This publication is a translated and revised edition of the Richtlijnen voor de conservering van leren en
perkamenten boekbanden issued in 1995 by the KB and the Central Research Laboratory for Objects of Art
and Science. The fact that the 1995 edition sold out within a year is clear proof of the importance of the
subject.
Because of the interest from abroad it was decided in 1996 to translate the publication into English.
This also made it possible to incorporate modifications, based on the experiences of several workshops
organised at the end of 1996 and early 1997. In these workshops, in which some 80 conservators participated,
the theoretical and practical aspects of leather and parchment conservation were extensively discussed with
the authors of the Richtlijnen, while practical experiences with the recommendations put forward in the report
were exchanged.
This co-production of the KB and the Central Research Laboratory (since April 1997: Netherlands Institute for
Cultural Heritage) underscores the importance of sound collaboration between research institutes and the
field.
RHC Vos
Director
Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage