27/01/2008

Manuel du tanneur... par Julia de Fontenelle (1833)

Julia de Fontenelle, J. S. E.; Manuel du tanneur, corroyeur, de l'hongroyeur et du boyaudier, 2éme édition, La Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, Paris (1833)
GoogleBooks 
Texto não disponível


An English version of this book, with additions by Morfit, dated from 1852 can be found at:
 http://www.archive.org/details/artsoftanningcur00julirich
(Or for more details please see post dated from 28/11/2007)

23/01/2008

Handbook for saddle and harness makers (1932)

Handbook for saddle and harness makers, textile refitters and coach-trimmers and upholsterers, McCarron, Bird & Co, Melbourne (1932, amended 1941)

Table of contents:

1. Saddlery.
2. Harness.

3. Packsaddlery.

4. Miscellaneous articles.

5. Repairs generally.
6. Fitting of harness and saddlery.

7. Care and preservation of saddlery.

8. Saddlers' materials, leathers and skins.

9. Notes for the guidance of textile refitters.

10. Notes for the guidance of coach trimmers and upholsterers.

Available from:http://www.militaryhorse.org/upsaddle/manuals.htm

17/01/2008

"Sections of mummy: histological investigation" by Currie (2006)

One more example of (skin) mummy’s scientific study:

Currie, K.; " Sections of mummy: histological investigation of ancient Egyptian remains", The Biomedical Scientist, April 2006, pp. 328-331

Egyptian Mummies and Modern Science (2008)

It will be available very soon....

David, Rosalie Ann (ed.);
Egyptian mummies and modern science, Cambridge University Press (2008)
Hardback available from March 2008 (ISBN-13: 9780521865791)

Table of contents
Excerpt (10 pages)
Description (from the book): Egyptian mummies have always aroused popular and scientific interest; however, most modern studies, although significantly increased in number and range, have been published in specialist journals. Now, this unique book, written by a long-established team of scientists, brings this exciting, cross-disciplinary area of research to a wider readership. It shows how this team's multidisciplinary, investigative methods and the unique resource of the Egyptian Mummy Tissue Bank are being used for the new major international investigations of disease evolution and ancient Egyptian pharmacy and pharmacology. It also assesses the current status of palaeopathology and ancient DNA research, and treatments available for conserving mummified remains. Descriptions of the historical development of Egyptian mummifications and medicine and detailed references to previous scientific investigations provide the context for firsthand accounts of cutting-edge research by prominent specialists in this field, demonstrating how these techniques can contribute to a new perspective on Egyptology.

"Studying skin of an Egyptian mummy by infrared microscopy" by Cotte at al (2005)

Cotte, M.; Walter, P.; Tsoucaris, G.; Dumas, P.; "Studying skin of an Egyptian mummy by infrared microscopy", Vibrational Spectroscopy 38, Issues 1-2, (2005) 159-167
doi:10.1016/j.vibspec.2005.02.024 (Restricted access)

Abstract:
The state of conservation/degradation of mummy human remains, can be inferred from their biochemical composition, as well as the secondary structures of proteins. Infrared microscopy is a very appropriate technique for addressing such issues. In this study, skin leg of an Egyptian mummy, was collected and prepared by microtomy, and was analysed using an infrared imager (Spectrum™ Spotlight) and using synchrotron infrared microscopy. Complementary analyses at both large scale and size close to the diffraction limit help tremendously for understanding the state of degradation. The external layer of mummy skin appears to be more preserved as evidenced by the presence of characteristic biological vibrational features (in particular amide bands) in spectra collected within this region. Adipocere and calcium oxalate are the main degradation products identified in the mummy skin. The origin of the degradation process is not yet fully understood.

15/01/2008

Making Egyptian mummies



Egyptian mummies are human (or other animal) bodies that have been preserved after death. In an audio slide show, Egyptologist Salima Ikram describes the steps of a "classic" mummification like those performed on 18th-Dynasty Pharaohs.
URL 

And for those interested in Egyptian mummies...The University of Chicago Library website offers high-resolution scans from a 1912 catalogue of the Cairo Museum's Royal Mummy collection. The publication offers striking photographs of each mummy, accompanied by detailed accounts of their physical condition.The catalogue is:
Smith, G. Elliot; Catalogue General Antiquites Egyptiennes du Musee du Caire: The Royal Mummies, Le Caire : Imprimerie de L'institut Francais D'archeologie Orientale, 1912, Catalogue General Antiquites Egyptiennes du Musee du Caire, DT57.C2 vol 59
URL

10/01/2008

Leather and bookbinding conservation by BnF (Bibliothèque Nationale de France)

The National Library of France (BnF, Bibliothèque Nationale de France) has available online different leaflets (in French) related to leather/parchment/bookbinding conservation. The titles are:

L'entretien du cuir, par Valérie Godeaux


La reliure de conservation, par Alice Robin


Le traitement de conservation des reliures anciennes en cuir effectué avec du papier japonais, par Sébastien Durand, Marc Gacquière


Le traitement de conservation des reliures anciennes en cuir effectué avec du cuir, par Marie-Christine Geffard, Thierry Aubry


I would like to thank Céline Bonnot-Diconne for sharing this information.

02/01/2008

"The history and biology of parchment" by Fuchs (2004)

Fuchs, R.; "The history and biology of parchment", Karger Gazette 67 (2004) 13-16
URL / PDF