The Barrow Books Collection: Characterization and Access
Background: The Barrow Books Collection is comprised of 1000 books from the period of 1507-1899 that William James Barrow (1904-1967) used in a series of scientific studies on the degradation of paper. The research was funded by the Council on Library Resources and conducted at the W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory at the Virginia Historical Society during 1963-1965. The studies involved performing analyses of book leaves including fiber analysis; physical testing for fold endurance and tear resistance; chemical testing for pH (cold extraction); chemical spot testing for aluminum, rosin, and ground wood; and chemical testing for the presence of carbonates.
Results from the research were published posthumously in two reports entitled Permanence/Durability of the Book (V and VII). The work was significant because it demonstrated clearly for librarians, archivists, and paper conservators what had been well known in the chemical, pulp and paper, and historical literature regarding the negative impact of acidity on the longevity of paper. Barrow's data clearly show that over the centuries from 1500-1900, the increasing use of alum and rosin sizing, and the concomitant decreasing levels of carbonates (alkaline reserve), caused the pH of 100% rag (linen) paper to decrease (become more acidic), which resulted in significant reductions in paper strength. The use of wood for making paper occurred in the early 1840s, and wood cellulose inherently becomes more brittle faster than linen cellulose. However, Barrow's data for wood vs. rag papers produced during the 16th-early 20th centuries show that acidity overwhelmingly determines the strength of the papers, not the quantity of wood present.
Project Description:The Barrow Book Collection was donated to the Preservation Directorate in the 1970s. When the original Barrow research was conducted, the analytical chemical methodology available for the studies was limited. However, new 21st century analytical instrumentation and methodologies for elucidating the chemistry of paper degradation can be applied to samples from the Collection, which should significantly advance our current understanding of the detailed mechanisms behind paper degradation.
Contributing Studies:
Roggia, S. William James Barrow: A Biographical Study of His Formative Years and His Role in the History of Library and Archives Conservation From 1931 to 1941, PhD Dissertation, Columbia University, 1999. http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/roggia/barrow/index.html#abstract
Permanence/Durability of the Book—V: Strength and Other Characteristics of Book Papers 1800-1899. W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory, Richmond, VA, 1967.
Permanence/Durability of the Book—VII. Physical and Chemical Properties of Book Papers, 1507-1949. W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory, Richmond, VA, 1974.
Support: Library of Congress Preservation Directorate
Acknowledgements: Frazer Glendon Poole (1915-1999), former Preservation Officer of the Preservation Office (now the Preservation Directorate), was instrumental in securing this collection for the Library.
Update and Images: A comprehensive database has been prepared that contains all the original data from Barrow's work, which can be sorted and statistically analyzed.