Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BSBL (Book Science in the Bolton Library)
Reporting period: 2022-08-15 to 2024-08-14
Book Science in the Bolton Library used computer microtomography (µCT) as a means of studying the binding structures of early printed books. The diocesan library of Cashel (the Bolton Library) is one of the largest early modern library collections in Ireland outside of Dublin. However, due to deteriorating housing conditions, it had become a preservation risk. The aims of BSBL were two-fold: 1. To assist in the University of Limerick-based project to conserve and care for the collection by providing high resolution images of the interior sewing structures of items too fragile to be manually investigated; 2. To assess the presence of fragments of earlier written texts reused as material supports for the early modern bindings, and digitally unfold, read, and reconstruct those fragments. In turn, the fragments will allow for an assessment of provenance, trade links, and collecting practices that situates the Bolton collection as an important node in the history of interconnected, transnational, Irish intellectualism. More globally, the project’s success will position it as a model for future conservation and discovery projects, in which µCT imaging allows for non-manual assessment and care planning prior to invasive action on fragile book objects. In fact, this would be the first time that µCT had been used to successfully read black inks hidden in the bindings of other books—building on the successful use of macro x-ray fluorescence (macro XRF)—and the first time the technique had been used over a significant sample of a collection (as opposed to with individual objects of significant interest). Our use of µCT to unfold and read the small pieces of writing history represented by fragmentary manuscripts in the bindings of early modern books provides proof of concept for its use in uncovering other hidden pieces of written history.
The first year of BSBL has been dedicated to data collection. Over the course of the year I surveyed the collection, prioritizing the catalogued books that were most suitably-sized for scanning and most likely to contain manuscript fragments. In order to provide proof of concept on the reading of black (iron-gall) ink on manuscript fragments, books where at least some portion of the fragment was visible and known to include black ink writing were prioritized. In collaboration with Ken Bergin (Head, Special Collections & Archives) and Michael Byrne (Senior Technical Officer, Science and Engineering), we made thirty-six scans of fourteen books. We focused on producing images where fragments could be located at either end of a book-objects spine, or (in cases when the sewing structure or series of spine supports was of interest) in automating image-stacking to capture the whole spine. During this phase of data-collection we investigated several possible inhibitions to finding visible writing in initial parsing of the scan data. Problems investigated included minimum resolution requirements, little variation in the attenuation of x-rays by iron gall inks with lower percentages of metallic components (in comparison to the carbon-based materials of surface and book structure) and meeting necessary exposure levels across an irregular object within the limits of the time available. The project terminated early on July 31st, 2023. For this reason, the results have not yet been fully realized, exploited, and disseminated. However, initial explorations of the data collected did reveal some examples of legible black ink. Three samples were chosen for more intensive processing, including algebraic contrast enhancement and edge sharpening. These were then sent to Honghai Zhang (Computer Engineering, University of Iowa), who is part of a team developing a graph-based segmentation method for flattening CT images along given 3D surfaces (LOGISMOS), for preliminary flattening of manuscript fragments. Initial flattening the selected images was successful and demonstrated that legible text could be expected with more intensive work. This result was presented at a training meeting and an international conference. Further results are to be expected in the next phase of data processing.
So far, the project has produced more CT data of premodern and early modern book bindings than collectively on record. It has therefore become the model for staging work of this kind and scale. Detailed analysis of these data will produce a corpus of early binding information (at the micrometre level) for those working with such structures in conservation and collections care: for example, in this study we imaged at least four different approaches to endband sewing that might act as models for stitch patterns and attachment mechanisms used by conservators. The imaging data therefore presents a significant, if not immediately measurable, resource for those working in collections management. The approach itself also presents a model for these settings, situating CT imaging within the workflow of collections care as a means of recording object’s structure and state of repair, and to produce a workplan for stabilization, prior to invasive work.
More concrete results include the first successful µCT imaging of medieval iron-gall ink (black) on manuscript fragments hidden beneath a more modern binding. Success in this area validates the use of CT as a means to uncover and reconstruct fragmented manuscripts preserved in bindings. In some cases, these are the only locations in which important medieval texts (e.g. a section of an otherwise unattributed chanson de geste on Guillaume d’Orange found in a sixteenth-century English bookbinding in 2021) survive. Using CT imaging to recover items like this will allow researchers full access to the material the survives, without necessitating destruction or damage to the early binding the manuscript now supports. Verification that this method works for incidences of black ink on manuscript fragments represents an initial stage in the processing this imagery. Manuscript fragments will eventually be isolated, digitally unfolded, and flattened, to allow for reading of the complete text (as it is preserved) and the identification and digital reconstruction of any conjugate pieces. These fragments will provide evidence in turn for the histories of the books that contain them before they entered the Bolton Library, fleshing out the provenance and past of the collection.
The preservation of the Bolton Library, in which this project plays a role, as a complete collection in a secure and environmentally controlled location is an important step in understanding, maintaining, and celebrating Irish cultural heritage for the people of Ireland. The Bolton Library is the largest antiquarian book collection outside of Dublin. As such, it represents a crucial piece of evidence for the intellectual history of Ireland outside of the metropolitan centre. Its previous vulnerable state rendered it virtually inaccessible to researchers and the general public, as a result it has been little known or explored by either group. Once conservation and cataloguing are complete, the collection will be accessible (through in person visits, public events, digitization, and online cataloguing) to a much wider cross-section of interest groups, including academics, member of the public, and local groups. It will then be granted its appropriate place in the cultural heritage of Ireland as a hub of transnational exchange and intellectual endeavor.
More concrete results include the first successful µCT imaging of medieval iron-gall ink (black) on manuscript fragments hidden beneath a more modern binding. Success in this area validates the use of CT as a means to uncover and reconstruct fragmented manuscripts preserved in bindings. In some cases, these are the only locations in which important medieval texts (e.g. a section of an otherwise unattributed chanson de geste on Guillaume d’Orange found in a sixteenth-century English bookbinding in 2021) survive. Using CT imaging to recover items like this will allow researchers full access to the material the survives, without necessitating destruction or damage to the early binding the manuscript now supports. Verification that this method works for incidences of black ink on manuscript fragments represents an initial stage in the processing this imagery. Manuscript fragments will eventually be isolated, digitally unfolded, and flattened, to allow for reading of the complete text (as it is preserved) and the identification and digital reconstruction of any conjugate pieces. These fragments will provide evidence in turn for the histories of the books that contain them before they entered the Bolton Library, fleshing out the provenance and past of the collection.
The preservation of the Bolton Library, in which this project plays a role, as a complete collection in a secure and environmentally controlled location is an important step in understanding, maintaining, and celebrating Irish cultural heritage for the people of Ireland. The Bolton Library is the largest antiquarian book collection outside of Dublin. As such, it represents a crucial piece of evidence for the intellectual history of Ireland outside of the metropolitan centre. Its previous vulnerable state rendered it virtually inaccessible to researchers and the general public, as a result it has been little known or explored by either group. Once conservation and cataloguing are complete, the collection will be accessible (through in person visits, public events, digitization, and online cataloguing) to a much wider cross-section of interest groups, including academics, member of the public, and local groups. It will then be granted its appropriate place in the cultural heritage of Ireland as a hub of transnational exchange and intellectual endeavor.