Conservation of the Priest’s Notebook

This intriguing and important item (Ref: SL0337) was donated to Museum nan Eilean some years ago, but could not be displayed or made accessible to the public due to its fragile condition. In 2023, the volume was assessed and treated by Richard Aitken, senior conservator at High Life Highland conservation service in Inverness.

As can be seen from the ‘before’ photos, the issues were the fragility of the paper, especially near the front of the volume, loose and dirty pages in some sections of the book and damage to the spine.

The conservation treatment required the book to be disbound, cleaned, rebound, and reattached to the original boards. Individual pages also required to be repaired and strengthened in the course of the work. An acid-free box was made especially for housing the volume after treatment was completed.

The photographs below of the finished article illustrate the success of the work done to restore the volume. As a result we were able to feature the item in our Cianalas ‘s Dòchas | Homesickness and Hope emigration exhibition. We have also been able to digitise it. The conservation treatment was funded by donations from visitors to both our museums. Thanks to their generosity, we are able to make this important artefact accessible now and for future generations.

The highly skilled conservation treatment was undertaken by archive conservators Richard Aitken and Rachael Thomas at Highland Archive centre in Inverness.

To find out more about the content of the Priest’s Notebook, why not take a look at this article?