Brown University Library is pleased to announce that the rare Primera Parte of the Historia de la villa imperial de Potosi has undergone treatment at the New England Document Conservation Center, and a digital version is now available in the Brown Digital Repository (BDR), as part of the Latin American Travelogues collection.
Prior to treatment, the leather binding was degraded and the boards were detached. The pages of the manuscript were soiled and many were torn, especially along the edges. The paper was heavily stained and marks in ink and pencil appeared throughout the text. Once the volume was collated and disbound, the pages were washed in a solution of ethanol and filtered water, and sized with gelatin. The fly leaves were deacidified, tears were mended with Japanese kozo paper and wheat starch paste. After digitization, the volume was sewn on linen cords with linen thread, bound in goat leather, and housed in a drop-spine box.
Treatment photos courtesy of NEDCC.
Text adapted from Robin Wheelwright Ness, Curio, Historia de la villa imperial de Potosí.