Board Attachment and General Repairs
Journal of the Convention for Framing a Constitution of Government for the State of Massachusetts Bay: from the Commencement of their First Session, September 1, 1779, to the Close of their Last Session, June 16, 1780: Including a List of the Members. Boston: Dutton and Wentworth, printers to the state, 1832.
The text records a nine month legislative session in 1779 and 1780 regarding the establishment of a constitution for the new state of Massachusetts. According to the title page, it was published following a resolution in March 1832 to print the journals of the “convention of 1780.” On the front flyleaf, there is a handwritten inscription, Samuel Adams Wells, possibly a prior owner.
Brief Summary of Conservation Treatment
Conserved by: Laura Bedford Length of Treatment: 7.6 Hours
The binding is a full leather, tight joint, tight back structure in boards with a maroon colored leather gold tooled onlay spine title piece. The front board was tenuously attached by a single fraying sewing support, and the back board showed significant leather splitting along half of the joint which undermined its connection to the textblock. The front endsheet was completely detached from the text block and in significant danger of splitting in two along the torn center crease. Both front and back boards had been blind tooled.
Ms. Bedford removed the front board and mended the torn flyleaf. She then tipped in the detached single leaf. After lifting the front board spine edge to accommodate long fiber paper to be used for board attachment, she toned the paper to match the leather using acrylic paint. A sharp needle produced the irregular tears needed to match the areas of loss along the spine. Next the front board was reattached, and the front inner hinge was reinforced with long fiber paper. She then infilled the rear exterior joint, toned the various repairs, and attached the flyleaf to the spine edge.
For more information see the full Conservation Treatment Report