When Curator and Conservator Meet: Some Issues Arising from the Preservation and Conservation of the Jacques Mosseri Genizah Collection at Cambridge University Library1

Abstract

Unearthed in Cairo in the early 20th century, the 7,000 fragments that constitute the Jacques Mosseri Genizah Collection are currently being conserved, digitised and catalogued at Cambridge University Library. This joint article, written by a curator and a conservator working on the Collection, provides a brief history of the manuscripts and an outline of the project. The difficulties created by pressures of time, funding, and provision of access are presented from both perspectives, followed by a more in-depth focus on the challenges posed by the treatment and housing of book structures in the collection. This unique approach serves to highlight potential tensions between conservation and curatorial concerns and the importance of working together to create satisfactory and ethical solutions.