Paid Post-graduate Interns at CCI — 2009
Christine McNair

I completed an undergraduate degree in English Literature with a minor in Art History at Acadia University in 2001. After graduation, I worked for 2 years as an editorial assistant at Gaspereau Press, one of only two presses in Canada that design, print, and bind their books in-house. While at the press, I was able to assist bookbinder Ruth Legge with special edition bindings and attend bookbinding courses at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), the Dawson Printshop, and the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild (CBBAG) bindery in Toronto.

I left the press in 2003 to further my studies in bookbinding and book conservation, choosing to study at West Dean College (validated through the University of Sussex) where I completed graduate and postgraduate degrees in the conservation of books and library materials as well as an MA in Conservation Studies. During my studies, I also held short internships at Library and Archives Canada and Le Centre de Conservation du Livre (Arles, France).

Upon leaving West Dean College, I began a series of contract positions at home and abroad. I was initially hired by the London Metropolitan Archives (United Kingdom) to treat several 16th- to 20th-century books in the Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital collection. I returned to Canada and worked at the Archives of Ontario, primarily assisting with move-related projects. In February 2008, I was hired by CCI to complete one phase of the documentation of the Salzinnes Antiphonal, a 16th-century manuscript belonging to Saint Mary’s University (Halifax, NS). I began a one-year internship at CCI in October 2008, after successfully competing for this opportunity in CCI’s Paid Internship Program. In addition to my work at CCI, I am the editor of the CBBAG newsletter and journal, a director-at-large on the national CBBAG board, and an active member of the guild’s local chapter.

I am working on three major projects during my CCI internship. The first is the continued documentation of the Salzinnes Antiphonal. This manuscript has significant historic and artistic value; as one of few illuminated manuscripts held in a Canadian collection, it holds national importance. While continuing the documentation, I will also create a scaled-down model of the manuscript’s 16th-century binding and exemplars of conservation pressure boxes to assist with CCI’s treatment recommendations.
I am also working on the large-scale Haldimand County map. The map has been adhered to a textile support and may have been lightly varnished, which has left the paper discoloured and brittle. This challenging treatment will likely include a large solvent bath to remove any varnish as well as paper washing and multiple infills using Japanese tissue.

Finally, I am almost finished treating a scrapbook that belonged to John McCrae, the author of In Flanders Fields. The scrapbook includes a wide range of enclosures — from newspaper scraps to visiting cards to botanical samples. The treatment is designed to preserve the evidence inherent in the book’s structure. As soon as the paper repairs are complete, the volume will be re-sewn and re-attached to its original covers.