19th Century Naturalist Notebook with Specimens

This notebook was owned by the 19th Century poet, preacher, and naturalist, George Crabbe. The binding was damaged, and split along the joint, and some of the sections were loose. However, of most concern were the loose plant and insect specimens that were pressed between the pages

The pages were repaired with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste, and the textblock was resewn on vellum strips.

The specimens were mounted to white acid-free card using delicate thread and small stitches, and encapsulated within polyester envelopes. A four-flap enclosure was made to house the specimens together.

The binding after treatment

The book housed within a new custom drop-spine box with the mounted specimens.

19th Century French Panorama

This 19th Century French Panorama came to the workshop in two pieces, the paper having split along the folds of the accordian in several places. The edges and corners of the boards were also badly worn, and the entire object was covered with light surface dirt.









Treatment invoved surface cleaning (taking extra care around the delicate cut-out images), repairing the folds with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste, consolidating the board corners and repairing the board edges with Japanese paper toned to match the covering paper, and wheat starch paste.

Repair of the board edges with Japanese paper.

Here, the repaired panorama can now be safely opened and viewed.

The view down the centre of the panorama, showing the different layers.