Bleached paper

We have a copy of what appears to be the 1570 edition of Stultifera
Navis, translated into English by Alexander Barclay.  Since the
title page and colophon have been supplied in facsimile, and a
couple of preliminaries have been added from another copy, without
some research I can't say exactly what the book is.  But it's
clearly a made-up copy of a relatively early edition in a
nineteenth-century binding (with added preliminary blanks
watermarked 1881).

The chief problem is the brittleness of the paper. In several places
the leaves have long vertical tears in the central third, as if the
paper has been stressed by the drape of the leaf. A portion of one
leaf has chipped out between the tears.  I have not seen
sixteenth-century paper this fragile. Could this be the result of
bleach?  (The book also has a chemical smell, and the paper is oddly
yellowed.) What bleach would have been used in the 1880's? Will the
paper continue to deteriorate? Is it possible to treat? (BTW, the
book is in an elaborate binding.)

My inclination is to at least reattach the portion of the leaf that
has chipped out, but I am concerned that any paper repair I do, even
with very thin tissue, will create more stress, and the water may
reactivate the chemical agent.

Vanessa Hardy
Preservation Unit
San Francisco Public Library


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:49
                 Distributed: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
                       Message Id: cdl-24-49-017
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