Conservation of: Heinrich Muller, Evangelischer Hertzens-Spiegel/ In Erklährung der Sontäglichen
und fürnehmsten Fest-Evangelien vorgestellet, Hamburg, 1698.
Condition: This heavy volume was bound in full medium brown leather with blind tooled decoration that is possibly contemporary with the printing. The binding is in atrocious condition. The leather is badly degraded and flaking off easily. The front board is loose and the lower joint is cracked. The spine has large losses at the head and tail; the remnant is loose. The edges and leaves are very soiled. The textblock is sewn on four sawn-in cords with the slips frayed and adhered to the inner boards. There are remnants of fake bands made from thin card stock adhered to the spine. The sewing is intact overall. The front flyleaf is missing. There is no evidence of headbands. The first two leaves were previously mended, with the woodcut title page lined with a stiff handmade paper. There is stiff paper hinging the two front leaves together. Both leaves are badly creased along the breaking folds created by the stiff hinges.
Conservation treatment:
The existing spine, boards and sewing were retained. The boards, edges and first and last leaves were surface cleaned as needed. The degraded leather was chemically consolidated. The loose leaves at the front were mended and re-attached. The book was rebacked with laminates of kozo paper. The original spine was re-adhered using Jade 403 PVA.The repairs were touched up with acrylic pigments.