The West Foundation, which awards grants to the arts and to humanitarian, cultural, and civic organizations centered in the Lakeshore, Wisconsin area, is no stranger to treasures – (read about their stunning Lester W. Bentley mural) but when this autograph book was brought to The Center for treatment, we knew it was something truly special.
The scrapbook before treatment.
Diligently assembled by O.S. Ford, each card inside contains the signature of someone of notoriety between 1865 – 1893: everyone from United States Presidents to Mark Twain. Newspaper clippings and other memorabilia were stored alongside the signatures, tied down with colorful ribbons that were beginning to slip from their original positions. O.S. Ford had managed to collect 230 items in total, all contained within 62 scrapbook pages.
Take a look inside of the scrapbook!
Due to the age of the book, the pages had become brittle and exhibited tears and losses throughout. The cover was in overall good condition, with slight wear at the edges. There were sections of the pages that were fading, and some that were sewn to stubs, creating a swell at the spine edge. Our conservators had their job cut out for them, and set to work.
First, any loose materials, such as newspaper articles and pieces of ribbon, were removed from the scrapbook. Then, the materials were surface cleaned using appropriate conservation methods and materials. New archival album pages were sourced and prepared, along with new ribbons. In close collaboration with The West Foundation, all of the materials were rehinged onto new pages.
The scrapbook with rehinged materials.
Stubbing was added to accommodate a new binding style, and a new text block was constructed using the new pages. The scrapbook was converted into a post-binding structure, rather than a sewn text block, to accommodate the new pages. The original covers and spine were retained, and a new post-binding was constructed.
The new binding style after treatment.
Finally, a double-walled drop spine box was created to archivally store the scrapbook.
The double-walled drop spine archival box.
Now stabilized, cleaned, and protected, O.S. Ford’s scrapbook is back in the collection of The West Foundation and ready to delight the curious for generations to come, as they flip through surprising names in history and imagine the introductions that must have taken place.
After treatment.
