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+--- Thread: [Blog Post] Analysis of cover attachment and VMS binding. (/thread-3508.html)
Analysis of cover attachment and VMS binding. - Wladimir D - 15-03-2021
First, I would like to express my gratitude to Rene Zandbergen for providing a high resolution photo of the VMS end with the lid removed. Previously, this photo was partially posted at You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
Some conclusions.
An error was made while assembling the cover.
Notebooks are attached with 7 types of twine.
Confirmation that Q9 is sewn incorrectly.
The Q8 was repaired by Voynich himself.
Look You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
RE: Analysis of cover attachment and VMS binding. - -JKP- - 16-03-2021
Wladimir, this is very interesting and you've done a great job with the images.
RE: Analysis of cover attachment and VMS binding. - ReneZ - 16-03-2021
Dear Wladimir, it is unfortunate that there is a bit of a language barrier here, which has to be resolved by automated translation tools (like Google translate).
When you write:
Quote:Notebooks are attached with 7 types of twine.I presume that you mean the quires or gatherings (also "booklets").
When you write:
Quote:The Q8 was repaired by Voynich himself.I wonder if you are aware that the MS was repaired by Kraus. This repair of Q8 is then likely a part of that repair.
I will have to read (a translation of) your page - I have not yet done that.
RE: Analysis of cover attachment and VMS binding. - Wladimir D - 16-03-2021
Dear Rene.
A piece of T7 twine (this is not T1) on Q8 is possibly identical to T2 sewing to the false supports of the rear straps of the cover fastening (and of the front straps).
Kraus made a duplicate strapping q1-5 and q14-20 by means of 2 braces braiding the supports. Count the number of threads on the protective leather pad. If the Q8 needed to be repaired, why change the proven fastening method?
Do you have any information if Kraus opened the back cover? If he opened the cover, then he should have used the T2 twine. But why use a different type of twine for this, because even a thin twine is used to attach Q1 to the flyleaf?
Ps / The first question is now not clear to me through the translator.
RE: Analysis of cover attachment and VMS binding. - ReneZ - 16-03-2021
Thanks Wladimir.
After a first read of your blog, I really think that your analysis should be reviewed by MS experts, because you add a lot of details!
I am particularly interested in your comments about quire 8.
If you see evidence of an intervention there, (and I understand that you do), then this is likely to be before Voynich.
The first question, about notebooks and quires, has been resolved. They are the same.
RE: Analysis of cover attachment and VMS binding. - RenegadeHealer - 16-03-2021
I was going to say, Rene, you're in for a treat. I'm glad you of all people have delved into Wladimir Dulov's work, because it deserves more exposure, and your page is arguably the Voynich community's storefront.
I see many, many potential directions for new research based on a lot of the facts that Wladimir unearths. I'm thinking particularly about facts about the book's physical construction, which may offer valuable clues about when, where, and why. For example, sometime when work gets a little less busy after the pandemic is over, I'd like to try and figure out the original order of Herbal B, which I hypothesize was originally one cohesive work, with the intriguing You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. as its front page and the even more intriguing You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. as its back page. Wladimir's work on the construction, binding, present layout, and possible past layout are my inspiration for this project. His blog will serve as a primary source for my statements about what pages belong to what bifolios, what order they're bound in today, and what order they may have originally been bound.
Wladimir hasn't blogged much about the VMs text, but what he says about it is pretty thought provoking. Spoiler alert: His statistical work on the intra-folio and inter-folio size and variability of the Voynichese lexicon scores a point for the meaningless VMs text hypothesis.
RE: Analysis of cover attachment and VMS binding. - ReneZ - 16-03-2021
@Renegadehealer,
a lot is known about the binding / the cover (terminology is an issue here and I am not the expert).
Several conservators have looked at this in 2014, and there are some summary reports, among others in the Yale facsimile article of Zyats et al.
Wladimir adds a lot of details here, of which I am not sure that they were seen by these conservators, and/or considered of importance. I do believe that some of his detailed observations are of great interest.
What is certain is that this cover / binding shows traces from several events, the earliest considered to be 15th century, i.e. close to the origin of the MS.
The latest are from Kraus' repairs.
The parchment wrapper / cover was certainly a later addition, by the Jesuits, and it doesn't fit very well, both in size and in technique of attaching it.
Let's see if this leads to new insights.
RE: Analysis of cover attachment and VMS binding. - ReneZ - 23-03-2021
(16-03-2021, 09:24 PM)ReneZ Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.a lot is known about the binding / the cover (terminology is an issue here and I am not the expert).
OK, in another (unrelated) context, I had the fortune to learn more about the correct terminology.
As a consequence, I will need to update the web page that Wladimir was referring to in the opening post.
In summary:
The term "binding" refers to the boards and spine and covering material of a book—a full leather binding, or a limp parchment binding, etc. A binding is the protective covering.
When referring to the way the quires are attached to each other, it’s referred to as the "sewing structure". There are sewing supports (the cords or thongs the sewing goes around) and there is the sewing itself, which is the thread that goes through each section/quire and wraps around the supports.
RE: Analysis of cover attachment and VMS binding. - Wladimir D - 23-03-2021
Rene. Do not hurry. Hopefully by Friday I will have completed the blog addition (possibly sensational). In the meantime, the question. In your opinion, are the shims inside the quire delivered at the same time as the existing cover (flyleaf), (same material)?
RE: Analysis of cover attachment and VMS binding. - ReneZ - 23-03-2021
Dear Wladimir,
unfortunately, I do not understand the question. What are the "shims inside the quire"?
The things that we can be sure of are:
- the cover was added by the Roman Jesuits in the 18th or 19th century, replacing an earlier cover of wood covered by leather.
- the new cover had paper pastedowns, and inside there was filling material (other paper, parchment or cardboard)
- the pastedowns were removed by Voynich in order to check what he could find inside