broughton heritage consultancy dealing with rare books presentation notes asa / ma oatlands 6...

Broughton Heritage ConsultancyDEALING WITH RARE BOOKS PRESENTATION

NOTESASA / MAOATLANDS

6 OCTOBER 2012© Broughton Heritage Consultancy

83 Oldham Avenue New Town 7008Text 0408279686

Home 03 62789590 http:/heritagetasmania.com/

Broughton Heritage ConsultancyRARE BOOKS

WHAT ARE THEY

Well first of all the myths of rare books:they are not necessarily myth old books

they are not all beautiful booksthey are not all leather bound

Family bibles are worth a lot of money


What are the rules?

There are no absolute rules, there are indications

and fashions

Ferguson The Bibliography of Australia. The first volume, covering the years 1784–1830, is a good

guide to rarity of early works in Australia


Date ranges is old good?

Text before 1 BCE [manuscript, codices, scrolls usually archaic

languages Greek, Classical Latin]Manuscript before 1550 [no page numbers or paragraphs, illuminated,

Vulgate Latin]All printed before 1540 incunabula [ early type, printers marks often

Vulgate Latin]Early printed books 1550 – 1700 [page numbers, indexes, plates,

variable type, Romance languages and Vulgate Latin]Printed books 1700 - 1850 [milled paper, modern type, plates

Romance languages and some Latin]Australian books before 1840American books before 1800

English and Scottish books before 1700Paperbacks before 1959


AGE + CONDITION + RARITY + DESIRABILITY

The criteria used for heritage

assessment in Australia are only somewhat relevant

Rare books are where the rubber of heritage meets the road of the market.


.Historic:

Age First national translations

Aesthetic:

Fine bindingsFine illustrations or etchings, maps or insertions

Scientific research or technical:

Breakthroughs such as Albert Einstein on relativity


.Architecture

Anthropology Archaeology

DentistryErotica

Exploration Geology Hunting

MedicineOrnithology[bird books]

Plants [both gardening and Flora]Sporting memorabilia

Taxonomies of species Technical catalogues such fashion, furniture, tools ,

TravelRoyal families [original materials]

Zoology


.

Other Criteria

PublicationLow print runs and numbered editions or special editions

(withdrawn or censored books are more valuable]

Provenance Historic evidence, archival letters, bibliographies and Trove.Supporting documentation, letters, drawings and publishers

memos even press clippings.

Representativeness:Best of type and most original edition

Completeness and integrity


Professional Sources Agents

Rare book dealers Auction Houses

Publishers and art published sPrivate Collectors and Tax Incentives

donations


Personal Sources DonationsE Bay

In houseJumble sales

MarketsVinnie’s

Library dump boxes


The earlier papers can be identified from the lay of the paper and the marks left by the fine sieves used to drain the sheets.

Rag papers are White and thick Smooth fibred

porousHemp papers arecream coloured

fibrous enormously strong

Wood pulpWeak

Short fibredsmooth


Watermarks are like fingerprints a good guide to

authenticitypaper age

originQuality

Hold paper up to the light on an angle


Vellum and parchment All leathers are difficult to store and untanned

limed products like vellum require special storage with controlled RH

Leather bindings Leather covers are quite robust except for the

“dreaded red rot” due to commercial tanning practice in the period between 1869 and 1900.

This can seriously affect the value of these volumes

Low level cleaning and handle with clean hands


THREATSIntrinsic:

Acid levels Bacteria [increased foxing]

Mould sporesCorrosive inks

Chemically active covers or binding


THREATSExtrinsic

Ultra violetEMFHeat

Relative humidityParticulates

Gases and vapoursT


Enclosures for rare books must be acid free

Controlled archival grade air conditioning

RH monitoring is essentialAcid free covers should be used for

any metal closures, wax seals or hinges


CAVEAT EMPTORThere are lots of fakes and stolen and

mis-described books on auction catalogues.

Auctioneers can unreliable.

Establish on line auction catalogue accounts with:


CAVEAT EMPTOR Local:

Astrolabe Books Tasmania Book shop

National:Abe Books

Art find Berkelouw BooksChristies Australia

Joels Auctions Sotheby’s Australia

International:

AlibrisAmericana Exchange

Antiquarian Booksellers Association UKChristies UK

Sotheby’s UK Sotheby’s USA

Broughton Heritage ConsultancyValuers

Use valuers for acquiring important works, weeding and disposal

Valuers:ANZAAB

Astrolabe BooksAICCM Tas.

Broughton Heritage Consultancy


DIGITAL PRESERVATIONDigital preservation is ideal as

method of presentation of rare books to the public and for education

Requires: project management

resourcesresearch

partnerships


Meta data is the vital component in digitization:

[Information about digital information ]Descriptive cataloguing

Administrative [ IP]Structural

Data relationshipsDublin Core

METS DIDL

Broughton Heritage Consultancy File naming Conventions and File types

TIFF GIF PNG

JPEG - Two versions JPEG and JPEG 2000 PDF and PDF A archival version

available free . TAHO approved

Broughton Heritage ConsultancyScanning best practice rare books

Actual processing should be carefully controlled to ensure conservation is maintained:

Use special copying mounts to preserve the binding from over opening

Secure acid free transfer containers for travelling books

Ensure insertions are also copiedReview scans for completeness and quality

Deposit the new digital publication with your deposit scheme.

Broughton Heritage ConsultancyGetting rare books out there

Search engines and navigationUse national systems such as Trove as examples of good layout and search

protocols .

Fuzzy logic and phonetic searching are very useful to improve search precision

TAHO has STORS as a free online archival system with a fairly primitive

search engine but a very accessible and permanent location for for small documents

USE EXISTING ON LINE SYSTEMS from archival and museum and library ORGANISATIONS DO NOT GO FOR LOCAL one off software

IP be copyright wary!

© Broughton Heritage Consultancy83 Oldham Avenue New Town 7008

Text 0408279686Home 03 62789590 http:/heritagetasmania.com/

broughton heritage consultancy dealing with rare books presentation notes asa / ma oatlands 6...

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