Montefiascone Project

The Montefiascone Project: Summer 2002.
<URL:http://welcome.to/montefiascone>

Montefiascone is a medieval walled city on Lake Bolsena, about half
way between Rome and Siena. Each summer conservators, librarians,
art historians, archivists and others interested in the structure
and history of the book, meet to participate in classes, which are
held within the walls of the city. The summer 2002 programme is as
follows:

Week July 22-26, 2002

Cheryl Porter
Making the Colours used for Painting Medieval Miniatures.

    This course will examine the history and usage of the colours
    used to illustrate medieval text. What colours were used to make
    these tiny paintings and what factors have influenced their
    longevity? Earths, organic colours and mineral pigments will be
    studied and participants will paint out a sample chart of these
    pigments. No previous experience is needed.

Week July 29 - August 2, 2002

Robert Child
Environmental Control in Libraries and Archives

    Archives and libraries deteriorate because of the conditions in
    which they are stored. Conservation is wasted if environmental
    conditions are not provided to extend the life of the object for
    as long as is practicably possible.

    This course will examine the parameters that cause the
    deterioration of library materials, and look at the practical
    ways of monitoring and controlling them. It will look at
    surveying and assessing buildings for their suitability as
    libraries, and how improvements can be made.

    In particular the course will cover the amelioration of direct
    damage caused by poor climatic conditions (e.g. temperature,
    humidity, light,) and concomitant damage from mould, insects,
    storage materials etc.

    This course will be of interest to librarians and archivists, as
    well as conservators.

Week August 5-9, 2002

Anthony Cains
A Miscellany of Conservation Techniques:

    This course will be based upon some of the innovative techniques
    developed by Anthony Cains whilst working at Trinity College
    Dublin and previously.

    Subject to sufficient time, the following are examples of topics
    that will be addressed:

        *   Needle drill making
        *   Needle drill usage for board attachment, endband repair
            and spine sewing repairs
        *   Parchment repair using the flange technique
        *   Designing modern book boards for the re-binding of
            manuscripts
        *   Cabling thread and cord--how and why. (Robert Espinosa
            method)
        *   Sewing exercises to demonstrate the different properties
            of structures, and the benefits of expertise in sewing.

        Students will be advised to bring some tools, although this
        will not be essential.

Week August 12-16, 2002

Dr Nicholas Hadgraft and Jim Bloxam
The Romanesque Book Structure:

    Romanesque books will be studied largely by the making of a
    model. The model will have wooden boards and students will be
    shown how to use all of the tools in its making / manufacture.
    The process involved will be given an historical context, and
    the course will be illustrated with 35mm slides.

    In addition, the scholarly aspect of book structure history will
    be covered with a discussion and demonstration of book surveying
    for historical and conservation assessment. This work will
    partly be based on the survey presently underway at St Catherine
    s Monastery in the Sinai, a project in which both tutors are
    involved, working with Dr Nicholas Pickwoad.

    It is hoped that librarians and archivists will find this course
    as useful as conservators. Students will be advised to bring
    some tools, although this will not be essential.

Tutors:

Cheryl Porter studied conservation at the Camberwell College of Arts
and Crafts and worked at the University of London (UCL) Paintings
Analysis Unit. She was a Research Fellow at UCL History of Art
Department, working on medieval pigment identification and the
technique of their application to parchment. She is a freelance
conservator and consultant, specialising in early pigments. She has
been a director of the Montefiascone Project since its inception in
1988.

Robert Child is Head of Conservation at the National Museums and
Galleries of Wales, where he specialises in the care of collections.
He is Adviser on insect pest control to the UK National Trust, and
is a consultant on environmental and biological control
internationally.

Anthony Cains was apprenticed to the London trade bookbinder E A
Neale Ltd (1954) and studied at the London School of Printing and
Graphic Arts. He was awarded various prizes including the Harrison
Memorial Prize in 1957. He studied under many distinguished
bookbinders including Bernard Middleton and the late William
Matthews, who subsequently recommended him to Dr Sidney Cockerell at
Lechworth (1961-5). He worked for a short time in the HMSO British
Museum Bindery (1965) before establishing his own workshop at St
Albans. He volunteered for salvage work in Florence following the
flood of 4th November 1966 and was later appointed Technical
Director of the conservation system set up in the Biblioteca
Nationale Centrale with the support of the Art and Archive Rescue
Fund (UK) and the Committee to Rescue Italian Art (USA) 1967-72. In
1972 he was invited to design and establish a workshop and
laboratory in the Library of Trinity College Dublin. He has
contributed articles to The Paper Conservator and New Bookbinder and
taught and lectured in Ireland and the UK, Europe, the USA and
Australia.

Nicholas Hadgraft has a PhD from the University of London on the
subject of 15th century book structures. He is a qualified librarian
with an MA in Historical Bibliography. After working at the British
Library, he worked as Conservation Officer for college libraries
within the University of Cambridge for fifteen years. He trained as
a manuscript and rare book conservator with Christopher Clarkson and
is currently working in private practice and as a Research fellow of
the London Institute, working to preserve the collections at St
Catherine s monastery at Mt Sinai.

Jim Bloxam is a Senior Book Conservator in the Conservation
Department at Cambridge University Library, working on early printed
books, manuscripts and archives. He is an Accredited
Conservator/Restorer of the Institute of Paper Conservation and has
an Honours Degree (First Class) in Art History. His particular
research interest lies mainly in the history of books; their
structural qualities and cultural context. He has taught for the
past four years at the Montefiascone Summer School Library Project.

Costs: The cost of the course is UKP345.00 per week. This includes
all materials and tuition, which is in English. The programme is a
non-profit making project, and any extra moneys are used to buy
materials for the library, archive and their collections.

Participants may stay in a house within the city walls, close to the
main square at the centre of town. Bedrooms are shared (maximum four
people to a room) and the accommodation cost is UKP10.00 per person
per night. If preferred, accommodation can be arranged at a local
hotel.

Classes are from 9am to 1-1-30pm. Participants may take the
opportunity for private study in the afternoons, though many prefer
to spend the afternoons taking advantage of the spectacular setting
to swim in the local clean, huge volcanic lake, or to explore the
town--with its Romanesque and late medieval architecture and
friendly inhabitants.

We are close to Florence, Siena, Rome, Orvieto and other areas of
historic interest.

For further information contact:

    Cheryl Porter
    7 Venice Lodge
    55 Maida Vale
    London W9 1SD
    England
    +44 20 7266 0505
    Fax: +44 20 7266 0697
    chezzaporter [at] yahoo__com


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:54
                 Distributed: Tuesday, February 5, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-54-018
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