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Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
How research and technical analysis evolved my interpretation of the historical impact of a 16th century portolan map.
Posted in: Collections Care, Events & Outreach, Heritage Science, Pigments, Preservation
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
The following is a guest post by Meghan Hill, a preservation specialist in the Preservation Research and Testing Division of the Library of Congress. Conference season is upon us; a time to learn about exciting new initiatives in the preservation field and in turn to showcase our own work, to reconnect with colleagues from other …
Posted in: Events & Outreach, Heritage Science, Pigments, Preservation, Rare Books and Special Collections
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
A staff member spotlight detailing Gwen dePolo's journey from a Junior Fellow, to becoming a full time staff member several years later.
Posted in: Heritage Science, Internships, Music, Pigments, Preservation
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
Clays, gemstones, corrosion products, poisons, plants, and more – green pigments used in books and manuscripts over the centuries have some surprising origins!
Posted in: Collections Care, Heritage Science, Music, Pigments, Preservation, Rare Books and Special Collections
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
Preservation Science Intern Jessica McKenzie breaks down some applications of analytical chemistry in the Library of Congress, where she uses Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to expand the Preservation Research and Testing Division’s database for pigment analysis. She then demonstrates how she has assisted in applying her work to collection items.
Posted in: Collections Care, Heritage Science, Internships, Pigments, Preservation
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
Register to join us at the Library of Congress on September 13th from 10 am - 4 pm. Speakers will address the history of the Irish manuscripts, complementary research projects in which they are involved, and the results of the analytical techniques involved in the research. As Inks&Skins is a collaboration between heritage science and humanities, the importance of a visualization platform to share the results with humanities scholars will also be discussed.
Posted in: Fragments, Heritage Science, Pigments, Preservation, Tools of the Trade
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
My summer at the Library was spent capturing data from colored pigments in order to build a reference database. Using a high-tech portable FTIR instrument, I prepared samples and collected infrared readings from 50 pigments in the Library’s collection using three of the portable instrument’s attachments. I compiled 150 measurements in order to create the database’s foundation.
Posted in: Heritage Science, Internships, Pigments, Preservation, Tools of the Trade
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
Smudges on pages aren't always a bad thing. Cultural Historian Bénédicte Miyamoto and preservation scientists at The Library of Congress analyze dirty books to learn more about their prior owners.
Posted in: Heritage Science, Pigments, Preservation, Rare Books and Special Collections
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
Scientific analysis of an unusual image of the face of Christ in a late 15th C German devotional manuscript has revealed critical and surprising information about its current condition, its original making, and its meaning.
Posted in: Heritage Science, Pigments, Preservation, Rare Books and Special Collections