Interview with George Martin Cunha, February 26, 1991

Partial Transcript: --George Martin Cunha by Karen Ellenburg on Tuesday the 26th of February 1991, taking place in--(inaudible)--Gallery at the University of Kentucky Library.

Segment Synopsis: Cunha introduces himself and his background as a U.S. Navy veteran. He also provides what started his interest in the quality of paper over time, and where he got his ideas for conservation.

Keywords: Brown University; Chemistry; Dan Noltan; England; Hobbies; Navy; Navy history; Rhode Island; U.S. Naval War College

Subjects: Book collecting.; Chemistry; Conservation and restoration; Naval War College (U.S.); Paper; Rare books.; Rhode Island

Partial Transcript: Now what years were you in England?

Segment Synopsis: In this segment, Cunha discusses the program in which he swapped assignments with a Royal Navy member. He discusses his hunt for a job upon his return that would allow him to pursue his passion for conservation, finally ending up at the Boston Athenaeum.

Keywords: 1949-1951; Book stability; Boston Athenaeum; Boston Athenæum; Chemistry; Harvard Libraries; Huntington Library; Libraries; Newberry Library; Royal Navy Exchange Program; U.S. Navy

Subjects: Boston Athenaeum; Conservation and restoration; Harvard Library; Libraries; Military exchanges; Paper; Rare books.; United States. Navy.

Partial Transcript: And I went up and met the director Walter Whitehill--Dr. Whitehill, a very distinguished historian.

Segment Synopsis: Cunha arrived at the Boston Athenaeum and met Dr. Walter Whitehill. Whitehill, like Cunha, was a retired Navy veteran. He also offered Cunha a job preserving George Washington’s collection.

Keywords: Boston Athenaeum; Boston Athenæum; Chief of Naval Operations; Condition of books; Damage; Dr. Walter Whitehill; Dr. Whitehill; George Washington's Library; WWII; Washington's Library; World War 2; World War II

Subjects: Book collecting.; Chemistry; Conservation and restoration; Historians; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.; Washington, George, 1732-1799.; Whitehill, Walter Muir, 1905-1978.; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: That’s an interesting story because of how they got to Boston. You’d think that they’d be at Mount Vernon where all the other things are.

Segment Synopsis: Cunha discusses how the books traveled from George Washington’s nephew's care to Boston. He talks about how, during transit, the Boston Athenaeum purchased the books from the nephew for $5,000 before they left for England. He also describes how he took care of the books and learned new techniques for conservation.

Keywords: Bad handling; Boston Athenaeum; Boston Athenæum; Bushrod Washington; Climate; Conservation; General Washington; Nephews; Sotheby’s Auction House

Subjects: Auction houses; Book collecting.; Boston (Mass.); Chemistry; Climate; Conservation and restoration; Historians; Mount Vernon (Va.); Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.; Washington, Bushrod, 1762-1829.; Washington, George, 1732-1799.

Partial Transcript: And the nucleus of its collections was the Boston library which was established in 1767.

Segment Synopsis: Cunha provides insight into the history of the Boston Athenaeum, as well as how researchers are able to use the Boston Athenaeum. Cunha told Whitehill that the books were in a terrible state of disrepair.

Keywords: Boston Athenaeum; Boston Athenæum; Boston Library; Condition; Disrepair; Dr. Walter Whitehill; Membership; Repair & renovate; Simple repairs

Subjects: Book collecting.; Conservation and restoration; Historians; History; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.

Partial Transcript: I said, "I'm gonna take a lot of travel. I'm gonna find out what's going on in other parts of the country and other parts of the world."

Segment Synopsis: Cunha traveled to Europe to meet others working on conservation efforts. While in Germany, he discovered that a college in Ohio was working on preserving things such as paintings and other material from museums.

Keywords: Anthony Warner; Archives; Book pathology; Britain; British libraries; Climate; Climate control; Conservators; Europe; Francais Fledare; France; Germany; Italy; Light storage; Preservation; Salsburgh (Scotland); Security; Spain; Travel

Subjects: Archives; Book collecting.; British Library; Chemistry; Conservation and restoration; France; Germany; Historians; Italy; Ohio; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.; Spain; Warner, Anthony

Partial Transcript: We wrote up a proposal for the trustees of the Boston Athenaeum to set up a cooperative, uh, conservation effort that would incorporate all of the libraries in the Boston area.

Segment Synopsis: Cunha and the people at the Ohio college combined their work to develop ideas for conservation in both books and art. He discussed cooperative conservation with Rockwell Parter, who gave him a job at a conservation center.

Keywords: April 1, 1973; Connecticut State Library; Conservation; Conservation efforts; Cooperative conservation; New England Document Conservation Center; Rockwell Parter; Treatment of books

Subjects: Book Preservation Associates; Book collecting.; Chemistry; Connecticut State Library; Conservation and restoration; Historians; Northeast Document Conservation Center; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.

Partial Transcript: The first, uh, the first home for the conservation center was in the basement of my home in Topsfield, Massachusetts because it, it was just a name.

Segment Synopsis: Cunha describes where the Conservation Center started and how it evolved from a six person operation to a sixty-five person operation and moved through four different buildings.

Keywords: Adellbrook; Andover Academy; Book binding; Paper repair; Rehabilitated textile mills; Tom Lennit

Subjects: Abbot Academy; Abbot Hall; Book collecting.; Chemistry; Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts; Conservation and restoration; Historians; Merrimack Valley Textile Museum; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.

Partial Transcript: You asked me a question, how long did I work at the Athenaeum and that's rather a long-winded answer but, uh--

Segment Synopsis: Cunha describes many of the people he worked with, such as Harold Trivilay who worked at Lakeside Press, and tells of many people around the U.S. who worked in bookbinding and conservation of books who have shown themselves to be quite exceptional at what they do.

Keywords: American Institute for Conservation (AIC); Bill Marshall; Bindery; Binding problems; Bob Patterson; Book care; Conservation Administration News; Harold Trivilay; Howard Wall; Lakeside Press; Libraries; Mass treatment; Massachusetts State Library; Oklahoma State Archives; Peggy Lecky; Pretty Book Binders; Special collections librarians; University of California

Subjects: American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works; Book collecting.; Boston (Mass.).; Chemistry; Conservation and restoration; Historians; Oklahoma library association; Oklahoma.; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.; State Library of Massachusetts

Partial Transcript: But uh, conservation is more than the physical care of the, uh, of the, uh, books as objects or collections of books or something like that.

Segment Synopsis: Cunha discusses how people who hired conservators were not qualified due to them not having a background in library conservation, which includes women during WWII trying to find jobs and starting to help out libraries for extra financial gain, and women he worked with afterwards.

[During this segment there is a 15 second cut of recording from 43:07 to 43:22.]

Keywords: Arnold Warner; Carolyn Horton; Conservation; Conservators; Harold Trivilay; Harvard University; Pitch Field; WWII; Women book binders; Women during World War II; World War; World War 2; World War II; Yale University

Subjects: Book collecting.; Chemistry; Conservation and restoration; Conservationists; Harvard University; Historians; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.; Women--Employment.; World War, 1939-1945; Yale University

Partial Transcript: I don’t think many people were thinking about cooperative conservation and I’m vain enough to think that...

Segment Synopsis: Cunha describes why books are valuable, stating that the information of a book is more important to preserve than the binding itself. He continues to describe the issues that led books in libraries to deteriorate, alongside other ways to slow or solve the deterioration.

Keywords: Air conditioning; Cooperative conservation; Environment; Fluorescent lighting; Information; Mass treatment; Preservation; Stable; Sunlight; Theft; Treatment; Value

Subjects: Book collecting.; Books; Chemistry; Conservation and restoration; Historians; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.; Vandalism

Partial Transcript: Bill, is w--I think more than anybody else has showed the way in the, in the, in the--this problem of acid hydrolysis--of, of solving the problem of acid hydrolysis of books.

Segment Synopsis: Cunha visited Bill Barrow to learn about acid hydrolysis and Barrow’s research into how to stop it. Cunha discusses how the SD Warren Paper Company found “lime mud,” a byproduct of paper deterioration, and ways that it was used to further conservation efforts.

Keywords: Acid; Acid hydrolysis; Barrow Research Laboratory; Bill Barrow; Calcium; Chemistry; Dr. Walter Whitehill; George Washington's Library; Lime mud; Making paper; Moonlighting; SD Warren Paper Company; Utilitarian; Virginia State Library; Washington's Library

Subjects: Book collecting.; Calcium; Chemistry; Conservation and restoration; Historians; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.; Utilitarianism; Virginia State Library; Washington, George, 1732-1799.; Whitehill, Walter Muir, 1905-1978.

Partial Transcript: Barrow was, uh, uh, he was a fascinating person and Dorothy and I have visited him many times.

Segment Synopsis: Cunha discusses the process of treating books within aqueous deacidification and proceeds to discuss how Richard Smith developed the non-aqueous process that would succeed in the issue of non-mass treatment with aqueous processes.

Keywords: Aqueous; Aqueous deacidification; Distortion; Dr. Richard Smith; Industrial chemistry; Magnesium carbonate; Mass treatment; National Archives; Non-aqueous deacidification; Paper; University of Chicago

Subjects: Book collecting.; Chemistry; Conservation and restoration; Historians; Industrial chemistry; Magnesium carbonate; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.; University of Chicago

Partial Transcript: --(coughs)--When Fraser Pool was--(coughs)--chief of the research laboratory at the Library of Congress, he authorized a study in the condition of books in the Library of Congress.

Segment Synopsis: Cunha discusses how the Library of Congress made their own process of deacidification after Smith developed his method. The two were compared and showed that the Library of Congress’ decision to make their own method instead of helping with Smith’s design was a waste of time and money.

Keywords: 1973; 2000; Acid hydrolysis; Congress; Diethylzinc; Fraser Pool; Library of Congress; Mass deacidification; Smith Process; Stabilization

Subjects: Book collecting.; Chemistry; Conservation and restoration; Historians; Library of Congress; Paper; Paper--Preservation; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.; Research

Partial Transcript: Now with, um--I know a lot of publishers are going to u--are now using paper that's made with an alkaline base so that's another solution to the problem, obviously.

Segment Synopsis: Cunha discusses the economical impact of the alkaline process and how making paper cheaper is better for the future of paper. He also talks about the reasons why the printing companies choose to use this method rather than a process that would use more money and time but produce a higher quality product.

Keywords: Alkaline; Alkaline acids; Alkaline base; Alkaline paper; Alkaline process; Cheaper; Forceful quality; Universal paper

Subjects: Alkaline Papermaking Seminar (1985 : Denver, Colo.); Book collecting.; Chemistry; Conservation and restoration; Economics; Historians; Money; Paper; Paper--Printing properties.; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.

Partial Transcript: So that's gonna solve the problem for you librarians for books printed from now on out, but what are you going to do with these hundreds of millions of books that are on library shelves today...

Segment Synopsis: Cunha compares handmade paper to machine-made paper and how even though handmade paper is great, the machine-made paper has evolved to the same level for cheaper.

Keywords: Chinese; Clark’s; Handmade paper; Machines; Microfilm; Older books; Present paper making; Quality; Twin Rocker; Vanity

Subjects: Book collecting.; Chemistry; Chinese paper; Conservation and restoration; Handmade style; Historians; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.; Techniques and methods

Partial Transcript: Did you ever go to Brookston, Indiana, to Twin Rocker Press?

Segment Synopsis: Cunha tells of how he met a man who was a spice merchant who practices marble paper making. This man then took them to meet the paper maker of the last Sultan of Egypt.

Keywords: Brookston, Indiana; Concierge; Egypt; Indiana; Istanbul; Marble paper; Marbling batch; Turkey; Uniform paper

Subjects: Arts; Book collecting.; Brookston (Ind.); Chemistry; Conservation and restoration; Egypt.; Historians; Merchants.; Paper; Preservation and restoration; Rare books.