the forest of hands and teeth is 242 pages.
the forest of hands and teeth is 242 pages.
how many pages is the forest of hands and teeth?
242
Na
Na
to understand the challenges conservators face when dealing with these intricately decorated books, it is first necessary to understand how they were made. bookbinders used some of the same techniques used today to create hand bound books. sheets were folded in half, so that each one would form two pages. these were then nested one inside the other to create a gathering. these gatherings could include as many pages as the bookbinder chose, however there were usually relatively few to prevent the gathering from becoming too bulky. an alternative method was to fold a very large sheet of paper repeatedly to create many pages, then slit three of the four sides with a knife to create a sheaf of pages (hamel 39). many gatherings were sown together though pre-punched holes known as sowing stations. the pattern of sowing stations and the use of the thread was what determined the structure of the binding. because scribes and artists often needed access to the entire sheets of paper to do their work, books from this time period were often prepared in loose bindings that could be easily undone to free a sheet of paper (hamel 40). for both illuminated and unadorned books, these loose bindings cause problems for conservators when they have not been properly and firmly bound after the writing and decorating was completed. entire gatherings of pages can come loose, needing to be carefully re-stitched into their correct locations. because of the wide variance in materials used in the bindings of books from the era that illuminated manuscripts were made, it is possible to trace some back to specific binderies, meaning that the materials can be analyzed to understand what trade was going on in that area at the time. for example, if a lavish cover was inlayed with lapis lazuli, if would be possible to infer that the bindery was able to source materials from as far east as afghanistan (alexander 40). certain kinds of leather can also be traced back to specific geographical regions, as some breeds of cow and goat were only found in specific areas at this time.
conservation and restoration of illuminated manuscripts