Skip to Content

Photos available for download
Preservation Education Curriculum Image Library

Images have been provided to assist you in illustrating most of the lessons. This collection should not be considered the definitive source for preservation images. Rather, use it to enhance your presentations and perhaps update some of your existing images. NEDCC is grateful to the many vendors and institutions—libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies—that were willing to share their photographs for this project.

These photographs are available as 72 dpi JPEG files, which can be downloaded for multimedia presentations in the classroom. You can view the caption and copyright notice for each photograph when you view the enlarged image. These images are to be used for educational purposes only and should not be published without permission from the copyright holder.

Click on the classes (left) to view image thumbnails.
Click on a thumbnail to enlarge the image.

Parts of a case bound book. Case binding structure. Sewn-through-the-fold method of leaf attachment, interior view. Detail of raised cords using the sewn-through-the-fold method of leaf attachment. The cords, typically made of linen, are then used to attach the boards. Raised cords before and after covering with leather. Sewing station at center shows cord placed in sawn-in channel. The cord, one of several, was used to attach the cover board to the text block. Spine cross-section showing French or link sewing over linen tapes and spine linings. The staggered printed bars on the folds indicate the sequence of the signatures. The figure-eight stab-sewn pamphlet stitch was used throughout the 19th century. It could be removed easily so the pamphlet could be bound. Traditional oriental binding. The outer silk-thread sewing is often decorative rather than structural. Oversewing was used by commercial binders to consolidate broken text blocks. The colored thread identified the operator of the oversewing equipment. Because oversewing perforates the text block, it can restrict the opening and cause severe damage to weak or brittle paper. In a burst binding, the spine folds are slit at intervals to allow glue to penetrate to the center of each section or signature. In perfect binding, the spine folds are cut off, creating a text block of loose leaves. Glue is then applied to the spine. Perfect binding, interior view. The text block consists of single leaves and the page attachment is adhesive. An end band sewn over cord with linen thread. This treatment is structural rather than decorative; the cords are attached to the cover boards. Limp parchment binding, a historic nonadhesive binding that is both lightweight and durable.