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Posted by: Lily Tyndall
Sarah Wyman Whitman (1842-1904) was one of the first American artists to make a career of book cover design. From 1880 to 1904 she designed around 300 book covers, mostly for Houghton, Mifflin and Company. Her covers sold books so well that the publisher mentioned her name as the cover designer in its advertisements.
Posted in: Conservation, Preservation, Rare Books and Special Collections
Posted by: Amelia Parks
On Friday, March 8th, staff from each division of the Preservation Directorate were invited onstage at Washington, D.C.’s comic convention, Awesome Con, to speak about their work at the Library as part of the convention’s Science Fair. This is their story.
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Management, Conservation, Emergency Preparedness, Events & Outreach, Internships, Preservation, Reformatting, Tools of the Trade
Posted by: Chloe Genter
Paper Conservator Gwenanne Edwards discusses the conservation of several charming and delightful toy theaters from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Collections Storage, Conservation, Preservation, Rare Books and Special Collections
Posted by: Chloe Genter
Two large architectural models by Paul Rudolph were selected as part of a large loan that will be on display September 2024. The models were in extremely poor condition, broken, water- damaged, and covered in a thick layer of dust and debris. A team of five5 technicians and the objects conservator worked to get the models back into stable and displayable condition.
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Collections Storage, Conservation, Preservation
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
The following is a guest post by Lauren Quackenbush, Librarian-in-Residence, Preservation Division. The Librarian-in-Residence (LIR) program was created in 2018 for newly graduated librarian students to gain invaluable experience at the Library of Congress. LIRs are assigned throughout the Library, this year’s 2023 cohort consisted of 5 recent graduates. As the LIR in Preservation, I …
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Collections Management, Conservation, Events & Outreach, Heritage Science, Internships, Preservation, Rare Books and Special Collections, Reformatting, Tangible Media
Posted by: Chloe Genter
Following the Jikji Colloquium which took place at the Library of Congress in early 2023, Conservation staff member Chloe Genter sits down with Dr. Banda, the UNESCO Chief of Documentary Heritage, to discuss UNESCO’s role in raising awareness of the impact of the Buljo jikji simche yojeol.
Posted in: Conservation, Events & Outreach, Preservation
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
The Inks and Skins collaboration studies material aspects of medieval Gaelic manuscripts, fusing scientific analysis with codicology and linguistic study. These manuscripts contain a wealth of tales and poetry, historical, legal, and scientific writing from medieval Ireland. The manuscripts themselves, their creation, and their survival each have their own tales to tell.
Posted in: Collections Care, Conservation, Events & Outreach, Fragments, Heritage Science, Preservation, Rare Books and Special Collections
Posted by: Lily Tyndall
This Friday, November 3 is Ask a Conservator Day. This is an annual event organized by the American Institute for Conservation that allows conservators to share their work and their role in cultural heritage preservation with the public. Here is an interview with Kate Morrison Danzis, a preservation specialist in the Conservation Division of the Library of Congress.
Posted in: Conservation, Events & Outreach, Uncategorized
Posted by: Chloe Genter
Upon closer inspection, things are not always what they seem. When Conservation staff find an unwelcome friend inside an object, learn more about what actions had to be taken to remove it.
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Conservation, Halloween, Preservation