ageing paper record

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The text discusses the physical nature of the 'ageing paper record' (p. 8) found in Timbuktu collections such as those at the Ahmed Baba Institute. While specific fiber recipes are not detailed, the text identifies that manuscripts were historically traded into the region, noting that 'Many manuscript books coming from Barbary are sold' (p. 14), implying North African origins for much of the paper stock used in Timbuktu scholarship. The manuscripts are described as 'dusty books' (p. 7) that have survived for centuries in mud brick buildings on the edge of the desert (p. 5).

Evidence

"These ‘ancient’ materials are mostly in such a fragile state that handling them – for conservation or digitisation, for instance – has been out of the question. Materials for digitisation and research have had to be limited to those items from more recent periods – the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries"

Remarks

The paper record in Timbuktu is described as being in a state of deterioration (p. 8). The oldest identified item in the collection is a Qur’an dating to the thirteenth century (p. 10). Because of the extreme fragility of the earliest materials (13th century), contemporary digitization and physical handling have been restricted to more recent items from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries (p. 10). The paper is noted as being stored in 'glass cases filled with texts, none of which is wholly visible because there is too little space so they lie on top of each other' (p. 6), which may contribute to physical degradation.