A Conversation about Catesby’s Natural History with a Winterthur Conservation Student

Abstract

INTERTHUR PORTFOLIO staff members Gretchen Von Koenig and Amy Earls sat down with Katarina Stiller, a graduate stuW dent in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, as she examined the two Catesby volumes in Winterthur Library’s collection for the first time. Kat is an Andrew W. Mellon graduate fellow for library and archives conservation minoring in paper conservation. Library conservation includes the conservation of materials typically found in library and archival settings, including books, maps, historical documents, and photo albums. We chatted with her about how a conservator approaches natural history volumes like Catesby’s, as well as what conservation insights can bring to understanding this particular pair. As a conservation student, what is your process when approaching objects like the Catesby volumes? First of all, I want to make sure that I’m fully focused on the object before me so that I can work with intention and handle the object with care. I’m making sure that I’m prepared to handle and assess objects and that I have a safe, clean space to do so carefully. I have book cradles available to support the books when opened (fig. 1). I do not have any dangling jewelry, keys, pens, or other things that could catch on, damage, or stain the object in any way. My hands are very clean, and I move them carefully. I know there’s a misconception that conservators always use gloves when they handle books. But most of the time, clean, careful hands are better for handling paper because I then have more sensitivity to feel what I’m doing. Nitrile gloves are sometimes used, but in that case it’s to protect the person from the object, such as with handling an arsenic greenVictorian cloth binding. Or if the person is particularly