This week’s 1091 Project considers previous repairs and when to
remove them or let them be. The examples I was able to find here
in the ISU Library Conservation Lab were not all repairs per se;
some were preservation rehousing decisions. At some point in the
long-distant past, this collection of manuscripts was hinged
onto stubs, and bound into a single volume. In some cases, as
shown above in the image on the right, the manuscript sheet was
hinged onto a stub and then additional paper was hinged onto the
tail edge of smaller sheets to make them all the same dimensions
before binding. Many of the manuscripts’ primary supports are
becoming embrittled, so I was reluctant to remove the stubs from
the paper supports either mechanically or by introducing
moisture. Instead, the volume was disbound and the stubs were
trimmed by hand along the edge of the primary supports. Some of
the manuscripts will be encapsulated, and all will be rehoused
in folders in archival document boxes. The above images show a
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