Book Reviews
RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage reviews books,
reports, new periodicals, databases, Web sites, blogs, and other electronic resources,
as well as exhibition, book, and auction catalogs pertaining directly and indirectly
to the fields of rare book librarianship, manuscripts curatorship, archives management, and special collections administration. Publishers, librarians, and archivists
are asked to send appropriate publications for review or notice to the Reviews
Editor.
Due to space limitations, it may not be possible for all books received to be
reviewed in RBM. Books or publication announcements should be sent to the Reviews Editor: Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, University of Minnesota Libraries, 160
Wilson Library, 309 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55455; e-mail: dezel002@umn.
edu; (612) 625-0381.
Cathleen A. Baker. From the Hand to the Machine—Nineteenth-Century American
Paper and Mediums: Technologies, Materials, and Conservation. Ann Arbor, Mich.:
Legacy Press, 2010. xiv, 389p. ISBN 9780979797422. $65.00.
Baker’s book revolves around the innovations occurring in the paper and printing industry in nineteenth-century America, but the scope of the work is actually
broader. Because her chosen time frame is one that involved much change and
development, and because her knowledge is so deep and broad, Baker looks backward in time and discusses the tried and true techniques that were still being used
in early nineteenth-century America and then moves smoothly into the developing
technologies. It is a hefty task, and she pulls it off in a seemingly effortless way,
imparting a surprisingly comprehensive history of papermaking and printing.
In terms of audience, Baker straddles the fine line between being accessible to a
beginner and interesting and informative to a veteran. As a novice in the field of
special collections, I found the book to be a well-written and entertaining introduction to the world of paper and papermaking as well as to the world of printing.
Some of the discussions of chemical processes and reactions were beyond my
ken and interest (and these are exactly what would make the book worthwhile
for someone beyond beginner status), but I found it simple enough to pick up the
basics. My purpose in reading the book was to gain a basic understanding of the
papermaking process and to have a better sense of the types of paper in our collec64
Book Reviews
tion, which includes many nineteenth-century legal books and documents. It filled
that need perfectly.
The book consists of a preface, introduction, nine chapters, six appendices, an incredibly helpful glossary, and a decent index. Baker does what many writers forget
to do: she starts her book by asking and answering a key, initial question—“What
is paper?” Her answer is clear and concise, with a scientific definition and some
historical context. She smartly directs the reader to Appendix A for a discussion of
the “paper-like” supports of papyrus and parchment, so these topics do not distract
from her primary focus on paper.
Chapter 1 offers an overview of the development of the paper industry in America,
from the establishment of the Rittenhouse Mill in Pennsylvania in the early 1690s
to the establishment of the International Paper Company in New York in 1898. It is
interesting foundational material that puts the next three chapters on papermaking
into perspective. Beginning here and continuing throughout the book, Baker often
illustrates her points by citing primary source material. For example, in conjunction with a discussion of the rag shortage facing frontier printers, she offers an
excerpt from an 1850 notice in a Utah newspaper, desperately calling for everyone
to save their rags for a new paper mill (p. 14). Anecdotes such as this illuminate and
humanize what could become dry subject matter.
Chapter 2 details the process of preparing rags and creating pulp. Baker discusses
the retting method, still in use in the early nineteenth century, and then details the
transition to prewashing and cooking to speed up the rag preparation process. The
basics of papermaking by hand and machine are covered in chapter 3. Here again,
Baker makes a smooth transition between discussing the by-hand process and then
addressing the invention of the fourdrinier and cylinder machines in the early to
mid-1800s. A few times during the description of the papermaking process, I had
a hard time visualizing the steps and found it helpful to watch videos on YouTube
(this was also a helpful supplement to Baker’s discussion of printing techniques,
particularly intaglio and lithography). I do not think this is a shortcoming of
Baker’s writing or descriptive abilities; it just is inherently difficult to verbalize an
incredibly physical process, and I am a visual learner. After watching a quick film of
a paper mill that produced handmade paper, I had a much better sense of what the
process looked like and could appreciate the extra detail and insight that I received
from Baker’s text.
Chapter 4 addresses innovations that came about in the nineteenth century. This
includes discussions of bleaching, coating, and sizing paper. It also addresses the
important move to wood as a fiber source, due to the difficulty of obtaining linen
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RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage
and cotton rags. Chapter 5 discusses the characteristics of different types of paper
and identifying factors. The entire book includes figures that help illustrate the
points made in the text, but this chapter in particular has a plethora of black and
white photos (showing many of the subjects in transmitted light) that help the
reader see details in the different types of paper.
Paper takes the backseat to printing, writing, and drawing after this, as the next few
chapters discuss the intricacies of relief printing, intaglio, lithography, and writing
and drawing mediums. The relief, intaglio, and lithography discussions are detailed
and accompanied by many black and white figures embedded in the text. The book
also includes 49 beautiful colored plates, and many of these pertain to the printing chapters. Baker weaves a discussion of paper into these sections by addressing
which supports were most appropriate for specific types of mediums.
The final chapter addresses major conservation considerations. Baker touches on
concerns relating to the paper and the medium, as well as the different types of
considerations that any conservator should take into account. Her main points are
for laypersons to avoid performing any types of conservation treatments, and for
more experienced conservators to remember that doing nothing can sometimes be
better than proceeding with a risky treatment. Appendix F provides a nice supplement to this chapter, including a straightforward list of basic preservation tips.
I would highly recommended this book to anyone interested in the history of
papermaking and printing and particularly to curators and conservators who are
working with paper materials created in the United States during this time frame.
It is a tremendously well-written, well-organized, and well-cited work that will be
a standard reference for me for years to come.—Laurel Davis, JD/MLS, Curator of
Special Collections and Legal Information Librarian & Lecturer in Law, Boston College
Law School.
Freda Matassa. Museum Collections Management: A Handbook. London: Facet Publishing, 2011. 258p. ISBN 978-1-85604-701-2. $110.
Writing from the United Kingdom, Freda Matassa prepared her textbook Museum
Collections Management: A Handbook as a text for museum professionals and students
in British classrooms, yet the clearly laid out information is equally relevant to a
range of different types of cultural heritage institutions outside England. In the
first part of her book, Matassa covers big-picture issues and defines the scope of
collection management, before introducing day-to-day collection management
activities in the second part of the text. Her treatment covers the full scope of
collection management including registrarial responsibilities as well as physical collection care duties.