Historical references to paper deterioration

Thanks to all those who responded to my query about historical
references to paper deterioration. Aside from David Tremain's
on-list reference to William Blades' 'The Enemies of Books' (3rd
ed.1881), Nigel Seeley kindly mailed me the following:

Two of the earliest items on paper deterioration are:

    Murray, John.  Observations and experiments on the bad
    composition of modern paper... also observations on writing
    inks, the restoration of illegible manuscripts, and the
    preservation of important deeds from the effects of damp.
    London: Whittaker, 1824.

    Murray, John.  Practical remarks on modern paper. London:
    Cadell, 1829.

A good source of information on the literature is:

    Cunha, George M. and Cunha, Dorothy G.  Conservation of library
    materials: a manual and bibliography on the care, repair and
    restoration of library materials.  2 vols.  Metuchen NJ: The
    Scarecrow Press, 1971-72.

I'm also grateful to John Holmes who provided details of an English
Parliamentary Report dated 1732 entitled: ' A Report from the
Committee Appointed to View the Cottonian Library and Such of the
Public Records of this Kingdom....[etc]' which describes the
treatment of items damaged in a fire in said library. A copy of the
report resides in the National Library of Wales and sounds like
fascinating reading.

    **** Moderator's comments:

            A report from the committee appointed to view the
            Cottonian Library.
            New York : Books Arts Press, School of Library Science,
            Columbia University, 1981.

Sharon Connell
Acting Conservation Officer
University of Leeds Library
Leeds LS2 9JT
+44 113 233 6375


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:47
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