restored paper manuscript

Ingredients

cellulose fibres, β-D-glucopyranose monomers, β-1,4-glycosidics bonds

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The paper composition is described as mostly treated and bonded cellulose fibers composed of linear polymers of glucose monomers linked by β-1,4-glycosidics bonds (p. 28). The study focuses on monitoring the band at 1100 cm−1 ascribed to the C-O-C inter-monomers bond, as its intensity is related to the length of the cellulose chain (p. 26). This specific 15th-century sample ('Carta de Logu') was restored by washing with distilled water and undergoing de-acidification with a basic substance (p. 28).

Evidence

"The sample consist in a restored paper manuscript: washed with distilled water, de-acidificated with a basic substance with the addition of parts of new paper. We focused the study on a restricted area of the original paper (pag.89)."

Remarks

Known as 'Code of Eleonora di Arborea' or 'Carta de Logu', this sample (dated 1400–1500 CE) represents a major historical legal collection (p. 27). Raman analysis detected a strong signal at approximately 1600 cm−1, which is identified as the 'foxing process'—a sign of additional oxidation of cellulose in degraded paper—rather than the lignin signal typically found in modern wood-pulp papers (p. 28). The restoration process used (washing and de-acidification) is noted to limit the degradation process but does not alter the fundamental polymeric structure of the ancient cellulose (p. 31).