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When our Public Services Librarian, Megan May, came to me inquiring whether we could create custom enclosures that serve not only as storage for rare books and artist books but that function as a display for those items, I eagerly took on the challenge . Normally, we build clamshells for our most at risk and rare books, so the difficulty was to add something to allow for the display element. After much research and brainstorming, I decided to create a built-in book cradle that would live inside of a clamshell thereby housing it securely while also allowing it to be opened up for display in a safe manner. However, I could not find instructions on how to build such a structure. Thus, began prototype building (Image 1). Utilizing board scraps and some tape, I worked on creating a structure that would mimic a book cradle’s shape but also make it collapsible.  

Image 1. Book cradle prototype

The main trick was determining a way to decide the angle of the book cradle so the book spine would be protected by not allowing the book to open all the way. The solution was to create a mock cradle, propping the book between weights to determine the height of the side piece. The result can be seen in the below images. The process of creating this structure was very enjoyable and will be a staple for future clamshells that we build! 

This particular book is an artist book from Special Collections’ annual Artist Book Competition entitled “Case #xxxx”. (View the catalog record for this book)

Posted by & filed under Preservation.

This clamshell is different from our normal clamshells due to the sliding drawer in the bottom of the base. When we received this book, I noticed that it was difficult to remove the book from its wrapper and that the wrapper was fragile. I became concerned about the future damage that could occur to the book and sleeve if they continued to be housed together and handled. I decided to craft this clamshell in this manner so users can view both the wrapper and the book together without additional wear, while also allowing users to pick up the book and flip through it the way it was intended!

This book from 1840 entitled “The enchanted scrap book: exhibiting pictures, which appear and vanish at the word of command” is a conjurer’s blow-book, with 7 different hand-colored full-page engravings, each repeated 12 times. Each picture can be made to appear or vanish by flipping the pages in various ways. (View the catalog record for this book)

Image of an open clamshell box.
Image of an open clamshell box with a drawer pulled out.
Image of an open clamshell box with a drawer pulled out.

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