The restoration of two historic leather bindings according to a new strategy

Abstract

The current research presents a new strategy for the treatment of degraded historical leather. Digital microscope, pH, FTIR and SEM analyses were used to evaluate the degradation of two leather bookbindings dated back to the fourteenth century. A conservation process was executed and included cleaning and the filling of holes according to a new recipe in the field of leather conservation containing leather powder, anhydrous cellulose, cellulose powder, acacia arabica, gelatin powder and clay nanoparticles. The new recipe was evaluated on modern leather samples before and after their accelerated ageing by monitoring any changes in their pH and colour, along with differential thermal analysis before the filler was applied to the historic leather. Results showed that the acidity of the leather remained in its natural state and the leather did not exhibit any oxidation nor hydrolysis. Moreover, the evaluation process for the new recipe suggested that it could be a promising material for the filling of losses to leather especially as it is thermally stable and shows consistency with the acidity of leather. Furthermore, the new fill material is easy to manipulate and shows no significant shrinkage or change to its colour.