NLS Collection Care

News from Collections Care Department at the National Library of Scotland.

[NLS Collection Care @NLSColl_Care]

An interesting item from the library's collection for all of you coffee lovers out there! Shelfmark: 6.2419(9). Before and after treatment.

[NLS Collection Care @NLSColl_Care]

Lord Rumford's essay on the excellent qualities of coffee, bound in its original blue wrapper. Date: 1812

[NLS Collection Care @NLSColl_Care]

An interesting item from the library's collection for all of you coffee lovers out there. Shelfmark: 6.2419(9).

[NLS Collection Care @NLSColl_Care]

@ArturusFJones @natlibscot @Conservators_uk @conservatorsnet @YConservators If required, absolutely. 😉

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

We're looking for a Conservator (maternity cover). You will be involved in the treatment of our collections and will provide conservation advice and guidance for staff across the Library. The post is fixed-term for 11 months at a salary of £33,665. Apply > https://t.co/4JRNcGjt3N

[NLS Collection Care @NLSColl_Care]

@nlsmodern @natlibscot @Arsenal Our mystery footballer is about to undergo some 'physio' in the conservation workshop! Alongside are his 'team mates', a selection of posters from the Ministry of Food, published c1948. Treatment will include surface cleaning, tear repair, crease reduction & rehousing.

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

When we put it back together, the peepshow had regained its original shape and structural integrity. Now future generations can enjoy the view.

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

So we took the peepshow apart, allowing us to clean it properly and correct distortions, lack of strength and damaged areas.

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

This particular peepshow came to the Library c.1969 as part of a bequest and was in a poor condition, as you can see here. When it arrived at the conservation studio it was very dirty, and the structure could not hold itself.

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

Paper peepshows were extremely popular in the 19th century, but from the 1850s onward there was strong competition from mass-produced stereoscopic photographs and viewers (as well as magic lanterns) and by the early 20th century they'd declined in popularity.

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

The cheap and simple construction meant that the design was quickly copied and soon peepshows were being mass-produced across the world, giving people in an era before mass tourism a chance to visit famous places or events.

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

They used paper panels which were connected at the sides, like bellows. The diminishing paper panels created an effect of receding perspective, which led the viewer’s gaze towards the back scene, in much the same way as a conventional theatre set.

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

Paper peepshows (or teleoramas) were first published in Germany and Austria in the 1820s. Unlike earlier 18th-century versions which were made of wooden boxes and were cumbersome to use, these new peepshows were small, light and simple to operate.

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

OK then... here we go

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

So… do you want a look inside?

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

This particular peepshow dates from the 1830s and shows the Paris butter market (Marché au beure, aux oeufs, et au fromage, St. Germain), which was constructed in 1822.

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

So let's expand it a little...

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

Not much to look at perhaps...

#Noncreepypeepy

[National Library of Scotland @natlibscot]

@nlsrarebooks This is what it looks like...

#Noncreepypeepy