Latest news with #WinterthurMuseum
Daily Record
15 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Record
How these beautiful Victorian books can cause liver damage and skin problems
Prolonged exposure to multiple volumes in a certain colour can be a health hazard - and there is an interesting explanation A deadly fashion trend from the 1800s is haunting modern libraries, as Victorian-era books laced with poisonous pigments continue to pose a hidden risk to readers and staff. During the 19th century, a striking emerald green, made by mixing copper with arsenic, was all the rage. It coloured everything from wallpaper to children's toys, and even made its way into sweets. But one of its most lasting legacies can be found on the shelves of historic libraries. Bookbinders of the Victorian era used arsenic, mercury, and chrome to craft vibrant covers designed to catch the eye. While many other items from the time have vanished, these books remain, creating a very 21st century health hazard. Prolonged exposure to multiple green-bound volumes can lead to low-level arsenic poisoning. Over time, this can cause damage to the liver and kidneys, skin problems, anaemia and a weakened immune system. In 2019, the Poison Book Project launched in Delaware, with experts from the Winterthur Museum and Delaware's state university teaming up to investigate. They identified several toxic titles, including four in the National Library of France, which were immediately removed from public access. Inspired by their work, preservative conservator Erica Kotze at the University of St Andrews decided to take action. She reached out to her colleague Dr Pilar Gil, a trained biochemist working in Special Collections, to find a safer and more practical method of identifying dangerous volumes. "The most important thing was to find a non-destructive, portable instrument that could tell us if it was a poisonous book or not," Dr Gil told the BBC. X-ray technology was ruled out due to the fragility of the books. Instead, she borrowed a spectrometer from the university's geology department, typically used to detect minerals in rocks. After testing hundreds of books, Dr Gil noticed a distinctive pattern. 'It was a 'eureka' moment. I realised it was something that no one had seen before.' The team then partnered with the physics department to create a bespoke testing tool. Dr Graham Bruce, senior research laboratory manager, describes how it works: 'It shines light on the book and measures the amount of light which shines back. "It uses green light, which can be seen, and infrared, which can't be seen with our own eyes. The green light flashes when there are no fragments of arsenic present, the red light when there are pigments.' Smaller, cheaper and faster than a full spectrometer, the new device has already been used to test thousands of books at both St Andrews and the National Library of Scotland. The aim now is to share the technology with libraries and museums worldwide. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. 'We're lucky as a large institution to have expensive kit,' says Dr Jessica Burge, deputy director of library and museums at St Andrews. 'But other institutions with big collections may not have those resources, so we wanted to create something which was affordable and easy. It doesn't require a specialist conservator or analysis, and it's instant.' As time passes, the risk may only increase, with toxic books breaking down and releasing more of their hazardous particles. The goal is not to lock these books away forever, but to handle them safely and preserve access for future generations. Dr Burge adds: 'Any book that's got a green cover from the 19th century is being restricted because they don't know. And as libraries and museums, that's not really what we're about. We want people to be able to use the books and help bring back access to collections, rather than restricting their use.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
If books could kill: The poison legacy lurking in libraries
The Victorians loved the colour green. In particular, they loved a vibrant shade of emerald created by combining copper and arsenic, which was used in everything from wallpaper to children's toys. "This colour was very popular for most of the 19th Century because of its vibrancy and its resistance to light fading," says Erica Kotze, a preservative conservator at the University of St Andrews. "We know that many household items were coloured with arsenic-based green pigments. It was even used in confectionery." The trouble is, the combination of elements used is toxic and that's still a problem more than a century later. And it's a particular problem when it comes to old books. Victorian bookbinders used arsenic as well as mercury and chrome to create striking covers. And unlike domestic items, books have survived in archives around the world, creating a 21st Century problem from 19th Century fashion. Prolonged exposure to multiple green books can cause low level arsenic poisoning. Long-term exposure can cause changes to the skin, harm to the liver and kidneys and a reduction in red and white blood cells, which can lead to anaemia and an increased risk of infections. In 2019, an attempt to tackle the problem was set up in Delaware between the Winterthur Museum and the state university. The Poison Book Project tested books and drew up a list of titles which are potentially harmful to humans. These included four books in the National Library of France, which were immediately withdrawn. Inspired by this, Erica Kotze called on her colleague Dr Pilar Gil, who trained as a biochemist before working in Special Collections at the University of St Andrews. Dr Gil took a practical approach to surveying the thousands of historic books in their collection. "The most important thing was to find a non-destructive, portable instrument that could tell us if it was a poisonous book or not," she says. She rule out X-ray technology because of the fragile nature of the books being examined and instead looked to the geology department. They had a spectrometer - a device that measures the distribution of different wavelengths of light - for detecting minerals in rocks. "Minerals and pigments are very similar," says Dr Gil, "so I borrowed the instrument and started looking for emerald green in books." She tested hundreds of books and then realised she was looking at a breakthrough. "I realised there was a distinctive pattern to the toxic ones. It was a 'eureka' moment. I realised it was something that no one had seen before." The next task was to speak to the physics department to build their own prototype. Dr Graham Bruce, senior research laboratory manager explains how it works. "It shines light on the book and measures the amount of light which shines back," he says. "It uses green light, which can be seen, and infrared, which can't be seen with our own eyes. The green light flashes when there are no fragments of arsenic present, the red light when there are pigments." The new testing device is smaller and will be less costly to produce and use than a full-scale spectrometer It has already been used to survey the thousands of books in the St Andrews collections and in the National Library of Scotland, and the team hope to share their design with other institutions around the world. "We're lucky as a large institution to have expensive kit, so that we can test 19th Century potentially toxic books," says Dr Jessica Burge, deputy director of library and museums at the University of St Andrews. "But other institutions with big collections may not have those resources, so we wanted to create something which was affordable and easy. It doesn't require a specialist conservator or analysis, and it's instant." It's also a problem which isn't going away. If anything, toxic books will become more harmful as they get older and disintegrate. Identifying them means they can stored in a safe way and still enjoyed with controlled access and precautions such as wearing gloves. "It will continue to be a live issue," says Dr Burge. "But I think that the biggest issue for institutions at the moment is that any book that's got a green cover from the 19th Century is being restricted because they don't know. "And as libraries and museums, that's not really what we're about. We want people to be able to use the books and help bring back access to collections, rather than restricting their use."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
If books could kill: The poison legacy lurking in libraries
The Victorians loved the colour green. In particular, they loved a vibrant shade of emerald created by combining copper and arsenic, which was used in everything from wallpaper to children's toys. "This colour was very popular for most of the 19th Century because of its vibrancy and its resistance to light fading," says Erica Kotze, a preservative conservator at the University of St Andrews. "We know that many household items were coloured with arsenic-based green pigments. It was even used in confectionery." The trouble is, the combination of elements used is toxic and that's still a problem more than a century later. And it's a particular problem when it comes to old books. Victorian bookbinders used arsenic as well as mercury and chrome to create striking covers. And unlike domestic items, books have survived in archives around the world, creating a 21st Century problem from 19th Century fashion. Prolonged exposure to multiple green books can cause low level arsenic poisoning. Long-term exposure can cause changes to the skin, harm to the liver and kidneys and a reduction in red and white blood cells, which can lead to anaemia and an increased risk of infections. In 2019, an attempt to tackle the problem was set up in Delaware between the Winterthur Museum and the state university. The Poison Book Project tested books and drew up a list of titles which are potentially harmful to humans. These included four books in the National Library of France, which were immediately withdrawn. Inspired by this, Erica Kotze called on her colleague Dr Pilar Gil, who trained as a biochemist before working in Special Collections at the University of St Andrews. Dr Gil took a practical approach to surveying the thousands of historic books in their collection. "The most important thing was to find a non-destructive, portable instrument that could tell us if it was a poisonous book or not," she says. She rule out X-ray technology because of the fragile nature of the books being examined and instead looked to the geology department. They had a spectrometer - a device that measures the distribution of different wavelengths of light - for detecting minerals in rocks. "Minerals and pigments are very similar," says Dr Gil, "so I borrowed the instrument and started looking for emerald green in books." She tested hundreds of books and then realised she was looking at a breakthrough. "I realised there was a distinctive pattern to the toxic ones. It was a 'eureka' moment. I realised it was something that no one had seen before." The next task was to speak to the physics department to build their own prototype. Dr Graham Bruce, senior research laboratory manager explains how it works. "It shines light on the book and measures the amount of light which shines back," he says. "It uses green light, which can be seen, and infrared, which can't be seen with our own eyes. The green light flashes when there are no fragments of arsenic present, the red light when there are pigments." The new testing device is smaller and will be less costly to produce and use than a full-scale spectrometer It has already been used to survey the thousands of books in the St Andrews collections and in the National Library of Scotland, and the team hope to share their design with other institutions around the world. "We're lucky as a large institution to have expensive kit, so that we can test 19th Century potentially toxic books," says Dr Jessica Burge, deputy director of library and museums at the University of St Andrews. "But other institutions with big collections may not have those resources, so we wanted to create something which was affordable and easy. It doesn't require a specialist conservator or analysis, and it's instant." It's also a problem which isn't going away. If anything, toxic books will become more harmful as they get older and disintegrate. Identifying them means they can stored in a safe way and still enjoyed with controlled access and precautions such as wearing gloves. "It will continue to be a live issue," says Dr Burge. "But I think that the biggest issue for institutions at the moment is that any book that's got a green cover from the 19th Century is being restricted because they don't know. "And as libraries and museums, that's not really what we're about. We want people to be able to use the books and help bring back access to collections, rather than restricting their use."
BBC News
3 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
If books could kill: The poison legacy lurking in libraries
The Victorians loved the colour green. In particular, they loved a vibrant shade of emerald created by combining copper and arsenic, which was used in everything from wallpaper to children's toys."This colour was very popular for most of the 19th Century because of its vibrancy and its resistance to light fading," says Erica Kotze, a preservative conservator at the University of St Andrews."We know that many household items were coloured with arsenic-based green pigments. It was even used in confectionery."The trouble is, the combination of elements used is toxic and that's still a problem more than a century later. And it's a particular problem when it comes to old books. Victorian bookbinders used arsenic as well as mercury and chrome to create striking covers. And unlike domestic items, books have survived in archives around the world, creating a 21st Century problem from 19th Century exposure to multiple green books can cause low level arsenic poisoning. Long-term exposure can cause changes to the skin, harm to the liver and kidneys and a reduction in red and white blood cells, which can lead to anaemia and an increased risk of infections. In 2019, an attempt to tackle the problem was set up in Delaware between the Winterthur Museum and the state university. The Poison Book Project tested books and drew up a list of titles which are potentially harmful to humans. These included four books in the National Library of France, which were immediately by this, Erica Kotze called on her colleague Dr Pilar Gil, who trained as a biochemist before working in Special Collections at the University of St Andrews. Dr Gil took a practical approach to surveying the thousands of historic books in their collection."The most important thing was to find a non-destructive, portable instrument that could tell us if it was a poisonous book or not," she rule out X-ray technology because of the fragile nature of the books being examined and instead looked to the geology department. They had a spectrometer - a device that measures the distribution of different wavelengths of light - for detecting minerals in rocks."Minerals and pigments are very similar," says Dr Gil, "so I borrowed the instrument and started looking for emerald green in books."She tested hundreds of books and then realised she was looking at a breakthrough."I realised there was a distinctive pattern to the toxic ones. It was a 'eureka' moment. I realised it was something that no one had seen before." The next task was to speak to the physics department to build their own Graham Bruce, senior research laboratory manager explains how it works."It shines light on the book and measures the amount of light which shines back," he says."It uses green light, which can be seen, and infrared, which can't be seen with our own eyes. The green light flashes when there are no fragments of arsenic present, the red light when there are pigments."The new testing device is smaller and will be less costly to produce and use than a full-scale spectrometerIt has already been used to survey the thousands of books in the St Andrews collections and in the National Library of Scotland, and the team hope to share their design with other institutions around the world. "We're lucky as a large institution to have expensive kit, so that we can test 19th Century potentially toxic books," says Dr Jessica Burge, deputy director of library and museums at the University of St Andrews."But other institutions with big collections may not have those resources, so we wanted to create something which was affordable and easy. It doesn't require a specialist conservator or analysis, and it's instant."It's also a problem which isn't going away. If anything, toxic books will become more harmful as they get older and them means they can stored in a safe way and still enjoyed with controlled access and precautions such as wearing gloves. "It will continue to be a live issue," says Dr Burge."But I think that the biggest issue for institutions at the moment is that any book that's got a green cover from the 19th Century is being restricted because they don't know. "And as libraries and museums, that's not really what we're about. We want people to be able to use the books and help bring back access to collections, rather than restricting their use."
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Winterthur to unveil immersive, first-of-its kind look at Black experience
On Saturday, May 3, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library will open "Almost Unknown, The Afric-American Picture Gallery,'' an immersive, design-forward exhibition unlike anything we've ever done. Visitors will explore a multisensory experience featuring light and shadow, sound, intimate gallery spaces, and design elements that amplify the story told by guest curator Jonathan Michael Square, using objects from Winterthur's collection. "Almost Unknown'' is based on Square's interpretation of a 19th-century essay by William J. Wilson, a Black journalist, educator, and social commentator who was born free in 1818. Wilson's essay 'The Afric-American Picture Gallery' was published in 1859 as a seven-part installment in the Anglo-African Magazine. Writing under the pen name 'Ethiop,' he guides readers on a tour through an imaginary collection of artworks that both celebrate and critique the experience of free and enslaved Black Americans in the 19th century. 'The essay challenges us to consider our past, reflect on our present, and imagine a more inclusive future,' says Square, a historian and educator who has used the text to teach courses at Harvard University and Parsons School of Design. 'It's a difficult read,' he adds. 'It starts off linear and straightforward, then veers into the fantastical. There's tension in it.' Essay themes that influenced both the curation and design include Black childhood, the Underground Railroad, a Black Forest and Mount Vernon in a state of decay. The design also includes nods to 19th-century magic lantern shows, shadow plays and silhouette puppets. 'The layout and curation begin with that linear structure, then transition into something more abstract and immersive, reflecting the essay's dreamlike evolution,' explains Square. The result is an art installation that invites visitors to experience the intensity of the objects through the design. In "Almost Unknown,'' Square assembled drawings, paintings, sculptures, books and other objects from Winterthur's collection to represent Wilson's gallery and Black life in the United States and across the Diaspora. The selected objects do not directly replicate Wilson's descriptions. Instead, the exhibition reflects Square's interpretation of the text, its contemporary relevance, and the connections he has drawn with Wilson's imagined gallery. The result is a tight group of 30 objects, thoughtfully selected by Square, along with several pieces on loan. Included are copies of Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin''; Phyllis Wheatley's "Poems on Various Subjects''; a silhouette attributed to Moses Williams, and a quilt by Priscilla Ballenger Leedom, who embroidered a sketch of a bald eagle drawn by an unnamed, enslaved boy. Featured is a digital reproduction of an 1855 edition of the Provincial Freeman newspaper containing a farewell from Mary Ann Shadd, the first female African American newspaper publisher. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, she later taught there in public schools. 'I want people to dig deeper into the stories of these and other transformative figures,' says Square. 'I want visitors to feel the dynamism and vitality of African American history and culture, which is a story that's layered and constantly evolving.' The first item Square selected to exhibit is a modest iron trivet from 1770–1800. He instantly recognized the shape as a Sankofa. A symbol with roots in West Africa, Sankofa translates to 'go back and get it.' The Sankofa repeats in the gallery design as a reminder to look to the past in order to move forward. An iPad that encourages exploration of the Colored Conventions Project is the only modern element included. Square says the choice to omit contemporary African American art is his curatorial intervention. 'I wanted historical objects themselves and my interpretation of them to serve as an engine for dialogue,' he explains. 'These pieces speak volumes when you take the time to listen.' Through this exhibition, Square has taken something almost unknown and is making it known, including Wilson, his essay, and often obscure but important stories of these objects. It is a testament to the depth and breadth of the Winterthur collection, which holds the power to represent many histories often unrecognized or previously untold. The exhibition runs May 3 through Jan. 4, 2026. "Almost Unknown: Continue the Journey," a guided house tour, is scheduled from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. beginning May 3. Spring theater: The Milton Theatre, already core to community, looks to nurture next generation of artists Painting off the news cycle: Viral news moments are captured in Delaware man's tiny artwork The "Looking Back to the Future: Realizing 'The Afric-American Picture Gallery' symposium is Nov. 14 to 15. The keynote speaker is Fred Wilson, curator of "Mining the Museum,'' the seminal 1992 exhibition at what is now the Maryland Center for History and Culture. Learn more about the "Almost Unknown'' exhibition and symposium at Alexandra Deutsch is the John L. and Marjorie P. McGraw Director of Collections at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Winterthur Almost Unknown immersive exhibit explores untold Black history
