Nayla and I agreed that the endbands should be stabilised and
re-adhered to the spine as part of our treatment. After I carried
out some research however, it became apparent that there weren't
many sources available that addressed the conservation of endbands.
I realised that this presented an interesting challenge for me as a
book conservation student and was in fact the perfect opportunity
for me to learn more about such materials and their
conservation.
Due to the nature of the materials, I thought it best to look
into conservation methods pertaining textile conservation. After
looking at various sources and spending some time pondering over
treatment ideas, I concluded that the goals of my treatment
were:
1. To reduce the excess glue in order to re-introduce
flexibility and facilitate movement of the endbands as part of the
binding structure
2. To support the endbands, especially in areas of loss
3. To re-attach the endbands to the spine without re-introducing
damaging adhesives
And so it began! First, the endbands were cleaned to reduce the
excess adhesive residue. As the adhesive had penetrated into the
fibres so deeply, moisture had to be introduced. The introduction
of water relaxed the fibres and caused them to swell, consequently
giving up dirt particles in the process (Landi, 2012). I tested the
colour fastness of the dyes first using a cotton swab. I placed the
endbands on blotting paper and placed the cotton swab on top. I
left it for a few seconds at a time, continually increasing the
time of exposure. When I was confident that the dyes would not
bleed if water was introduced, I opted for a blotter wash as the
blotter would help absorb the adhesive residue from the fibres via
capillary action (Fig. 3). I made sure that the blotters were not
too wet and that they were frequently changed to remove as much
residue as possible - and voilà! A good amount of residue was
removed to ensure that enough flexibility was re-introduced so that
the endbands would again move freely when the album was opened.
Next, I had to find a way to support the endbands. After looking
at several sources, I came across a method of stitching frequently
used in textile conservation. Couching is a stitching method used
to hold down broken or worn areas of fabric to a new support, using
the least amount of stitches possible whilst giving a flat joint
when joining two materials together. A thread is sewn in a straight
line in the warp or weft direction, and small, perpendicular
stitches are sewn at equidistant points in a staggered arrangement
to form a brick pattern (Landi, 2002). Stitching was an ideal
solution as I could stitch through the existing holes in the woven
material of the endbands, and the support material could act as a
barrier between the endbands and the adhesive used to re-adhere
them to the spine.
I decided to test the method first, using scrap off-cuts of
textile which were of similar thickness and quality as the endbands
(Fig. 5).
