Testing, Analysis, and Conservation of a 1566 Tyndale Bible

Abstract

The subject of this research project is an English Tyndale Bible circa 1566 that was owned by a prominent family in Cornwall, England for many years and now resides in the Rare Books Collection at The Ohio State University. This Bible is unique in that all of its pages are covered in a yellow coating that was deliberately placed sometime before the book was rebound around the late 18th century. When the Bible was rebound, pages were added to accommodate the family history of the Bond family of East Looe. A facsimile copy of the title page was also added and painted yellow with watercolor to imitate the rest of the Bible. Each yellow page of the Bible varies in coloring with the amount of coating on the page and individual brushstrokes can be seen on certain leaves. The coloring of the pages ranges from yellow to brown. When the Bible was rebound several corners and edges remained folded in and untrimmed. On these fragments it can be observed that the edges were gilded at some point prior to rebinding. This version of the Bible was printed by Richard Jugge in London in 1566. Six years after Elizabeth I came to the throne, in 1564, she assigned the privilege of printing all Bibles to Richard Jugge. This research project focuses on answering the questions of what the “paint” is, why it was put there, who put it there, and what is the best way to conserve such a rare document. The research conducted on the Bible includes analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis Diffuse Reflectance with a Barium Sulfate reference, Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) Spectroscopy, Emission Spectroscopy, pH testing, and the simple application of UV light to the sample. Some non-analytic testing has also been done on plain paper from the same period as the Bible paper including the application of beeswax and turpentine. This testing showed that the yellow coating is most likely a beeswax and turpentine with a yellow pigment such as saffron or yellow ochre. The reason behind the color is still unknown although theories such as a way to disguise the Bible, preservation, and an attempt to make the Bible look more expensive are considered. Other Bibles and books from this period do exist with a similar yellow coating but none have been studied. This research project is important to the field of paper conservation because the coating on the pages is so unusual and has not been subjected to extensive study before this time. Analyzing why the “paint” was applied could reveal important information concerning how people of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries treated their important literature.