Giving Tuesday
This Giving Tuesday, National Sporting Library & Museum is asking you to help us raise funds to conserve some of our “well-loved” rare books! Our goal is to raise $5,000, which will pay for the restoration of up to 10 rare books!
What is rare book restoration?
Rare book restoration is the careful repair and stabilization of old or damaged books to preserve their physical structure and historical value. Conservators clean pages, mend tears, reinforce bindings, and address issues like acidity or mold. At the NSLM, we ask conservators to use minimally invasive techniques to protect the book for future use without altering its original character.
Why is rare book restoration important?
Preserving rare books is an important responsibility for research libraries. For most of their history (from about 1450 to 1820), books were printed and bound individually by hand, often according to the specifications of the person who purchased the book. An old book includes information about the people who created, owned, and read it, as well as its significance to their intellectual development, and the knowledge they sought to preserve and convey. This makes each book both a work of art, and a practical device for transmitting information across centuries.
As generations of readers handle these objects, they start to show the wear and tear of being functional artifacts. Restoring a book enables us to preserve these characteristics so that people may continue to learn from them; both the information they contain as well as the social and cultural history they convey.
See the impact of your gift!
Each book has unique restoration needs. We recently restored The Iliad by Homer, edited by Samuel Clarke (London, 1824) from our collection…
This 19th century book belonged to George Melville-Whyte, a Scottish novelist and poet much concerned with field sports. His signature and “March 27th, 1833" appear on the inside front and back cover. In 1833, Melville-Whyte was 12 years old, and much like a schoolboy of today, he sketched extensively in his textbook. His pen and ink hunting scenes can be found on more than 70 pages of this rare book giving it unique character.
Your gift will have a profound impact on our rare collection of books to be enjoyed by many, for years to come. We have many more rare books patiently waiting for their turn. Will you help us restore them to their full beauty?