Initiation Book
CONDITION ON RECEIPT: The gold-tooled full leather case binding was worn and abraded. The leather was faded. The interiors of the boards were leather-covered and gold-tooled. There were leather hinges and watered silk flyleaves. The back internal hinge was broken. The front internal hinge was partially broken. The text block consisted of support leaves with entries in graphite pencil and a wide variety of inks, including fountain pen, ballpoint pen, and felt-tipped markers. The pages were dirty, discolored, acidic and stained. Approximately twenty leaves at the front of the volume had been severely burned. These pages were particularly dirty with major losses and blackened, weak torn edges. A fragmentary typescript “Oath” was attached to the flyleaf with pressure-sensitive tape. The “By-laws” and portions of the endleaves were also burned, fragmentary and detached. Many charred paper fragments were loose in the gutter of the text block. The volume had a strong odor. The volume was housed in a cloth-covered two-flap wrapper and quarter-round cloth-covered slip case. Both were lined with felt. Both were worn and stained with losses of color and starch. Board was exposed in some areas of the slip case where the cloth was frayed and worn away, and the joints of the wrapper were weak and very frayed at the ends. Both the slipcase and wrapper were heavily spotted with wax droplets. The wrapper lining appeared to be scorched. Both were undoubtedly acidic.
TREATMENT PERFORMED: Written and photographic documentation was provided. The volume was digitally photographed. The volume was collated and disbound retaining the original sewing. The pressure-sensitive tape was removed mechanically with heat. The pages were vacuumed to remove charred material. The head, tail, and pages were surface cleaned where necessary. The pages were nonaqueously alkalized (deacidified) with a suspension of magnesium oxide particles in a perfluoro compound (Bookkeeper). Tears were mended and charred edges were lined with Japanese kozo paper and wheat starch paste. The text block was reattached to the binding with a hollow tube, Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste. The “Oath”, “By-laws” and fragmentary endleaves were surface cleaned where necessary and the charred edges were lined with Japanese kozo tissue and wheat starch paste. They were placed in buffered folders and housed with the volume. The slipcase and wrapper were surface cleaned and the wax was removed mechanically. They were housed with the volume in a drop-spine box.
