The Technological Study of Books and Manuscripts as Artefacts (BAR International)

The book (in this context any portable object whose prime purpose is to convey documentary information, including both images and text) is, in the view of the editors of this interesting volume), a much-neglected artifact in the spectrum of objects which constitute the material cultural heritage. This collection of papers represents the work of a group of national and international researchers who have studied the various components of the book as object, with the aim of sharing expertise, generating new interactions, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers from the arts and humanities and those from science and heritage science disciplines. This volume documents discussions which took place between March and November 2009 at workshops and symposia organized by the BookNET Research Cluster. Contents: Introduction. The Book as a Material Object (A.M. Pollard, Richard Ovenden, Sarah Neate & David Howell); 1) Curatorial Issues and Research Questions: Current Research on Western Medieval Manuscripts and Oriental Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library (Emilie Savage-Smith, Sarah Neate & Richard Ovenden); 2) Conservation Issues and Research Questions: the Role of Analysis in Book and Manuscript Conservation (Sarah Neate & David Howell, with contributions from Cheryl Porter & Nicholas Pickwoad); 3) Principles and Methods of Analysis in Archaeological and Manuscript Studies (Sarah Neate & A. M. Pollard); 4) Framing Analytical Research Questions (Mark Clarke); 5) Defining Methodological Problems: a Case Study on Paint Analysis and the Technological Study of Manuscripts (Nicholas Eastaugh); 6) Paper Degradation and Conservation: Overview of Recent Research (2000-2010) (Matija Strlic); 7) Investigating the Structural Integrity of Historical Documents using X-ray Diffraction Techniques (Kate Thomas, Lee Gonzales & Tim Wess); 8) Advanced Optical Imaging Methods for Investigating Manuscripts (Haida Liang); 9) Analysis of Pigments on Manuscripts by Raman Spectroscopy: Advantages and Limitations (Lucia Burgio); 10) Non-destructive Ion Beam Analysis Techniques for Book and Manuscript Studies (Geoff Grime); 11) Provenancing Parchment, Leather and Paper using Stable Isotopes (A. M. Pollard & Fiona Brock); 12) Scientific Approaches to Dating Historical Documents (A. M. Pollard).