23-01-2016, 03:06 PM
The tear with the small holes left and right of it are the result of stitching during the parchment preparation process. The tear must have been there, and was stitched to prevent it from becoming larger during the stretching. It's not clear when the thread was removed - could have been anytime really.
The round hole next to it is also from that time. It is best seen from the recto side. When the parchment was scraped during its preparation, this apparently thinner spot just opened up. I read somewhere that this could even be just an insect bite during the life of the calf.
The MS was rebound by the Jesuits, probably in the late 18th or early 19th Century though probably without replacing the stitching. From reports in the Collegium Romanum catalogues it seems that it was already under the attack by woodworms before that. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. shows the damage clearly. On You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. one sees that the insects ate through the text, and in the first folios also that they ate through the line drawings.
Some pages were clipped. I presume that this could have happened at the same time, when the cover was replaced. This is however not certain. One can see it (for example) at the bottom of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. . The edge is lighter, and the clipping cuts through the drawing. It may also have happened even earlier than this.
Voynich almost certainly took off the Jesuit cover again, and damaged it (e.g. removing the paper pastdowns). He had a habit of searching for treasures inside the bindings. We can still see what it used to look like from some similar manuscripts now in the Vatican:
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Kraus made some repairs in 1967, but these are mostly visible when looking at the stitching. There are also additional guards, e.g. around quire 1. (The protective strip sewn in with f67 and f68 is older, and probably dates from the latest old binding).
Finally, and what is probably little know, the MS was stabilised by Yale conservation in 2009 in Yale's Sterling lab, across the street from the Beinecke. As is modern practice, such repairs are clearly visible (to be able to clearly disinguish original from modern). At least the following was done:
- the large tear in f86 (between bottom right circles of the rosettes diagram) was fixed
- the rolled up folios of Cancer and Leo were flattened
It seems that also the upper right corner of f116 was treated but I am not aware of the details.
The images at the Jason Davies (voyager) site are from the 2004 digitisation, and those in the Beinecke site from the 2014 digitisation, so those interested can make the comparisons.
The round hole next to it is also from that time. It is best seen from the recto side. When the parchment was scraped during its preparation, this apparently thinner spot just opened up. I read somewhere that this could even be just an insect bite during the life of the calf.
The MS was rebound by the Jesuits, probably in the late 18th or early 19th Century though probably without replacing the stitching. From reports in the Collegium Romanum catalogues it seems that it was already under the attack by woodworms before that. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. shows the damage clearly. On You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. one sees that the insects ate through the text, and in the first folios also that they ate through the line drawings.
Some pages were clipped. I presume that this could have happened at the same time, when the cover was replaced. This is however not certain. One can see it (for example) at the bottom of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. . The edge is lighter, and the clipping cuts through the drawing. It may also have happened even earlier than this.
Voynich almost certainly took off the Jesuit cover again, and damaged it (e.g. removing the paper pastdowns). He had a habit of searching for treasures inside the bindings. We can still see what it used to look like from some similar manuscripts now in the Vatican:
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Kraus made some repairs in 1967, but these are mostly visible when looking at the stitching. There are also additional guards, e.g. around quire 1. (The protective strip sewn in with f67 and f68 is older, and probably dates from the latest old binding).
Finally, and what is probably little know, the MS was stabilised by Yale conservation in 2009 in Yale's Sterling lab, across the street from the Beinecke. As is modern practice, such repairs are clearly visible (to be able to clearly disinguish original from modern). At least the following was done:
- the large tear in f86 (between bottom right circles of the rosettes diagram) was fixed
- the rolled up folios of Cancer and Leo were flattened
It seems that also the upper right corner of f116 was treated but I am not aware of the details.
The images at the Jason Davies (voyager) site are from the 2004 digitisation, and those in the Beinecke site from the 2014 digitisation, so those interested can make the comparisons.