Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-30
OF HISTORIC VALUE
IL "a
Manuscripts and Maps in the New
Library Of Congress
WERE RAPIDLY GOING TO DECAY
st
They Could Not Be Properly Cared
II
for in'Ithe, Capitol.
WORK OF RATION
WORK OF RESTORATION


move and have their, being in the Capitol at
Washington must be of superior order of
intellect. For until little more than two
years ago they fed on some of the richest
and rarest educational food to be found in
the whole country. The priceless collec-
ton of maps, charts and manuscript which
are given so much space In the new build
Ing of the Library of Congress were little
more than food for vcrmin in the old
library The cramped quarters did not af-
ford space for the books alone, while the
less called-for, though equally valuable,
possessions of the library were tucked
away in dusty attics and slowed promis-
cuously In the dark and damp rooms down
in the crypt of the Capitol
Heat, cold, damp and darkness had their
way with these priceless things. A tradi-
ton OF the library has it that valuable maps
were actually used to stop rat holes. Moth
ing could be done to preserve the papers.
and many of them were almost forgotten.
Nobody knew what treasures lay hidden in
odd corners till the work of removal to the
new building was begun, and not till
months of incessant labor had brought the
beginning of order out of the chaos piled
on the floors of the rooms devoted to these
two important divisions of the library
could the havoc wrought by years of I'M
avoidable neglect be rightly estimated
In Bad Shape.
Among the manuscripts which had been
stored away, for a period in most cases of
from fifteen to thirty years, scarcely a
tenth of the six hundred and more VOL
umes was found fit to be handled without
reminding. Among the unbound manu-
scripts, numbering about one hundred and
seventy volumes, and two hundred odd
bundles. the damage done was immeas-
Grably greater, and only very small num-
Der of all the manuscripts in the collection
Of hn rnct1r n~te,
Many of the maps were in tatters; some
1nGeed, were so far gone in ruin that even
the most skillful restoration could make
them nothing more than hint of their for
mer selves.
The northeast pavilion Of the main floor
OF the new building has been chosen for
the manuscript division, because of it's
greater security, The good luck of the
American people prevented any consider
able loss of valuable papers by theft dur
ing all the years they were neglected in
the cubby holes of the Capitol, but nothing
Is left to chance in the new library. A
burglar would need all the powers of the
slaves of the lamp and the ring to take
MIN within reaching distance of the treas
ures of the manuscript room. To begin
with, 1t has walls seven eight feet thick
ana massive doors, which locked every
night when the building is closed. An ante
room lies between it and the corridor, where
a Waterman stands guard.
Where They Are Preserved.
<Apoul the walls OIL the room are cases
fourteen feet in height. They are faced
with antique oak, and with their plain glass
doors look very Hike the book cases of the
average library. But they are far from be-
ing ordinary cases. Each one of them is
lined with sheet iron as a protection against
the bookWormS and 'cockroaches, which are
so much dreaded by librarians Below tile
glazed cases are cupboards and drawers
also sheet-iron lined. for the keeping of
manuscript as yet unbound, or in process
OF repair and restoration
All the cases in the room are kept locked
ana the two keys which unlock them all
are always in the possession of Dr. Herbert
Friedenwald, the superintendent Of the
manuscript division. For the greater safe
" OF the treasures in this division Of the
combinations of their locks are known IN
only two persons-the librarian of .>ongl ess
and DR.. Friedenwald.
A Remarkable Mauuscript.
Whether the manuscripts kept in the safe
are the most valuable in the collection it
would be impossible to say, as the value of
a manuscript is an indeterminate some
thing depending wholly on the point Of
view; but one of the treasures Dr. Frieden-
Waid guards IN the safe is the oldest manu-
script in the library. 1t is tiny book. only
two and half inches wide by three and y
quarter long, but the paper and ink are so
durable. and the outer cover which protects
~ 81 SdiiiIiilSly COHlTlVeQ, mat 1t is in hpf-
Ter condition than many books only ffty
years old, though twelve centuries have
gone by since it was made 1t is a conv
OF the four gospels, in Syriac, and was
written by one Michael son of Bar Fauna
OF urbish. He evidently had in mind its
use Tor church purposes. All the fast davs
are carefully marked, and the various Iec
tions distinctly stated, not only in the text.
but also at intervals on the margin An
inscription on the outer covering states
that the book is the property of a certain
bishop. John John. The date indented is
o sis,. me book Is bound in a pongee like
SILK OF dull red color, with tiny lines of
green, and Is fncased in a silver gilt ho,
rudely, but intricately.. chased, with a Ma
donna on one side and'a crucifixion on tho
other. vi 'iie
Another treasure kept in the safe iswasb-
ington's Orderly Book, and the diary kent
by him in 1877, and covering the neriod nf
the federal conventions. 1t Is interesting
to notice that while the diary contains vars,
little information concerning the conven,
IONS, the names Of all the people with whom
washington dined and supped are carefully
set down These papers. well as most
or the other manuscript relating to Wash
lngton, are in an excellent state of preser-
walton, and have been practically untomch-
ed by the restorer. The collection is esne
eially rich in Washingtonia- Many of the
chase of Jefferson's library in 1873. others
by the purchase of the Peter Force coIlec-
ton in 1857. and the remainder by purchase
At shil ouS tliucS. ny gilt. The Valll-
able collection of Rochambeau papers. in
Guiding letters from French and American
officers, and more than thirty with Wash
ington's signature, cost the government
Scientific Restoration.
Some of the manuscripts have needed LIT.
tie restoration. but the great majority have
required careful treatment. The work Of
restoration as carried on at the library 10
a science, and DR.. Frfedenwald is constant.
ly studying and experimenting with a view
to learning what Improvement in his meth.
DDS is possible Ale IS at present engaged
along line Of research which would he
wholly unintelligfble to the layman and tho
results Of which he Proposes to lay before
the scientific library world in the near fu-
ture. Certain Of the methods he has adopt
ed in the process ef{festoration are state
secrets of the library: and are not permitted
to pass beyond The walls Of the restoring
room. but the greater number of man
Uscripts are restored under his direction in
the simplest manner possible.
The manuscript comes to the restorer's
hands wrink!ed, yellow, dog-eared at the
edges and worn and torn at the folds. The
first thing that is done to it is to give it a
bath in warm water. Modern manuscrint