{"id":7775,"date":"2014-03-20T01:00:53","date_gmt":"2014-03-20T05:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/?p=7775"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:10:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T20:10:32","slug":"conservation-conversations-leafcasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/20\/conservation-conversations-leafcasting\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Leafcasting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DSC03802\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Leafcasting is magic. Well, it at least LOOKS like magic. A not-oft-used conservation method, leafcasting helps to strengthen paper by filling areas of loss with pulp. Experimentation with this treatment began by hand in the 1950s, but was made considerably easier and more efficient with the advent of the leafcasting machine in the following decade.<\/p>\n

There are only a small number of institutions that have leafcasting machines and an even smaller number that use them. At the Northeast Document Conservation Center<\/a>, where I work as an assistant book conservator, we\u2019re lucky enough to have one (on semi-permanent loan from the North Bennet Street School<\/a> \u2013 thanks, Jeff!). Before coming to NEDCC, I had no idea what this machine was or what it did. Kiyoshi Imai, who has been with NEDCC\u2019s book laboratory for over 20 years, is something of an expert on this treatment. He was kind enough to teach me the process (and re-train my brain on the intricacies of arithmetic) and I\u2019ve been somewhat obsessed ever since.<\/p>\n

The leafcaster is essentially a paper-making machine. A document or folio (or multiple folios, as is sometimes the case) with losses is measured to determine the weight and full size dimensions. The areas with losses are measured and subtracted from that. There are a few more math steps in there, but essentially what you come up with is one number \u2013 this is the amount of pulp needed to fill the losses in grams. Leafcasting pulp can be made out of cotton and\/or hemp fiber pulp or handmade paper. It is often necessary to use a combination of both, as one of the issues a conservator is attempting to address in the process is finding a good color match for the object.<\/p>\n

\"DSC03807\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The material that is chosen is blended with water to form a slurry. The object is placed on a sheet of spun polyester (which makes for easier handling and allows water to pass through) in the \u201ccasting area\u201d of the machine and is held down by a screen while water is poured in. The pulp slurry is added to this water, distributed evenly and finally removed from the casting area by a pump located below. The pulp is pulled to the areas in the object with losses. If the conservator has done their job well, the new material will appear even and well matched in thickness and color.<\/p>\n

\"DSC03811\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The cast object is removed from the leafcaster with a second sheet of spun polyester and can be sized on a suction table, which helps to improve the strength of the original object and the adherence of the new cast material to the original material. The object can be dried either in a press or under blankets, depending on the intended result \u2013 drying it in a press can often augment the size, so in the case of casting just a folio or two from a bound volume, it may be best to allow for a slower, more gentle form of drying. If the object is a one-off, it can be slightly faster to dry it in the press.<\/p>\n

\"000002\"<\/a><\/p>\n

While it isn\u2019t the appropriate treatment for all items, leafcasting can be a great option for some. Volumes that have large amounts of insect damage, for instance, often require a huge amount of mending time. Attempting to hand fill losses at that scale is daunting. Because the damage is usually fairly consistent, it is relatively easy to use the same math on large sets of folios. It\u2019s also very likely that the same pulp would be used, so the biggest time commitment is just the initial set up. When an object is well cast, the strength and stability of it is greatly increased. Objects that have been cast are protected against further damage in weak areas and can be handled much more safely. Because it is essentially just handmade paper pasted to the object, it is also reversible.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy enough to create your own losses in sample materials, so if you\u2019ve got access to a leafcaster, try it out!<\/p>\n

\"leafcasting<\/a><\/p>\n

I am currently working with Helen Bailey, Library Fellow for Digital Curation and Preservation at MIT, to develop software that can use digital images of objects with losses to determine the amount of pulp needed and will be leading a leafcasting demonstration and lecture for SUNY Buffalo\u2019s art conservation graduate students this spring. I have also created a user\u2019s manual for the Model 0901 Leafcaster, so if you have any related questions, please feel free to send them my way!\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leafcasting is magic. Well, it at least LOOKS like magic. A not-oft-used conservation method, leafcasting helps to strengthen paper by filling areas of loss with pulp. Experimentation with this treatment began by hand in the 1950s, but was made considerably easier and more efficient with the advent of the leafcasting machine in the following decade. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1353],"tags":[1424,1425,1423,949,1426],"class_list":["post-7775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservation","tag-athena-moore","tag-helen-bailey","tag-leafcaster","tag-north-bennet-street-school","tag-northeast-document-conservation-center"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Btis-21p","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7915,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/01\/conservation-conversations-book-conserva-binder\/","url_meta":{"origin":7775,"position":0},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Book Conserva-Binder","author":"Athena Moore","date":"May 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been asked before whether I consider myself a book conservator or a bookbinder, or whether I consider myself to be one or the other first. While I don't think you need to be both to be either, I find that for me the two are inextricably linked.\u00a0When I started\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conservation"","block_context":{"text":"conservation","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/conservation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/c6d18df0acbb11e397651270abe28de5_8.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/c6d18df0acbb11e397651270abe28de5_8.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/c6d18df0acbb11e397651270abe28de5_8.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/c6d18df0acbb11e397651270abe28de5_8.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7473,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/01\/16\/introducing-a-new-column-conservation-conversations\/","url_meta":{"origin":7775,"position":1},"title":"Introducing a New Column: Conservation Conversations","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"January 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the course of the year, you'll see a collection of posts written by other people. I've wrangled up a few of my friends and colleagues whose work is predominately centered around conservation. Under the title Conservation Conversations, each author will present three posts over two months on a topic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conservation"","block_context":{"text":"conservation","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/conservation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"day2_meanna","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/day2_meanna-1024x438.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/day2_meanna-1024x438.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/day2_meanna-1024x438.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7468,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/01\/16\/conservation-conversation\/","url_meta":{"origin":7775,"position":2},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Lab Coat Daydreams, Part I","author":"Anna Shepard","date":"January 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I feel that I should share a bit of my story and recent background in this first post, in hopes of providing some context for what may follow in the next few weeks. There was a running joke our instructor liked to chide us with, during our training at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "bookbinding"","block_context":{"text":"bookbinding","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/bookbinding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"anna-part1b","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/anna-part1b-1024x381.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/anna-part1b-1024x381.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/anna-part1b-1024x381.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8781,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/15\/conservation-conversations-another-look-at-su-su\/","url_meta":{"origin":7775,"position":3},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Another Look at Su-Su","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"November 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this year, as part of the Conservation Conversations column, Lauren Schott wrote an article on su-su, which highlighted the steps to creating this alternative matter for toning materials as part of the conservation treatment. Also referred to as paper dirt or paper extract, I was first introduced to this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conservation"","block_context":{"text":"conservation","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/conservation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11618,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/15\/upcoming-workshops-june-to-august-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":7775,"position":4},"title":"Upcoming Workshops \/\/ June to August","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"May 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"JUNE: Embroidered Leather Workshop June 16 \u2013 17 (Saturday \u2013 Sunday) 9:00am \u2013 4:00pm Conservation Lab at Texas A&M College Station, TX This workshop is presented by the Lone Star Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers. During this workshop students will create a sampler of stitches suitable for leather.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "workshops"","block_context":{"text":"workshops","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/workshops\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Event-Photography-Flyer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7826,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/10\/conservation-conversations-not-just-what-but-why\/","url_meta":{"origin":7775,"position":5},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Not Just What, But Why","author":"Athena Moore","date":"April 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In conservation, there are an endless number of questions to ask oneself on a daily basis. Is this binding contemporary with the text? Should I size this paper? How am I going to reback this mess? 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