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Category: Rare Books and Special Collections

Close-up view of two hands carefully at work on an aged, yellowing manuscript with handwriting

Preservation Week 2022: Fragments, Discovery and Creating Knowledge

Posted by: Tana Villafana

Every year the Preservation Directorate of the Library of Congress participates in American Library Association’s Preservation Week. This annual celebration highlights preservation efforts in libraries, archives, museums, historical societies and collecting institutions in communities all across the country. Fenella France, Chief of the Library’s Preservation Research and Testing Division (PRTD), started out Preservation Week with a heritage scientific introduction to the world of fragments.

Kathryn Kenney tensioning a parchment manuscript fragment using clips and pins. Photo credit Cathie Magee .

Preserving Evidence of Use: The Conservation of a Teaching Collection of Medieval Manuscript Fragments

Posted by: Samantha Schireson

Prior to the rise of printing, medieval libraries were filled with handwritten, manuscript books and documents. Many of those items no longer exist in their original form; some were thrown away when their contents became outdated or no longer useful, others were discarded and replaced with printed books. But some were taken apart, and their covers and pages were repurposed. Some of these pages, which are called fragments, can be found in the collections of The Library of Congress. This post is about a project to conserve these fragments.

Close-up view of two hands carefully at work on an aged, yellowing manuscript with handwriting

A look at John Feely, Nineteenth Century Book Stamp Engraver

Posted by: Samantha Schireson

This post examines the work of nineteenth century book stamp engraver, John Feely. During the latter half of the 19th century, book publishers in Britain and the United States began to hire artists to design book covers. Advances in technology allowed for more affordable manufacturing of books and book cloth, so decorative bindings became more prevalent in the commercial market. Many examples of Feely's highly stylized engraved book covers can be found in the General Collection at the Library of Congress.