Group blog
The Traveling Scriptorium is a teaching kit, created by Yale University conservators and curators, to support the study of the medieval and early modern book as material artifact.
The kit contains samples of the materials and components of early and early modern books, to be used in hands-on exercises by Yale students, faculty, and staff. The Traveling Scriptorium travels to classrooms across the Yale campus, and can be reserved through the Yale University Library Special Collections Conservation department.
Species Identification of Animal Skins in Books & Manuscripts
2 July 2019
Throughout history, animal pelts have been used in the production of books and manuscripts. To learn more about how conservators identify the species of animal skins used in the making...
14 January 2019
Nice little video about the craft of making gold leaf by hand in France in the late 60s. https://www.ina.fr/video/CPF10005083
How Lapis Lazuli is Ground and Purified
18 August 2014
Image: http://mineralminers.com/html/laplrgh.stm For those of you who would like to see how lapis lazuli is ground and purified according to the recipe found in Cennino Cennini’s...
Bookbinding Terms, Materials, Methods and Models
17 July 2013
A PDF version of the booklet on bookbinding included in the Traveling Scriptorium kit is now online. It contains sections on materials of Medieval bookbinding; terminology; Carolingian,...