Workshop: Conservation of Leather BookbindingsWorkshop

The "Conservation of Leather Bookbindings" workshop, organized as part of the JERUS project, explored conservation and restoration methodologies for leather bindings, offering participants direct contact with internationally developed practices. Through a combination of lectures and hands-on activities, students consolidated the knowledge acquired in their Book Restoration courses, exploring the characteristics of the materials used, the main processes of leather degradation, and minimal intervention techniques for the conservation of historic bindings. The workshop also fostered the transfer of technical and scientific skills developed within the JERUS project, contributing to the dissemination of up-to-date methodologies for the conservation of book heritage. Led by John Gillis, Chief Manuscript Conservator and Project Manager at Trinity College Dublin, the workshop took place at the Arcore School of Restoration from May 18 to 22, 2026, and was open to fourth- and fifth-year students and doctoral students.