21 August 2011
Last month on our discussion forum we discussed the issue of wearing white gloves when handling old manuscripts, as is the practice in some libraries and museums. What prompted the discussion was a video produced by the British Library on St. Cuthbert’s Gospel, a late-seventh century copy of the Gospel of St. John believed to be the oldest intact European book. The manuscript is held in the collection of Durham Cathedral. Some readers of this site were wondering why the curator in the video was not wearing gloves.
Well, it turns out that for most manuscripts and objects, white cotton gloves are actually worse for the preservation of the object than clean, dry, bare hands. Gloves make it more difficult to handle the object, turn pages, etc., and make it more difficult to assess the condition of the manuscript. When wearing gloves, you are more likely to tear the pages or cause other physical damage before realizing that what you are doing is harmful. Gloves also pick up and transfer dirt more easily than skin.
The British Library has this PDF file and this video on the use of gloves when handling objects in its collection.
(Hat Tip: The Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts Blog)
