That’s the typical case of the covers of a binding (or what’sleft of it) being a former parchment manuscript, a waste material that was recycled for a new purpose (a binding).

• Client: Historical Archive of Lleida (Catalonia), National Archive of Catalonia ( Government of Catalonia).
• Artefact: Stationery book, a manuscript bound on limp reused parchment covers with rolled sewing. The covers long-stitched over a re-used manuscript (disjecta membra) with rolled sewing of parchment strips. “Manual notarial d’Andreu Soler” (notes by notary Andreu Soler).
• Date: 1566.
• Damages: Remarkable losses (rodents?, mould?) on both the binding and the folios. Spine distortion.
• Conservation treatment:
  Collation report, disbinding, folios conservation and housing of disjecta membra (scattered fragments) on conservation mounting. Digitisation fo the extracted manuscript (binding). Binding: Facsimile re-binding with facsimile binding.
  Textblock: Dry and wet cleaning (see video below), consolidation (leaf casting infilling, lining).
• Conservators: Ana Tourais, Paula Bueso, Rita Udina.
• Project lead by: Rita Udina.
• Other links:
  – Lecture Conservation of re-used bindings (parts I & II) , in Chile (in Spanish with subtitles), in which the reuse of a parchment manuscript to bind this manuscript is explained.
  – Lecture Conservation of re-used bindings (part II) (In Croatia, in English).
  – Video showing the wet treatment of this manuscript (below).
  – AHL Instagram post (below).

This manuscript is also discussed in this lecture (6:12-10:16″):

• 00:00 – Introduction
  • 00:28 – A) What is re-use with diverse purpose (disjecta membra)
  • 01:23 – B) What is reuse with diverse purpose
• 01:44 – A) Recycling with diverse purpose (disjecta membra)
  • 02:04 – a1) 1️⃣ Parchment manuscript used as a binding for an incunabula (Girona).
  • 06:12 – a2) 2️⃣ Parchment manuscript used as limp binding with rolled sewing (Lleida).
  • 10:17 – 1️⃣ vs 2️⃣. Are old repairs and re-used materials compatible with conservation requirements and to what extent their removal involves loss of readability?
  • 11:20 Decision making for disjecta membra materials (A).
• 12:11 – B) Reuse with same puprpose (binding).
  • 12:49 – b1) 3️⃣ Manuscript with lace-cased binding (Terrassa).
  • 18:03 – b2) 4️⃣Manuscript with vellum binding (Girona).
  • 26:07 – b3) 5️⃣Manuscript with wallet binding (Guimerà).
  • 39:25 – Decision making for recycled bindings (B).
• 41:38 – Conclusion.
• 43:58 – Acknowledgement.

Conservator Paula Bueso washes the folios of this manuscript between 0:26″ and 0:44″.

The manuscript is also shown in this lecture (4:53″ – 7:41″).

The video has bookmarks so that you can go straight to the desired section. Or also open the video on YouTube.

• 00:00 – Conductor introduces the speaker
• 00:42 – Introduction
  • 01:06 – A) What is reuse with diverse purpose (disjecta membra)
  • 01:55 – B) What is reuse with diverse purpose
• 02:12 – A) Recycling with diverse purpose (disjecta membra)
  • 02:28 – a1) Parchment manuscript used as a binding (Incunabula from Girona).
  • 04:53 – a2) Parchment manuscript used as a binding (manuscript from Lleida).
  • 07:41 – 1 vs 2. Are old repairs and re-used materials compatible with conservation requirements and to what extent their removal involves loss of readability?
  • 08:40 Decision making for disjecta membra materials (A).
• 09:17 – B) reuse with same puprpose (binding)
  • 09:35 – b1) Manuscript with wallet binding (reused binding) from Guimerà.
  • 20:14 – Decision making for recycled bindings (B).
• 21:29 – Conclusion
• 23:41 – Acknowledgement
• 24:06 – Questions