Micro-analytical and microbiological investigation of selected book papers from the nineteenth century

Books represent a very important part of the cultural heritage, due to their double characteristics: first, as a man-made material and secondly, due to the information they store. The characterization of book paper represents a very important step in developing solutions for better conservation procedures, as well as for fully understanding their provenance. The present paper describes the analytical and microbiological evaluation of a collection of books from the nineteenth century, belonging to the authors’ private collections. The samples consisted of four books printed in Romania and five printed in France. The analytical characterization was performed using optical microscopy, thermal analysis, spectroscopic methods (X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), as well as by the evaluation of the degree of polymerization and the color change. The analyses were chosen in order to be either non-destructive or, at least, micro-destructive. The fungal loading determination was performed by plating the samples on the potato dextrose agar and Sabouraud with chloramphenicol agar media, for 28 days, followed by macroscopically and microscopically identification of mold species. The present study offers a complex methodology regarding the use of non- or micro-invasive techniques for evaluating the composition, state of degradation and potential risks related to microorganism colonization of paper artifacts.