Happy Birthday Jane!

Today is Jane Austen's Birthday! She's turning 235! In honor of the occasion I will share pictures of the lovely first edition of Sense and Sensibility which I've been privileged to work on over the last month here at Harvard.

Sense and Sensibility was published in 1811, and was her first published work! Pride and Prejudice came next in 1813. If you want to know more about Jane Austen's life, I highly suggest reading Becoming Jane Austen, which was a great biography that the movie was based on.

The copy I worked on is still in it's original covers, though the colors have faded. The labels used to be pink! It is quite rare to find copies in the original covers because they were usually a temporary binding, wealthier people who bought it would later have it rebound to match their library.

This copy is used by professors who bring their students to see rare, classic books at the library.

Showing part of the new box I made to house the three volumes.

The green of the covers was a very hard color to replicate! I spent about 6 hours just trying to get it right!

And a little about how and what I did to them...
I wish I had before pictures to show! I did a lot of these little fills!
In process photos:

To repair losses to the cover paper, I first traced the missing piece on thin plastic (mylar) laid over the book.

I then cut the shapes out of Japanese tissue that I toned to match the color of the original paper, on the light box (both in white, the first layer, and then the green top layer).

The piece cut out.

I then applied it to the book using wheat starch paste...

folding the edges under to cover the edges of the board too.

I later went back and further toned the paper to match with chalk pastels on the book, so the repairs disappeared even more!

This was such a fun project for me to work on. Really a dream come true, considering how big of an Austen fan I am!

Happy Birthday Jane! As I've been working on this book, I like to think of how you must have felt holding your first ever published novel! A treat for both me and you, I'm sure!

I'm famous!

Well, not really... but I was mentioned in an article in the Harvard Crimson published today. Check it out here!

It's funny, I wasn't expecting to be singled out at all, the reporter spent over 2 hours touring out lab last week and only stopped at the rubbings I was working on for a small amount of that time. And it's also funny to see what I "said" since although I remember saying some of that, I think he really just paraphrased me. But who really cares right? I'm famous!

I'm going to go find a copy since it's a front page article and there's supposed to be a picture with it. Not of me of course, but I'm interested to see what it will be of.

In other news, guess what comes out tonight? That's right! The Twilight DVD! Unfortunately I won't be going to a midnight release party, but we're getting some people together to watch it tomorrow night, right at twilight. Should be fun!

Oh and if you're in the mood for some funny Twilight reading check out this blog! Hilarious! I'm really enjoying the adventures of Pocket Edward...

Also stay tuned for an update on the sewing I do this weekend... I bought fabric!!

{ Happy Weekend! }

A new look for the New Year!

Hi Everyone! I decided it was time for a new look. And it's been no small feat to get it exactly as I want it. But for now, I think I'm pretty happy with it. Let me know what you think!

I have a feeling this year is going to be a really great year. So far, I am LOVING my new position. I don't know why I keep saying "so far", since I don't anticipate ever not loving it, but it just keeps coming out that way. I haven't working on anything particularly exciting yet. Well, my brother-in-law might find them interesting, since he can read Chinese and Korean, but to me, it's just a lot of nothing. But still cool. Working on Asian rare books is very different from Western books, partly because the paper is so thin. So it's been a lot of learning so far.

I also got to assist with an exhibit that's opening on Monday at the Rare Book Library, about new acquisitions. That was awesome, but I was afraid to really touch them, beyond what was necessary. I also was able to see a Presidential Campaign poster for Abraham Lincoln that someone was working on, which I thought was very appropriate considering the campaigning going on right now.

Most of you know, I'm not into politics, but I think I know more right now than I ever have before just because my roommates are really into it. And because of the writers strike, it's not like I have anything else to watch on TV these days.

So I just thought I'd give a short little update, and maybe in the next day or so I can post pictures from my little overnight trip to the Cape last weekend. I can't get my pics to upload or I'd do it now. This weekend has been very laid back, but I've enjoyed it. It's supposed to snow 8-12 inches tonight! If it does, I really hope it's a snow day tomorrow! Getting to work on the bus in that kind of weather is never good!