The conservation work on our Latin-Chinese dictionaries began today. The conservators are going through each volume, checking the pagination of the volumes and recording all the damage that needs to be repaired, as well as carrying out basic dusting and cleaning. Below are a few images to give you an idea.
Each of the 1200 pages in the set needs to be treated. Efforts that were made long ago to strengthen the pages, by adding a strip of paper along each edge, in the long-term had the opposite effect. Over time, the short-fiber Chinese paper began to split with a razor-like edge along the additions, as can be seen in the images below. The conservators need to remove every strip of paper, with painstaking care so as to avoid adding to the damage; as well as repairing the damage that is already there.
The conservation of these dictionaries has been made possible by the support of the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust and the Sino-British Fellowship Trust.
The conservation of these dictionaries has been made possible by the support of the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust and the Sino-British Fellowship Trust.
Every page needs to be checked and the damage recorded for future reference |
This image clearly shows the sharp splits along the page, running through the entry terms that are given in Latin. |
Each of the 1200 pages needs attention. |