Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-17
RESTORING MANUSCRIPTS
PARCHMENTS BURNED AND
WARPED MADE LEGIBLE.
Many Ancient Works Not Worth
Trouble and Cost of
Restoration.
From the Literary Digest

one OF tUe greatest Vi fStcHt dIN
fires-that which partly destroyed the Ma
tional Library of Turin, Italy. January
- 1a4-has been of some benefit to
science. in that it has produced the most
careful study ever made of the properties
of parchment. and especially of its be-
havior under heat DR. Iclio Guareschi.
professor Of chemistry in Turin Univer-
sty. was charged with the task of restor-
ing as many as possible of the damaged
manuscripts: and his account of the work.
which has just been published. is reviewed
in La Nature by Eugene Lemaire,
French engineer. Says Mr.. Lemaire:
1T is well known how slowly and with
what difficulty a paper book is consumed.
even when thrown into a hot fire: the
book does not warp and the outside pages
protect the inside ones. which are at
tackled by the heat very slowly. If the
book is then drenched with water. as
would happen If the fire were put out.
the mostened leaves. after being sepa-
rated and dried would resume their for
mer dimensions and aspect. 1t is quite
otherwise with parchment. the book
warps in the fire and consequently the
heat penetrates easily TO the interior and
reaches the leaves. Worse still. when
parchment is heated to 2OO-25O degrees or
when sprinkled suddenly with water at a
temperature above 1OO-125 degrees it con-
lIdttS liz IcuultioI VI
surface in this case may be greater than
One-half. Thus a parchment not com
pletely destroyed by fire may nevertheless
be twisted and ilegible, and it is almost
always completely useless.
Parchment Decays.
FINALLY, contrary to current opinion
parchment may decay. Doubtless it does
not do so under ordinary Conditions-that
Is, when kept dry and at ordinary tenn
peratures: but after fire it may remain
moist for several days and a very slight
rise of temperature. such as that given
out by the remains of a conflagrat1On
may then cause active putrefaction. The
parchment is then destroyed with greater
rapidity: ii becomes glue-like on account
of partial change into gelatin and holes
form which enlarge until the whole mass
falls apart in strips
.'Parchments taken from fire are
either in the form of solid. horny blocks
apparently completely carbonized and Wit
rified or detached leaves soiled
with mud and ashes. The first thing TO
be done is to see that the documents will
keep until their restoration can be begun.
because the latter is long task that
cannot be performed on all the parch-
ments at once. AS they cannot decay
when perfectly dry, they must be dried
as completely and quickly possible.
If putrefaction has begun it is ar
ment in a mixture of alcohol and carbolic
acid"
The leaves may be separated, we are
told, by using tepid water, or, better still.
since this is apt to make ink and cOlors
run. by placing the volumes in heater
with warm-water vapor. Each leaf is then
cleaned with sponge and stretched to
its original shape and size. dried between
sheets of blottng paper and pressed out
fiat. All this may be done in single day
and is very effective. If the volume has
been heated above 80 degrees c. (42S
degrees F) or has been suddenly cooled
by the application OF water when above
125. degrees (256 degrees F. the injury is
almost irreparable. The action of parch-
ment under fire appears to depend largely
on the fact that 1t contains Is to 20 per
cent of water not chemically combined.
When heated slightly it loses this water
and absorbs it again little by little on
exposure to the air. But when heated to
excess it does not reabsorb all the lost
moisture even when immersed in water.
In conclusion the author says:
To Make Flexible.
The heat and the various operations
for restoration sometimes make the parch |
ment hard and brittle To restore its
softness and fiexibility. Guareschi moist |
ems the leaves in a weak solution of some |
salt. A l per cent So
luton of potash soap. not too alkaline