Reconstituted Parchment: Its Physical Properties and Suitability as a Repair Material for Parchment Bindings

Abstract

AbstractIn this study, the suitability of reconstituted parchment as a repair material for three-dimensional and movable parts of books, such as joints and the spine, was assessed. Reconstituted parchment sheets were produced with the “dry method” following five recipes: Budapest, Giovannini’s, Forstmeyer’s, Wouters’ and a new recipe. Tensile and lap-shear resistances were tested. Half the samples for the tensile and the lap-shear tests were folded 1, 000 times to model the mechanical stress. As the result of the tests, Forstmeyer’s reconstituted parchment was applied with 3 % (w/v) gelatin mousse to repair damaged spines of parchment book models.