Edwardian apothecary box, apothecary vials, contents of hoover bags.
Front row: These vessels are filled with the contents of the Portico Library’s conservation department vacuum cleaner bag, which contains, among other things, fine particle book fragments from cleaning and restoration.
Middle row: Book fragments from the Portico Library’s conservation department.
Back row: These vessels are filled with dust and fragments from the Portico Library’s general use vacuum cleaner bag, which contains, among other things, the skin, hair, fabric, and dirt of visitors and staff.
Also on view in the photograph on the right hand side is The Book of Ghosts. It is a large apothecary jar filled with smoke sponges. Book conservators use smoke sponges for dry cleaning books and paper, particularly those affected by dust and dry mould. A fresh sponge is a light sandy colour. As they are used they pick up dirt from book pages and become much darker.
Stephen Emmerson.
2025.
eightox.org 