'Torn, wrinckled, stained, and otherwise naughty sheets'. How should we interpret paper faults in seventeenth century paper?
Conservators are routinely faced with torn, damaged or wrinkled papers in their work and the types of damage found may seem unremarkable. However, a surprisingly large number of flaws and faults found in early paper were made during manufacture rather than in later use. Recent conservation work to o...
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| 格式: | Conference item |
| 語言: | English |
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Institute of Conservation Book and Paper Group
2020
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| 總結: | Conservators are routinely faced with torn, damaged or wrinkled papers in their work and the types of damage found may seem unremarkable. However, a surprisingly large number of flaws and faults found in early paper were made during manufacture rather than in later use. Recent conservation work to one of the Bodleian Library’s two copies of the First Folio, the 1623 first publication of William Shakespeare’s (1564–1616) collected drama, has led to research of these faults and a new appreciation of them.
This talk will discuss the paper faults found in copies of the First Folio at the Bodleian and the Folger Shakespeare Library and the implications these may have for our understanding of the working practices of paper-mills and early print shops. It will explore the different types of paper faults found in seventeenth-century paper and identify their causes, and explain how damaged and flawed paper was used both as a packing material for the transport of paper and after it had arrived at stationer’s and printer’s shops. It will explore how early users may have viewed these ‘otherwise naughty sheets’ and use early accounts of printing and papermaking to test whether the evidence from surviving paper accords with these published accounts. Finally the talk will look at the implications that these faults pose for conservators and librarians today. |
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