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The Restoration of Books: Florence - 1968

"The Restoration of Books" film made by Roger Hill for the Royal College of Art, London. The late Peter Waters was the script consultant and he is shown here making a leather binding, among other operations in the film. Also shown (toward the end) is the making of a limp vellum binding. This very interesting video was made in 1968 about the ongoing book restoration effort at the National Library in Florence, Italy. In 1966, the River Arno flooded the area to a depth of about 15 feet, severely damaging hundreds of thousands of books. It can be safely said that hardly was there another individual that took this restoration effort to heart as much as did the late Peter Waters, whose long and important career (largely influenced by working with Roger Powell in the early days) did much for making the world of bookbinding great, wonderful, and respected. Enjoy the video, and, more importantly, reflect on the LOVE that it took to do this work! Global society is the better for it! ~ Michael L

English
  • Originally Aired February 23, 2013
  • Runtime 39 minutes
  • Notes Is the series finale
  • Created June 25, 2025 by
    Fusto
  • Modified June 25, 2025 by
    Fusto