Volume 13, Number 7
Nov 1989

Products & Services

For Sale by Owner

Frank Regan of Palatine, IL (312/359-1333) has two pieces of equipment for sale: a 24" Latham job backer and a large standing press, 16" x 24" with a 21" screw and a 30" opening, complete with pressing boards. $600 apiece or $1000 for the pair, buyer arrange transportation.

Services

• Northern Archival Copy (4730 Lorinda Dr., Shoreview, MN 55126, 612/483-9346) specializes in photocopying brittle books. Write for information. Prices very good; binding service available.
• Research Publications offers a range of services for microfilming, including assistance with selection of documents to be preserved and preparation of bibliographic access tools, in addition to filming and storage. Their brochure says they know how to meet preservation standards. Address: 12 Lunar Dr., Drawer AB, Woodbridge, CT 06515 (203/ 397-2600, 800/444-0799).

For Book Conservation & Binding

• Christie Peterson reports in the WAAC Newsletter that a quick method of making sand bags to support an object being worked on is to fill Ziploc bags with sand. To keep grains of sand from getting on the work area, she advises doubling the bag.
• In the same issue (Sept.), a low-tech answer to the problem of water in the air lines is given: a $58 device that holds a roll of toilet paper. When the device is put on an air line, moisture is absorbed by the tissue as air passes through--"a perfect triumph of the obvious over the ridiculously expensive," in the words of John Griswold, who reported it. The device is the Motorguard M20, which is found at most automotive paint supply outlets.
• Polypropylene has certain advantages over board for boxes. The Queensland State Archives tested them and found that they were as good or better on durability and inertness though they did tend to split at the sides when dropped and there was some concern over humidity inside the boxes. (See AICCM Newsletter, Dec. 1988). The U.S. supplier of Coroplast (the trade name of a sort on the market) is Coroplast Inc., 3025 Skyway Circle N., Irving, TX 75062 (800/435-2241). The March 1987 IIC-CG Newsletter had an article by Carl Schlichting on construction of Coroplast boxes. And the Post Office seems to be switching from the old corrugated cardboard mail trays to Coroplast or some form of polypropylene.
• Philip Smith is collecting orders for his single-post metal sewing frame, a simplification of his original one, developed in the 1960s. He says it is easy to set up and disassemble, and that it fits into a mailing tube. It comes in two sizes: 24" and 18", which are �100 ($157) and 92 ($144) respectively, plus postage. Multiple orders negotiated. More information on sheet available from the office on request, with SASE.

  

  Single-post sewing-frame to clamp on edge of bench or table, zinc-plated. Copyright Philip Smith

• The Binders' Guild Newsletter covered two topics in the last year in its usually thorough way: self-sharpening knives and genuine gold foil, in the September 1988 and June 1988 issues respectively. The self-sharpening knives are no good for bookbinding, because they are essentially little saws and have to be used like saws. In fact, they are unsharpenable. Gold foil is hard to get any more, but Editor Jim Dorsey did find a medium gold from Kurz-Hastings that he liked very much. Call Kurz-Hastings at 800/333-2309 and ask for Mary McClosky.
• Two favorite board shears of American bookbinders and book conservators are the Schimanek and the Jacques. The older Jacques are said to be butter than those currently produced. Jacques has been taken over by L. Hardy Co., Worcester, MA (508/756-1511).
• Two leafcasting machines are produced in the Netherlands. One was designed by Peter Vlasveld, of the city archives of Amsterdam, costs about $6000, and is pictured in the catalog of Croon Reprografische Industrie, Industrieweg 38, P0 Box 151, 3640 AD Mijdrecht, the Netherlands. It works without a vacuum machine and recirculates the water. (The catalog is in English.) The other is described all in Dutch in a piece of typed literature, except for the headings, which were kindly translated by Jonna Cohen, who sent both of these descriptions in. This one costs about $2000 and appears to have a vacuum pump. The work area is 50 x 60 cm; like the other one, it is on casters. It is called simply "Aanvezelapparaat" (leafcaster). For information write Jansen-Wijsmuller & Beuns B.V., Postbus 166, 1530 AD Wormer, Holland.
• The Portable Rolling Creaser, designed by Nicholas Pickwoad, is for creasing board for card wrappers, phase boxes, or display cradles. Two stops help in making right-angle creases. For thinner boards, the plates can be adjusted and a smaller wheel used. 27". �345 + 15% tax (about $622). Write for information sheet: Dr. Nicholas Pickwoad, Foxford Equipment, River Farm, Great Witchingham, Norwich NR9 5NA, England.

  

Preservation Supplies & Equipment

• CCI can send assembly instructions for a $20 "Hygrothermograph Alarm Switch" that requires no power but will trigger most alarm systems. Write CCI, 1030 Innes Rd., Ottawa, Oct. KlA 0C8, Canada.
• Demco is advertising PVC print protectors in the archival section of its catalog. They ought to know better.
• Recon (TM) insect survey traps were developed for use in cultural institutions. Write Museum Services Corp., 4216 Howard Ave. (Upper Level), Kensington, MD 20895-2418 (301/ 564-1225).
• CCI also has a slide rule that will help with the arithmetic of calculating how long you can allow an object to remain on display before unacceptable damage occurs from light. The front gives the relation between the time exposure and the intensity of light exposure for an object, and displays the light dosage in Megalux hours, and relates this dosage to the amount of damage that will take place on the Blue Wool Scale. The back of the slide rule contains information on a number of frequently used incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, and predicts their intensities and various distances and orientations. $20 Canadian.