The Book and Paper Group Annual 21 (2002) - Book Exhibition Issues Discussion

Aug 26, 2026

AIC 30th Annual Meeting Book and Paper Group Session discussion in Miami, Florida (2002) focuses on practical book exhibition support construction, especially cradle and mount designs. Demonstrations cover a polyester film M-shaped cradle developed at the New York Academy of Medicine, BYU wedge supports proposed by Pamela Barrios, V-shaped acrylic mounts used at the Palace of the Legion of Honor, Russian avant-garde book display mounting at MoMA, and Mylar supports for miniature books at the Lilly Library. Moderator notes and participant observations are included, with reminders that endorsements are not implied.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Polyester film exhibit cradle

BYU wedges

Discussion context and moderator notes

MEG BROWN , MODERATOR Book Exhibition Issues Discussion Presentations and written contributions by: ELAINE SCHLEFER AND SUSAN MARTIN; PAMELA BARRIOS; JANICE SCHOPFER, MICHELLE FACINI, AND DEBRA EVANS; SCOTT GERSON; JIM CANARY Notes and bibliography by: MEG BROWN ABSTRACT This article summarizes a discussion on book exhibition issues, especially the construction of cradles to support books on exhibition, that took place at the Book and Paper Group Session of the 30th Annual Meeting of the American Institute for Conservation in Miami, Florida, 2002. Demonstrations included a polyester ﬁlm cradle designed at the New York Academy of Medicine ; Brigham Young University wedges created by Pamela Barrios; V-shaped acrylic book mounts used at the Palace of the Legion of Honor; exhibition mounting for a display of Russian avant-garde books at the Museum of Modern Art; and 10-point Mylar supports for miniature books atthe Lilly Library, Indiana University. Additional observations from the participants and notes assembled by the moderator are included. Following is a summary of the discussion on book exhibitions that took place at the Book and Paper Group Session of the 30th Annual Meeting of the American Institute for Conservation in Miami , Florida , 2002. Discussion focused on the construction of cradles to support books on exhibition and related issues. The session was organized around several informal demonstrations followed by observations from the participants. Additional notes assembled by the moderator are included at the end. This open discussion took place on June 10, 2002, during the AIC 30th Annual Meeting, June 6–11, 2002, Miami, Florida. The moderators organized and led the discussion and recorded notes. Readers are reminded that the moderators do not necessarily endorse all the comments recorded and that although every effort was made to record proceedings accurately, further evaluation or research is advised before putting treatment observations into practice. ELAINE SCH LE FER: POLYESTER FILM EXHIBIT CRADLE Pamela Barrios demonstrated a polyester ﬁlm exhibition cradle, created at the New York Academy of Medicine by Susan Martin. (Elaine Schlefer had originally volunteered to demonstrate the construction, but she broke her arm just before the event.) This is the classic M-shaped cradle that we have all been making for years out of binder ’s board or folder stock, but conservators at the Academy of Medicine decided they wanted a cradle that was less visible as well as quick and inexpensive to fabricate. They decided to make the M out of 4-or 5-mil polyester film—which you would think would be very ﬂimsy, but it turns out that when you fold it (lengthwise) in thirds, it becomes quite rigid. Susan Martin has published detailed information about the construction of the cradle in the Abbey Newsletter and as a National Parks Service Conserv O Gram (Martin 1990, 1993); the cradle will also be described in a forthcoming manual by Nelly Balloffet and Jenny Hille (Balloffet and Hille [2003]) . Why would you like this cradle? Old books have boards but they aren’t always ﬂat; if you make the traditional M out of binder ’s board, you have an argument between the old board and the new board. Polyester ﬁlm flexes, so whatever your book’s boards want to do, the polyester ﬁlm will allow them to do. One important hint: be sure that you make your creases in the film exactly where you want them the ﬁrst time—any secondary folds will weaken the structure. Also, a nice beneﬁt ofthis cradle is that you can collapse it afterwards for storage andre-use it later. Make a few cradles in standard sizes and use them over and over. Start your measurements with the spine folds: Pam makes these the width of double-stick tape; it will usually spread to accommodate the spine of the book. Make your next folds to conform to the shape of the book in its exhibit position. Decide the degree of opening you want for the book and mark the p

FAQs

What topic was the 2002 Book and Paper Group Session discussion centered on?

It focused on construction methods for book exhibition supports, especially cradles and related mounting issues.

How does the polyester film exhibit cradle differ from traditional board-based cradles?

The polyester film flexes and can accommodate uneven old boards, while the M-shaped folds create a rigid support when creased correctly the first time.

What is the purpose of using wedge-shaped book supports described by Pamela Barrios?

They provide simple, quick-to-make supports that work with a board, reducing time spent fabricating custom cradles and freeing conservators to discuss exhibition decisions such as lighting.

Aug 26, 2026

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