Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1894-06-02

of the manuscript leaves and then cut out all of the inclosed space except very narrow margin. The thick paper around this open space was then split with a keen knife, to the depth of the frame. The edges of the manu- script page were fitted between the thin walls of this paper frame dow eled,n to use the technical ter1n-and glued in place. Where the writing on the manuscript ran to the edge of the page, as it did in some places the frame was trimmed so as to obscure none of it. When all of the pages of manu- script had been set in these frames, the leaves were bound together in heavy Russia leather lined with watered silk. The work was done so perfectly that turning the pages of the restored book you could hardly tell where the border of the frame began, except by the dull- ness of the older paper.
 This .inlaying, as l said is quite beyond the department people. The worRmea who are doing the work of re- storing now are four-two women and two men. They were not familiar with I eern sent its foreman and force of workmen to Washington two years ago to begin the work for which at that time congress had made spe- cial appropriation. Some worlsmen from the government printing office were called in as helpers, and they are now the experts who are carrying on the work They follow the original and more expeditions form of restora- tion by mounting the manuscripts on hinges on sheets of heavy paper. Many of the manuscripts are so old that they, are falling to pieces. Wherever a hole appears piece of dull-colored paper, as nearly as possible of the yellowish tint of the manuscript, is carefully pasted beneath. No attempt is made, however, to renew any lines which time or wear may have dimmed or oblit- erated There is no Di Cesnola restora- tion done on these pages.
 When sheet has been strengthened and made whole, narrow strip of lin- en is pasted along the edge. This piece of linen is the hinge. 1t is pasted along it's other border to the sheet of linen pa- per-as heavy almost as bristol board which is to be leaf of the bound book. The manuscript page fastened to this hinge can be examined on either side. When set of manuscripts is mounted the leaves are bound together to form q book.
 All the work of restoring, mounting and binding is done in the state depart ment building almost all of it in one room It is paid for out of the appro- priation for the department printing. Every safeguard surrounds the handling of these valuable documents. All of U pages of manuscripts in each collection are numbered serially, witheut regard 1 to their contents. Every scrap of paper with line of writing has it's number. 1 Each book as it is given into the GUS tody of the restorers is examined to see that no leaf is missing. As each is returned to it's place in the library from the binder it is scanned again to see nothing has been abstracted. Even an autograph clipped from one of those old letters would have it's value. So far as department records show and the memories of department officers run, no official or clerk of the department has every betrayed his trust, and the manuscripts are to-day as they were when tlrey were added to the library collection,
 The work of restoring is reducing the number of volumes of manuscript. The original collectors of these manuscripts put very few of them in each of the
 bindings. The department is grouping
 them in thick quartos. The George
 Washington papers, three hundred anc
 thirty-six volumes, will probably not
 fill more than fifty when they have beer
 remounted. The total numberof man
 uscript volumes now in the department
 library is: