Cambridge

Just back from a day in Cambridge where I visited three teams of crack conservators, based at the Colleges Conservation Consortium, the Fitzwilliam Museum and the University Library. All were very generous with their time. It was interesting to see the studios and the fabulous books on which the teams are working. Rather salutary to learn how much work is required to correct poor binding done in the past, some from as recently as the 1950s; books with spines so rigid they will scarcely open wide enough to slip in a finger, let alone read; edges ruthlessly trimmed and so on.