Types of bindings that accompanied travelers to the indies, XVI century

The differences in the use and destiny of the books and notebooks as well as the social, political and religious status of the owner were -and still are- evidenced in the characteristics of the bindings ^{(Pickwoad, 1991)}. Luxurious bindings, with hard covers of wood or board, covered in leather with embossed or gilded decorations⁵ were owned by high-ranking people, such as bishop De las Casas, who could afford the cost of these fine finishes. As an example, we can cite the binding shown in Figure 1, kept in the Biblioteca Nacional de México (BNM).⁶ Bound in full leather over wooden boards, it belonged to friar Juan de Zumárraga (Figure 1c), the first bishop of Mexico. Luxury is evident in the use of wood for the boards (Figure 1a), the elaborate stitching on four supports and the woven endband (Figure 1b) as well as in the aesthetic elements: the decorations on the leather and on the metal clasps. It is, indisputably, an expensive binding.

(Photographs: Martha Romero, 2011, BNM, [RFO 226.07 MAJ.i. 1529, ej. 2])

Figure 1 John ^{Major (1529)}. a) Full leather binding on wooded boards, embossed decoration. b) Hand-woven endband. c) Exlibris manuscript of friar Juan de Zumárraga. 

In the personal libraries of figures such as Zumárraga or De las Casas, books with this type of binding coexisted alongside more ordinary looking ones, books for common use, on limp, laced-case bindings of parchments, whose costs were much more accessible and were therefore, more widespread across Spain (and the rest of Europe), on ships and in New Spain (Figure 2).

(Photograph: Martha Romero, 2011, BNM, [RSM 1566 M4LED ej. 3])

Figure 2 Bartolomé de ^{Ledesma (1566)}.. 

Sometimes books destined for trade were transported with a temporary paper binding⁷ or even bareback, without any covering, only as sewn bookblocks ^{(Leonard, 2006}; ^{Pickwoad, 2011)}; in this way, booksellers saved the cost of the covers and reduced taxes caused by the weight and volume of their shipments. When they reached their final destination, the buyer could have them bound as they pleased, according to their taste and pocket capacity ^{(Pickwoad, 2011)}.

The voyage and shipwreck of the books of bishop Bartolomé de las Casas

When they set sail, the Dominicans could hardly have imagined that they were embarking on a voyage that, for many reasons, some circumstantial some due to bad decision making, was going to be long, painful and high-risk. After surviving and overcoming the “panic before the storms [...] the accumulated miseries of: heat, drowning, thirst, hunger, filth, dizziness, lice, pestilence; the badly battered ship that was tilted and in which the friars were used as ballast” ^{(Martínez, 1983, p. 236)}, and as far as friar Tomás relates in his travel log, the friars and their lord bishop arrived in Campeche, from where they would next sail leave for Tabasco.

The crossing had to be made in large canoes yet this represented a problem, because the amount of adequate boats available was sparse, the group was a large one and, to further complicate things was all the crew’s stuff and the huge amounts of books they were carrying.

In treacherous conditions for navigation, as the travelers sailed north, they were taken by surprise; their boats began taking on so much water that all the merchandise on board began absorbing it thus increasing their overall weight, which in turn destabilized the boats even further. Then, a great wave lashed against the ship with such force that the boxes with the friars sitting upon them fell into the water. Friar Thomas recalls that after this devasting wave, which drowned several friars and civilians, came another one of equal ferocity that ended up overturning the vessel. The waves continued to lash the ship; some of its passengers and crew members drowned, while those who managed a good grip on the boat barely just survived ^{(Martínez, 1983, p. 274)}.

The storm eventually withdrew leaving a toll of thirty-two drowned men in its wake, nine of whom were from the religious party; the tide carried the boat to run ashore on the Isla de Términos. The survivors

found ten or twelve boxes that the storm had tossed over towards the lagoon, their contents buried in silt on the water’s banks. So, in order to recover their lost belongings, they had to wade through the river, the water level in parts reaching up to their throats [...], and they had no other viable solution but to carry thick and long sticks, to prevent themselves from sinking when they attempted to dislodge the boxes from the banks ^{(de la Torre, 2011, p. 104)}.⁸

After recovering their lost possessions, they eagerly checked the condition of their precious books but soon realized that they were covered with mud so fine that it had penetrated between the sheets of text. They were in such a bad condition that the Dominicans thought them unusable: “The books were in such a condition that we did not think we could use them, covered with slime, and mud so fine that it got between the leaves and then dried - it was worse than paste...” ^{(de la Torre, 2011, p. 104)}.

In order to understand the actions taken by the Dominican contingent to take care of the bishop’s books, it is necessary to know a little bit about the features of the bindings⁹ of the works that the friars had transported in the now flooded boxes.

XVI century bindings and their construction systems

The difference between the hard cover bindings and those made from limp parchment (Figure 3) is, in addition to the appearance, the time invested in the binding process: the binding process is different in both types. In the case of the ones made with limp parchment -an apparently simple binding without decoration-, is that when it is closed, the main elements of attaching the case to the bookblock are visible (Figure 4a). Upon opening it, the rest of the binding elements are revealed. Sometimes, apart from the endband-core slips and the sewing-suport slips laced through the covers (Figure 4b) , there are the spine linings and the endleaves. The attachment is entirely mechanical and it is simply reinforced by the adhesion of the other elements. These features allow the cover to be easily removed and replaced by an equal or more elaborate one. The adhesives used were made from animal origin, such as glue, or vegetable based materials, such as pastes, which could be softened with water.

(Diagram: Martha ^{Romero, 2013}, p. 442)

Figure 3 Elements of the limp, laced-case parchment binding: 1. Head edge, 2. Fore edge, 3. Front, 4. Front board, 5. Tail, 6. Head, 7. Spine, 8. Endband, 9. Endband-core slips, 10. Panel, 11. Sewing-support slips, 12. Sewing supports, 13. Spine lining, 14. Transverse spine-lining joints, 15. Panel linings, 16. Back bead , 17. Tiedown, 18. Kettlestitch (sewing), 19. Cover extensions, 20. Fore-edge turn-in, 21. Tail-edge turn-in, 22. Head-edge turn-in, 23. Pastdown, 24. Flyleave (endleaves), 25. Square, 26. Ties (fastenings), 27. Joint-crease, 28. Spine-crease. 

(Photographs: Martha Romero, 2011, BNM, [RFO 253 AZP.c. 1570])

Figure 4 a) Sewing-support slips that attach the parchment cover to the bookblock. b) Sewing-support slips at the inside of the cover. Martín de ^{Azpilcueta (1575)}. 

In comparison, for bindings with hard covers, whether board or wood, it would be necessary to cut the boards out then: Make the lacing-holes for the lacing, make the actual binding itself, cover it, before attach the whole internal system (Figure 5). Finally, it was decorated. Hence, leather bindings were more expensive than limp parchment bindings, not only because of the cost of the material but also because of the more elaborate work processes involved ^{(Pickwoad, 1994)}.

(Photograph: Martha Romero, 2011, bnm, [RFO 242.2 EST.m. 1597])

Figure 5 Appearance and structure of a board binding, covered in leather. a) Decoration. b) Endband. c) Sewing support. Diego de ^{Esteka (1579)}. 

As for the books destined for trade, whether they were sewn or partially bound bookblocks, naked or bound, transportation in wooden barrels or crates was preferred, in order to protect them from humidity during the sea voyage and to ensure that they arrived to port in a complete and orderly condition ^{(Leonard, 2006)}.

Other types of bindings found aboard the ships were notebooks. They were usually limp, leather -or parchment- covered, and sometimes with ties and flaps (Figure 6). They had to be light bindings, which allowed a complete opening to write freely and comfortably, and the flexibility of their covers was very practical in adapting to the circumstances of use and transport.

(Photograph: Martha Romero, 2018, Archivo Histórico José María Basagoiti, Colegio de San Ignacio de Loyola Vizcaínas)

Figure 6 Archive binding with envelope-type flap, XVIII century. 

Intuitions and practices in the salvage of shipwrecked books

The books found by the Dominican friars were taken in canoes to Xicalongo, six leagues¹⁰ from where they were found, to wash them in fresh water. They invested six days of work to “save the books and wash them, remove the mud from them, unstick them [...] and thus, with everyone chipping in, most of the texts were rescued, especially those with parchment bindings that could be removed; yet they were left with a pestilential odor that couldn’t be eliminated. Later we have seen that without any intervention, they begin to rot and waste away...” ^{(Martínez, 1983, p. 227)}. It is here where the previous explanation of the structures of the bindings gains relevance, since, as mentioned, due to the characteristic mechanical joints, the limp parchment covers could be easily removed.

For logical reasons and hierarchies of use and value, when rescuing the books, the friars prioritized the recovery of the texts;¹¹ losing the binding was not a big concern. The decision to remove the limp parchment covers was made because doing so facilitated the process of washing the leaves. It should be mentioned that the leather and parchment used in the binding reacted quickly to any contact with water, so removing the covers prevented them from shrinking as they dried and consequently deforming the structures, subjecting the sewn bookblock to stresses for which they were not designed ^{(Clarkson, 2003)}.

The value of the books transported were such that, after the rescue and recovery of these copies, a couple of brothers were sent to other parts of the coast in search of “the bodies of the deceased and the unaccounted texts” ^{(Martínez, 1983, p. 227)}.

At that time, the salvage and recovery of goods and people during or after a shipwreck were determined by the cost and value given to each one, taking into account the purpose of the voyage or the individual traveler’s mission (Pérez-Mallaína, 1996).¹² For friar Bartolomé De las Casas, the books and the Dominicans had priority: he would not let part of his patrimony or his brothers be lost.

The intuitive or, perhaps, empirical reaction that guided the salvage of the surviving books from the XVI century shipwreck in Bahía de Términos, together with the improvisation in the face of space and time restraints, are very similar to the rescue actions that took place in Florence, Italy, in 1966, after the November flood.

Florence, 1966: book rescue and recovery actions

The torrential rains caused the Arno River to overflow its banks, leaving the city buried under water and mud, and with it, a large part of its bibliographic and written heritage stored throughout its various cultural centers (Carniani & Paoletti, 1991), including the National Library of Florence.

When the water level dropped, the books were covered in sludge and even worse so - oil that had leaked from the damaged heating systems. The water softened the natural adhesives and seve ral covers came loose from the bound bookblocks ^{(Etherington, 2018)}. The leather and parchment covers shrank and warped. The stacked books had preferential openings where water had run through and mixed with the parchment to form singular congealed masses, while many others were already overrun with mold ^{(Waters, 2018)}. According to ^{Waters (2018)}, “XVI century books suffered less because the adhesive used on them was starch rather than glue. Books bound in limp parchment held up better than most.”

^{Etherington (2018)13}, who participated in the recovery of the books narrates that, upon the arrival of the English contingent in Florence, led by Peter Waters,¹⁴ the restorative actions had already begun. Inexpert decisions had caused more harm than good: some wet or damp books had already been sent to the tobacco and grain drying ovens; while this did cause them to dry, they also suffered burns on the edges and the leather and papers from dehydration. Others were placed vertically to dry in front of heaters, causing the water and gelatin in the parchment to run off, which resulted in the latter to concentrate between the folds of the spine of the gatherings to stick together or weakened them. The leather bindings and covers that were originally attached to the spine were taken off in a desperate rather than careful manner, pulling the sewing threads which in turn, tore the gatherings at the spine-fold ^{(Waters, 2018)}.

In general, the books that went through a drying process, were wrapped -even the most deformed ones- and then stored. On the instructions of the director in charge of the group of volunteers and students, the books had to be cleaned before drying; when the mud was dry, it was removed with a spatula or similar instrument and, if they still contained moisture, this was removed with damp sponges. It was essential however, to open the books before they reached the drying stations ^{(Waters, 2018)}.

Gathered in Florence, bookbinding specialists from different nations who had expertise in book restoration came to the conclusion, after several discussions, that it was necessary to take a different form of action. Faced with the magnitude of the problem and the sheer number of books to be treated, Peter Waters devised a system for serial care, consisting of a line of work that, according to Sheila ^{Waters (2018)} and Christopher ^{Clarkson (2003)}, included:

As can be seen in the Florentine case, as was the case with the books of De las Casas, the limp parchment covers were easier to remove. The bookblocks without cover were also washed in clean water, to remove the mud and to detach and separate the sheets, just as the religious travelers had done centuries before. In both tragedies, washing and removing the mud was a priority, as well as drying both the covers and the bookblock themselves, to avoid the development of microorganisms that could endanger the materials and potentially the people themselves (Carniani & Paoletti, 1991).

Although in both the cases of the Dominicans and in Florence, the decisions taken for the care of the books was very similar, yet the objectives behind the actions taken were different. The former sought to save the books that, in addition to being of great value because they belonged to the bishop and were practically impossible to return, were also fundamental for their mission in Chiapas. In the second case however, the restorative actions were aimed at rescuing Italy’s, and to some degree -the world’s- bibliographic heritage, knowledge that in many cases was impossible to replace. In the case of the events that occurred in the XVI century, books were rescued for their use; whereas with the example explained from the XX century, it was done due to their significance and heri tage value.

Another major difference in the intentions behind the salvation efforts made in each case, was that in Florence, the historical, technical and material evidence of the books was seriously conside red in the decision-making process. Written and photographic records were made, and binding elements that were removed, either for restoration or because water had dislodged them from their original books, were placed in envelopes that were stored with the particular book they had originally belonged to ^{(Etherington, 2018)}.

Despite the recurring idea that books are fragile due to their material nature, in both incidents, which occurred 400 years apart, several of the flooded books withstood the aggressive transit through dirty or salty waters, followed by wet and then dried hardened mud, and finally, the rescue procedures in baths of clean water or, as mentioned by friar Tomás de la ^{Torre, sweet water (2011)}, and subsequent drying.

Centrality of material resistance and techniques in book rescue and recovery

The resistance of the materials and techniques used in bookbinding and, therefore, in the production of books, has been a determining factor in the processes of rescue and recovery of these informative goods. In addition to the previous cases, another proof for the resistance of the constituent materials of books, at least of those manufactured with papers made from rags, leather and parchment produced before the Industrial Revolution, is the leather coverings of bindings that must have been luxurious, that carried King Charles I of England’s coat of gold tooled (1600-1649), recovered from the wreck of a Dutch ship, near the Isle of Tessel.¹⁷ The tooling on the binding, along with the richness of the other salvaged pieces, might indicate that at least part of the cargo was owned by the Stuarts, the royal family of England at the time (Forssmann, 2016). The piece is displayed in the virtual exhibition of the Kaap Skil Museum (Netherlands), where it is explained that, in addition to that particular leather cover, others were found, also made of leather -some with metal clasps-, all of which were still in a good condition (Forssmann, 2016).¹⁸ Unfortunately, no further information on the rescue and recovery process is given.

A further case for the surprising material strength of the book’s components, is a piece of printed paper from a copy recovered from the XVIII century wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, a ship owned by Blackbeard. The note in the English newspaper The Guardian states that “16 fragments, covered by a layer of wet mud, were found inside a cannon chamber” ^{(Flood, 2018)}. The text belonged to Captain Edward Cooke’s A voyage to the South Sea and round the world, printed in 1712.¹⁹ Regardless of whether the work was used to keep the gunpowder in place inside the cannon, those fragments provide evidence that books were aboard the pirate ship and withstood both the passage of time underwater and the subsequent recovery processes. In this case, there is also no information on the salvage processes used in the recovery.

Conclusions

Since ancient times books have served as the faithful companions of travelers. Their company has made long journeys more bearable, especially in the past, when a trip could last for months. The journeys of objects have also been due to the various uses and functions they have been given throughout history. In the cases of the exposed shipwrecks, the bishop De las Casas took them, together with the Dominican friars, as a work tool and perhaps for the evangelization of the natives of Chiapas, while in the two remaining cases, the books were part of the goods found in sunken ships, property of defined owners, for specific personal use.

The diverse circumstances in which the books and the remains discussed in this article were found, as well as the violent shipwreck conditions to which they were subjected, and from which they were mostly all recovered, demonstrate that their constituent materials and structures were resistant and durable. In spite of the fact that the historical moments in which the events and the cited findings took place cover European books from the XVI to the XX centuries, the characteristics of quality and resistance of the materials and the constructive techniques of the books, are similar. Both situations allow a valid comparison for the behavior of the materials under flooding, rescue and recovery conditions.

The Florence flood of 1966 and the procedures carried out for the rescue and recovery of the affected documentary heritage, whose course was set through the exchange of ideas and expertise from a large number of multi-national restorers who worked on the rescue, marked the emergence of the specialty of book conservation within the discipline of conservation-restoration. From that tragic moment on, the training of conservator-res torers specialized in books, with knowledge of both materials and binding structures, began. Like with any other specialty, this one is in constant research and generation of knowledge for the best treatment and conservation of bibliographic works and, of course, of their bindings.

Notwithstanding the theoretical and practical advances in the area, the first reaction rescue practice for some cases of waterlogged books -even more so if they involved salt water or mud- is still, where possible, washing them with clean fresh water. Surely there were advances in book care from the XVI to the XX century, as evidenced by Douglas Cockerell’s book printed in 1901, Bookbinding. The Classic Arts and Crafts Manual, in which he includes a section on the care of bound books and another on the preservation of antique bindings; yet, it was not until 1966, because of the Florentine experience, that the theoretical and ethical principles of book conservation were established. This event also opened up several avenues of research and development for book conservation and for the training of professional conservators of bi bliographic material.

Florence laid the foundations for the archaeology of books, which has also led to new approaches for the study and interpretation of the binding as an integral element of the book it protects. In this sense, the task of locating the waterlogged and rescued books of De las Casas for their study and analysis, is still pending, from which we will obtain new information on the history of bookbinding and book conservation in Mexico.