The Paper Lab at the Ford Conservation Center recently completed treatment on a historic volume of woodblock prints.
“The Painter’s Handbook” was printed in the early to mid-1800s by Japanese master Katsushika Hokusai. During his lifetime, Hokusai was a widely popular artist, known for his ukiyo-e or floating world woodblock prints, like “The Great Wave”. He had a long and prolific career, during which he produced over 280 books, including instructional art manuals for aspiring artists. “The Painter’s Handbook” features monochromatic figure studies of plant and animal species, and instruction on painting techniques. The images are handprinted in sumi ink from a carved wood block.
Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” from the series “36 Views of Mt Fuji”. (1831) Image source: The MET
The book is a very delicate item due largely to the materials it is made from. The book covers consist of an orange-dyed paper adhered to a thicker support paper. The pages are of high-quality, very lightweight, handmade paper. The book is an example of fukurotoji, a style popular during the Edo Period (1615-1868), in which each sheet of paper was printed with two woodblock images; the sheet was then folded in half to create the fore-edge of the book. One neat detail about this book is that the page numbers are printed over the folded fore-edge.
An example of the folded pages in a fukurotoji, and the page number printed over the fold at the fore-edge (circled).
The binding is a “Japanese stab stitch,” in which thread is sewn through holes that are punched through the covers and pages near the spine. At each of the sewing holes, the thread wraps around the book’s spine for added stability.
The main goal of this conservation treatment was to stabilize the book to prevent further damage. Many of the corners were folded over, and there were numerous tears and paper losses throughout the book. The treatment included flattening creases, repairing tears, and consolidating the covers. The sewing thread was also broken at the top of the book. The sewing was not repaired because the book structure was largely intact and not in danger of coming apart.
Untrimmed paper repairs are visible in this during-treatment image.
First, the pages were relaxed by humidifying each page with aqueous moisture, then placing the page under light weights between absorbent blotter paper to dry. Tears and deep creases were repaired with reversible adhesives and Japanese papers similar to the book paper in both weight and color. One benefit of the fukurotoji construction is that the repairs are mostly hidden as they were applied to the inside or back of the folded pages. Once the pages were stabilized with Japanese paper repairs, they were lightly surface cleaned to reduce dirt and soiling, especially in the margins around the images.
The orange-dyed paper on the front and back covers was heavily worn and lifting away from the thicker cover support paper below. The paper was consolidated or reattached using reversible adhesives. A large, tattered fragment from the bottom front cover was flattened and re-adhered in its original location, making the covers nearly whole again. The damaged and curling title paper was also realigned and adhered to the orange cover.
Following treatment, the book is still very delicate, but it can be more safely handled and enjoyed as a wonderful example of historic Japanese woodblock printing. “The Painter’s Handbook” will be on display at the Joslyn Art Museum from March-August 2025 as part of their exhibition “The Floating World and Beyond: 200 Years of Japanese Prints.”
Before- and after-treatment images of the front cover.
