Archive for the ‘Preservation’ Category

Paper making in Buenos Aires

Not only am I a bookbinder but I am also a tanguera. I travel every March to Buenos Aires looking for those great dancers, taking classes, doing very little tourism.Last year however,  I took time off from dancing to visit the Biblioteca Nacional de Argentina, in Palermo. This year, I thought I’d take a more [...]

No lumpy leather in this bindery

“Can you feel the lumps?” asks Robin. “Lumps?” I reply, “what lumps? my fingers are too numb!” I’ve been paring leather this week, and my fingers are numb from holding the leather and the knife and pushing down and pushing across, all at the same time. Paring leather is the action of making the leather [...]

A gathering of bookbinders

At the beginning of November, close to eighty bookbinders gathered at the Rheinberger Centre in Yarralumla for what promised to be an exciting week-end of anecdotal and informative exchanges. The Gathering, a national conference of book binders, was organised by the Canberra Bookbinders Guild,  the second to be held in Canberra since 1984. David and [...]

Zinesters of the world: no happy stapling or rubber bands please

Rubber bands are in the same class as sticky tape and staples: not only do they all mean more work for me,but they also spell inevitable disaster for the item. There are staples that rust and staples that don’t rust.There are staples that require me to grow muscles.  If we are going to preserve items, [...]

Tapestry Delights

The three Aubusson tapestries , ‘Ram’s Head’, ‘Radio Telescope’, and the ‘Parrot’ were woven in Aubusson, France, for the National Library of Australia and are a great attraction to the Library. Ever wondered what happens to the three Aubusson tapestrieswhen they disappear for 2 weeks a year? Well, around August/ September is breeding season. Bugs, [...]

A face lift for the Port of Sydney

We’ve recently been working on a Map of part of the water frontage of the Port of Sydney shewing parts of the land and wharfage vested in the Sydney Harbour Trust Commissioners. It was donated to the National Library by a former employee of the Customs Department in Sydney. The map appears to have been used [...]

Stab, Fan, Cords! Paperbacks: what to do with them.

“A couple of pages have fallen out, it won’t take long to fix” I love it when people say that to me when they bring a book for repair. I give a little chuckle; sometimes I even laugh out loud. And then I show them what I need to do to fix”only two pages”. More often [...]

Materials that pass though Preservation

How many tomato sauce recipes can you have? I discover the Sydney County Council’s Tomato recipes typed on a single sheet of loose paper, tucked away in the CWA’s Coronation Cookery Book.  Did you know  they (the Council?) had 4 recipes for tomato sauce? Amazing! So many recipes. Discoveries like these are what I really enjoy [...]

First, do no harm

A portrait of Gordon George McCrae is the latest addition to be welcomed in to the national collection at the Library.  The Preservation Services unit collaborated with their colleagues in the Pictures and Manuscripts team in their assessment of this new acquisition by renowned Australian artist, Tom Roberts. The portrait is a beautiful example of [...]

Boxing it up at the Library

I love making boxes. In a previous life I used to be known as theboxgirl because I made small wooden boxes.

There’s something about a box that brings the curious out of people; what’s in it?