and Purgatorio*cantiche*may have circulated separately at one point, will be explored. Differences between historic 15th century binding practices and modern conservation binding techniques will be highlighted, as will the sometimes problematic differences between historic and modern materials. An overview of aesthetic considerations and a brief history of conservation rebinding will conclude the lecture. Bibliophiles, librarians, conservators, Italian scholars and anyone curious about the physical structure of books will find this lecture of interest. Jeff Peachey is an independent book conservator and toolmaker based in New York City. For more than 25 years, he has specialized in the conservation of books for institutions and individuals. He is a Professional Associate in the American Institute for Conservation, has taught book conservation workshops internationally, and has been awarded numerous fellowships to support his book history research, including the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center (Italy) and Rochester Institute of Technology's Cary Collection (New York). He is a Visiting Instructor for the Library and Archives Conservation Education Consortium (LACE) of Buffalo State University, New York University, and the Winterthur/ University of Delaware. "Ausbund 1564: The History and Conservation of an Anabaptist Icon" is his latest publication. Jeff Peachey Book Conservator: jeffpeachey.com Toolmaker: peacheytools.com ****** Unsubscribe by sending a message to [email protected] Searchable archives: http://cool.conservation-us.org/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/
