The National Archives
has one of the largest conservation departments in the UK. We
spoke to Angela, who heads up the book conservation section, about
how valuable documents are dealt with.
You mentioned items kept in the strong room – what
sorts of bindings do you have in there?
We do have one or two exquisite bindings - a twelfth-century
book documenting the possessions of the Knights Templar bound
in tooled leather, a book dating from 1504 which is an indenture
between Henry VII and William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury
- it is bound in Italian velvet and decorated with enamel bosses
(ref:
E33/ 2 ).
 |
 |
LEFT: Indenture septiparte
between Henry VII and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the keeper
of the Privy Sealand - 16th July 1504
RIGHT: Detail of enamal bosses from book shown left. |
We also have some very unusual bindings in "hairy" velum
(normally hair is removed from velum) - when I asked a parchment
maker how this was done, he did not know - it seems the art has
been lost. There is also a beautiful illuminated book that has been
rebound several times since the 15th century - its current binding
was carried out in the 1930's and uses oak salvaged from Westminster
Hall and calf skin (see further down the page
for pictures). However, the vast majority of the books held by The
National Archives were "working" books.
Can
you tell us more about the project to re-box documents in the
Strong Room - why do these documents need to be boxed?
The box protects the item from dust and knocks and from any
wear and tear from being moved around (the box is handled rather
than the document). In the case of a velum binding, it would also
help preserve the shape of the item.
All our boxes are custom made in archival materials, such as acid-free
board, inert foam linings etc.
Can you
give us an example of a "Strong Room" document and box?
Yes, this particular book dates from 1402. My colleague is making
a box for it. It is known as the "Great Cowcher or carte
regum" and it documents the deeds of title etc of the Duchy
of Lancaster (ref:
DL 42/1).
The current binding dates from the 1930's and uses boards made
from oak from Westminster Hall (the oldest part of the Palace
of Westminster) and spine of calf leather.
 Illuminated page from
the Great Cowcher |
Close-up of the initial letter of
the page from the Great Cowcher shown on the left. |
 View
an enlargement of the Great Cowcher (78k)
The box has a double wall with step joints to improve strength
and durability. The binding is not symmetrical so the inert foam
inserts are stepped to support the binding at every point. This
box also has a "secret" lidded compartment with contains an earlier
18th century binding and silver clasps. In this way the history
of the appearance of the document is preserved. |
