Author/Photographer Emma Guerard, Conservation Assistant

Posted by Chela Metzger, Head, Library Conservation Center

The UCLA libraries have a fairly extensive graphic literature collection, much of which is available to browse and borrow in Powell Library. Many of these titles enjoy a good deal of popularity, and as a result of frequent handling, may be damaged in a way that necessitates intervention by the conservation lab. One of these items came to the lab this summer that shows how graphic material may present unique preservation challenges.

Caption: Sandman by Neil Gaiman

This book is the second of five in the Absolute Sandman edition printed by DC Comics from 2006 to 2011. Powell Library currently holds the entire series, which comprise the main Sandman story line and some extra materials such as interviews and alternate cover illustrations. There are several different printings of Sandman available, but the Absolute edition is distinguished by its oversized, clay-coated, color-printed pages in a binding that emulates that of an older, leather-bound book. The second volume was sent to the conservation lab because the thick layer of adhesive that had served as the spine support of the book had come away from the pages, and the endpaper, which attached the text to the cover, had torn in the front. This left the pages and case of the book, then, attached only by an endpaper in the back. Unprotected, the book’s sewing was coming undone and some pages were hanging (as it were) by a thread.

Caption: Absolute Sandman, before treatment.

The condition of the case was also in a state of deterioration. The faux leather covering the case is very soft, and was wearing away on the corners and tearing along the opening The main priority for treatment of this volume was securing the loose pages, since they bear both text and graphic information that comprise the book’s content, and reconstructing the spine support that had fallen away. The loose pages could be addressed by reinforcing the areas where they’d torn and repairing the sewing. The text block, meanwhile, is very heavy, so the spine and case need to be both strong and flexible enough to move with the weighty pages when the book is opened. If this were a rare book, the text block could be removed from the case, repaired, and reattached to all original material, including the end papers. The advantage of this would be that very little of the book would be altered or lost. While this is an excellent option for a rare book, it is very labor-intensive, and does not leave much opportunity to add strength to the book, which a book of this size and amount of use needs.

caption: The date due slip shows frequent use of the item.

Conversely, the book could be sent to the library bindery, which re-binds a great deal of material for the libraries. The re-bindings done by the bindery can be done quickly and are very stable, so this is the best option to return a circulating item back to a state of safe use as fast as is possible. The original case, however, would be discarded, and the bindery may have to remove part of the gutter in order to create a new adhesive spine support.

caption: Absolute Watchmen, a similar edition from DC Comics that was re-bound by the library bindery.

Considering these treatment strategies, the role the decorative cover plays comes into question. For a graphic novel, the meaning of the text is not only conveyed through printed words, but through visual information, as well. In the case of this book, it was clear the gutter shouldn’t be trimmed, as many of the pages had illustrative elements that extended beyond the comic frames. Further, it seemed that information was extended beyond the contents of the text block by the design of the cover. Sandman is essentially a serialized superhero story, but uses religious and historic mythology for its background, and the publisher’s design of the cover helps not only explain what the text is, but interacts with the illustrations inside, as well. The book is also part of a series--each of the five volumes has the same black “leather” cover, with individualized stamping and color plates--and altering the cover too much would interrupt the volumes’ relation to each other in the collection. A treatment strategy was developed that would add strength for continuous circulation, but preserve the appearance of the original case: a new case would be constructed with stronger materials that would visually integrate original covering material. The original case was trimmed along the damaged edges, allowing the faux leather cover to be peeled away from the boards and trimmed to fit the new case. The once the torn pages were mended and resewn, and the textblock spine lining recreated (using multiple, thinner layers of adhesive and paper, in contrast to the single thick layer that had failed). Finally the block could be reattached to the new case.

caption: Removing the case material from the original boards.

The final result is something in between a library binding and the original case--the new boards are covered in a black textile which, though not a perfect match for the faux leather, is visually sympathetic and should resist wearing away at the corners better than the old cover did.

caption: Absolute Sandman, after treatment.

Inside the case, the text block opens at a comfortable angle and the loose pages are now secure. A few small tears in the text were also repaired. This treatment was ultimately labor-intensive, but met the treatment goals: it is stabilized for regular circulation, no graphic information in the text was lost, and the original covering material still has an aesthetic relationship to the reading of the text. Still, this treatment brings up questions as to how graphic literature will continue to be preserved. The color ink on Sandman’s pages, for example, is beginning to offset, an issue that cannot be addressed efficiently for circulation materials. Graphic novels are a fairly new medium with unique qualities, and the prospect of developing a treatment approach for a medium that is both highly interactive and highly graphic is an exciting one.