Book Conservation Services

Masterclass: Conservation of Cloth Bindings will be repeated in July. This popular workshop is back one more time for 2026. Go to Eventbrite to buy your ticket. This is a small group workshop so spaces are limited.
Or tap here https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/masterclass-conservation-of-cloth-bindings-tickets-1989381781461?aff=oddtdtcreator

This month Principal Conservator from BCS, Karen Vidler, returned to deliver another 4 day workshop at the NSW Guild of Craft Bookbinders. This years topic was Repair of Cloth Bindings ( with basic paper repairs).

Karen wants to thank all 10 participants for their enthusiasm, skilled bench work and courage in trying new treatments and repair techniques for cloth-case bookbindings. The repairs produced in this group was very impressive.

Image 1: The group treating weak areas of covering cloth with 2% solution of Klucel G in Isopropanol - observing good PPE practices.

Image 2: Some of the participants resizing washed unbleached cotton with 2% solution of Methyl Cellulose in deionised water, ready for toning with high permanence acrylic paints.

Hello, South Australia!
This week was more complicated paper repairs, with finishing up repairs to the foldout maps, infilling small losses, and reattaching loose pages. Only one week left to go at the bindery (sad emoji, cry emoji). The end is almost in sight, but I'll be sad to leave this little haven.

Photo 1: Setting up interleaving layers to work on the map of South Australia.
2: Title page infills using the piece of Mylar that shows alllll the funny repair shapes I've been making.
3. Layered repairs in one of the book's torn guard structures.
4. Tidying and flattening a guard with humidification in preparation for the reattachment of the foldout.