Email huffordBryan Bible (E. Lingle Craig Preservation Laboratory)
|
| |
|
This article appeared in the Fall, 2003 issue of the IU Libraries newsletter, "The Source" | |
|
Used with great reverence in the swearing-in ceremonies of IU trustees, the Bible of William Lowe bryan, IU President from 1902 to 1937, was beginning to show its age. Its tattered leather cover and torn pages were, well, unbecoming of such a historic and valued university artifact. | |
 |
A specially made box protects former IU President William Lowe Bryan's Bible. Its inside cover houses a storage envelope for Bryan's handwritten notes, apparently created in preparation for a sermon. Conservationists mended and encapsulated the notes as part of the restoration. |
|
Conservationists in the E. Lingle Craig Preservation Laboratory rescued the Bible by rebuilding its hinge, mending light tears in its pages, and reinforcing part of its leather cover. The replacement leather, dyed and textured to match, is virtually impossible to distinguish from the original. A specialty treatment facility in Pennsylvania neutralized the acid in the paper, ensuring that the pages won't become brittle over time. Restoring the Bible used each year to swear in new trustees extends an annual relationship between IU Libraries and the Trustees of Indiana University that began even earlier. As directed by the Indiana general Assembly, every June since 1891 the IU Libraries have tallied the alumni ballots in the annual trustee elections. | |
A few more shots of the Bible and the enclosure designed and produced by General Collections Conservation
(click on thumbnails for larger images)
