Bespoke Enclosures
Conserving and repairing items is a wonderful step towards long-term preservation. But sometimes it’s only the first step. The next step is a bespoke enclosure, ranging from folders to leather covered clamshell boxes, these enclosures help ensure the long term preservation of items by preventing the nicks and bumps of time.
Clamshell Box
Clamshell boxes are an incredibly durable and protective enclosure for books. The can be covered in leather or book cloth. In the images above the lining material is ethafoam, which can provide a nice cushion for a book. Other lining options include cloth or paper. More complex clamshell boxes, such as those with drawers, hand hold cut outs, 5 or 6 walls, pressure flaps, or integral cradles are also available.
Phase Box
Phase boxes are an economical option to protect books while still having an enclosure that opens completely flat allowing the easiest way to remove and replace the item in the enclosure. NS Conservation makes its phase boxes from archival e-flute board with brass rivets, polyethylene washers, and linen thread making the closure mechanism.
Modified Archival Boxes
Commercially available drop front archival boxes are a wonderful preservation tool. They especially shine with scrapbooks, where there are almost always intentionally or unintentionally loose items inside them. These items can be placed in a phase box and then both the book and the phase box can be fitted into the same drop front box. This makes for compact shelf storage and ensures these items are not separated from one another.