Volume 14, Number 3, Sept 1992, p.37

Publications/Audiovisual

Spanish Colonial Missions
by Gloria Giffords, Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1988. (mail-order from SPMA, 221 N. Court, Tucson, Arizona 85701. $1.95 plus $2.50 postage and handling)

WAAC member Gloria Fraser Giffords prepared this handsome guide (which opens up and becomes a poster or chart) to offer visitors to Spanish colonial mission sites a capsule history of the missions and their objectives. The guide describes and locates on a map 45 Spanish colonial missions in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, established between the 1500s and the early 1800s. A glossary of architectural terms specific to these missions is included, along with drawings of a characteristic mission from the exterior, a typical sanctuary, and a floor plan. Symbols commonly found in mission church decoration are explained, and a 16-item bibliography is provided.

E.C.W.

Preserving the Illustrated Text: Report of the Joint Task Force on Text and Image
April 1992, The Commission on Preservation and Access, 1400 16th Street NW - Suite 740, Washington, DC, 20036-2217 USA. 30 pages, numerous illustrations. Copies are available from The Commission for $10 while supplies last.

The task force was "charged by the Commission to explore the problems of image preservation for scholarly research purposes in order to provide an informed foundation for a nationwide strategy for preservation of and access to these resources." Principal conclusions:

I. An important beginning can be made on the preservation of books and periodicals in the 1850-80 era in almost all disciplines that depend on images in texts. Microfilming can be used for most; exceptions can be handled by conservation. The film can serve as a interim technology until it can be converted to a standardized electronic medium.

II. The preservation of halftone illustrations in text...requires further exploration, including additional data about the distribution of images in texts and exploratory trials of alternative technologies for preservation. High contrast b&w microfilm does not reproduce halftone illustrations satisfactorily.

III. The available info. about the number and types of images in various kinds of publications in various epochs is insufficient for large ranges of time materials. Surveys are needed. IV. Further info. is needed about the effectiveness, costs and requirements of alternative technologies for preservation of post-1800 text-cum-image material.

E.C.W.

Computerization Project of the Archivo General de Indias, Seville Spain
by Hans Rütimann and M. Stuart Lynn, March 1992, published by the Commission on Preservation and Access, 1400 16th St. NW-Suite 740 Wash. DC 20036. 17 pages. $5.00.

"The Commission sponsored the inquiries into this project to learn more about the technical and operational implications of large-scale image scanning." (from inside cover)

"The Archivo General de Indias is operating a massive project to preserve and make accessible the contents of the 45 million documents and 7,000 maps and blueprints comprising the written heritage of Spain's 400 years in power in the Americas. The present objective is to scan about 10 percent of the archivo (or about eight million images) in preparation for the 1992 Seville World's Fair and the Columbus quincentenary." (from preface) A forthcoming 20-minute video about the project is mentioned in this publication.

Preservation and Access in China: Possibilities for Cooperation; Report of a Visit to the People's Republic of China September 19 to October 12, 1991
by Hans Rütimann, March 1992 published by the Comm. on Pres. & Access, 1400 16th St. NW-Suite 740 Wash., DC 20036. 16 pages. $5.00.

Chinese librarians and archivists know that the condition of their collections presents a growing problem. However, in the provinces especially they have not yet put a label on the problem; there is no vocabulary to define it. Acidic paper brittle books, multifaceted approaches to preservation and permanent paper are all concepts unfamiliar to the vast majority...

Two major considerations...First is the highly centralized organization of academic institutions, including libraries. Even libraries that are innovative and open to new ideas, exchanges and collaboration with Western institutions cannot proceed... without...approval from...the State Education Commission and the Ministry of Culture....Also increased accessibility...is viewed by many with apprehension.

Second is the unavailability and high expense of equipment....We cannot bring our assumptions to bear on the China situation; our interpretation of an equitable exchange arrangement is not necessarily theirs. This should not keep us from trying to work together, a notion supported wholeheartedly by most of the people we met...

(from page 16)

E.C.W.

Five Centuries of Tapestry
by Anna Gray Bennett, republished by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in conjunction with Chronicle Books.

Long out of print, this work has been revised and expanded to include additions to the FAMSF tapestry collection (now totaling 110 textiles). It remains an essential reference book for all those working with tapestries.

The cost is $29.95 softcover and $49.95 hardcover, plus tax within California, and $7.00 shipping (U.S.)/$10.00 shipping (foreign, including Canada). Copies can be obtained by mail, with a check payable to the Museum Stores, mailed to the Textile Conservation Lab, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA.

Sarah Gates, de Young Museum

Caring for your Collections: Preserving and Protecting your Art and Other Collectibles
National Committee to Save America's Cultural Collections, 1992, 208 pp., $37.50 ($28.00 to AIC Members see May 1992 AIC News)

This handy and eminently readable volume is the first comprehensive, practical care guide aimed at the average person who collects...experts share...secrets and philosophies about caring for art...concentrating on preventive maintenance how to watch for damage, and when and how to obtain professional help when damage does occur.

publisher advert.

Upholstery: A Complete Course
David James, compiler. The Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd., Castle Place, 166 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN.7 lXU, U.K. 1990. 300 pp., 500 drawings. $20.50.

...Covers skills and tecniques in practical detail and gives thorough advice on selecting, specifying, purchasing, and applying materials.

publisher advert.

Three new titles from Butterworths-Heinemann, 80 Montvale Ave., Stoneham MA 02180:

The Care & Conservation of Geological Material: Minerals, Rocks, Meteorites, and Lunar Finds
by Frank M. Howie. 1992. 280 pp. $74.95.

The Textile Conservator's Manual
2nd Edition by Sheila Landi. 1992. 368 pp. $130.

Manual of Curatorship: A Guide to Museum Practice, 2nd Edition
John M. A. Thompson, Ed. 1992. 720 pp. $125.