Abstract
We present an opto-thermal approach based on the use of active infrared thermography (IRT) for the study of texts hidden inside the bookbinding structure of ancient books. In particular we focus our investigation on the detection and characterization of texts on paper scraps, belonging to earlier handwritten or printed leaves, used for the making of bookbindings and lying between the end papers and the cover. A qualitative description of the physical mechanisms allowing the identification of texts is proposed and a comparative analysis of the results obtained by means of different IRT experimental configurations is presented. The results show that active IRT can be a very useful tool for the detection and the identification of underlying texts whose reading can provide useful information on the specific history of ancient books.
Zusammenfassung
Die Anwendung von aktiver Infrarotthermographie (IRT) zur Erfassung von Texten, die in Einbandstrukturen verborgen sind, wird vorgestellt. Insbesondere wurden Texte auf Fragmenten, die fur die Buchdeckenherstellung verwendet wurden, beziehungsweise sich zwischen Vorsatz und Buchdeckel befinden. Eine Beschreibung der physikalischen Grundlagen fur die Texterfassung mit IRT wird gegeben ebenso wie die Prasentation ausgewahlter Untersuchungen an historischen Objekten. Die prasentierten Resultate zeigen, dass aktive Infrarotthermographie eine geeignete Methode fur die Erfassung von verdeckten Textfragmenten darstellt und wichtige Informationen zur Geschichte historischer Bucher beziehungsweise Bucheinbande liefern kann.
Résumé
Nous présentons une approche qui se base sur l’utilisation active de la thermographie infrarouge (IRT) pour l’étude de textes cachés à l’intérieur de la structure reliée des livres anciens. L’examen s’est centre surtout sur la détection et la caractérisation de textes sur les fragments de papier provenant de feuilles écrites auparavant à la main ou imprimées et qui ont servi dans la fabrication des reliures et qui se trouvent entre les dernières feuilles de garde et la couverture des livres. On présentera une description des mécanismes physiques permettant l’identification des textes et une analyse comparative des résultats obtenus au moyen de différentes configurations expérimentales d’IRT. Les résultats présentés démontrent que La thermographie infrarouge active s’avère être un outil très utile dans la détection et la caractérisation de textes sous-jacents dont la lecture peut fournir de précieuses informations sur l’histoire spécifique de livres anciens.
About the authors
Fulvio Mercuri is Associate Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Director of the degree course in Restoration of Library Materials. His research activity has been devoted to the study of the thermal properties and to develop new calorimetric methods and infrared techniques for non destructive investigations of industrial products and cultural heritage artefacts.
Roberta Gnoli received her degree in Methods and Technologies for the Restoration of Library Materials from the University of Rome Tor Vergata in 2012 with a thesis regarding the detection of hidden texts by means of infrared thermography.
Stefano Paoloni received his PhD in electronic engineering in 1997 from the University of Rome La Sapienza. His research interests include the colorimetric investigations of phase transitions and application of infrared thermography for the nondestructive evaluation of industrial components and artworks. He is an assistant professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
Noemi Orazi is a Ph.D student at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Since 2010, as temporary research fellow in the same department and after a degree in History of Art, her research activity has been devoted to infrared thermography investigation of cultural heritage such as bronzes and books materials.
Cristina Cicero, after a degree in Restoration of Library Materials, is research fellow in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Her research activity is devoted to Infrared investigation and thermal analysis of library and archive materials.
Ugo Zammit is Full Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. His research interests include the colorimetric investigations of phase transitions, application of infrared thermography to the nondestructive testing of industrial components and the opto-thermal diagnosis on the state of conservation of cultural heritage items.
Massimo Marinelli is Full Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Director of the Department of Industrial Engineering. His research is devoted to the colorimetric investigations of phase transitions and application of infrared thermography for the nondestructive evaluation of industrial components and cultural heritage artifacts.
Folco Scudieri is Full Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. His research interests include the application of infrared thermography to nondestructive diagnosis on the state of conservation of archaeological findings and cultural heritage artefacts.
© 2013 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co.
