Related Reading

Poison Book Project Presentations (& Recordings)

Please visit the Project Publications and Presentations page for links to articles and recordings of presentations by the Poison Book Project team.

Angelova, L.V., Nawaz, S., Kafadaroğlu, B. et al. The use of ‘poisonous insecticidal solutions’ in bookbinding: coping with historic pesticide treatments in the archive. Herit Sci 11, 51 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-023-00866-y

Delbey, Thomas; Jakob Povl Holck, Bjarke Jørgensen, Alexandra Alvis, Vanessa Haight Smith, Gwénaëlle M. Kavich, Kimberly A. Harmon, Bertil Fabricius Dorch, Kaare Lund Rasmussen. (2019). “Poisonous books: analyses of four sixteenth and seventeenth century book bindings covered with arsenic rich green paint.”  Heritage Science. 7:91. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-019-0334-2

Knoll, Jane. “Arsenic Pigments in Bookbindings in the Boston Athenæum.” Online lecture. Boston Athenaeum. April 21, 2022.

Krol, Wiktoria. 2021. “Rozmowa w zielonym pokoju: zatrute książki” [Conversation in the green room: poison books]. Kolor smierci, odcien grobu czyli 50 odcieni morderczej zieleni [The color of death, the shade of the grave, that is, 50 shades of murderous green]. Krakow: Wydawnictwo IX. 183-192.

Gil, P. et. al. “Detecting emerald green in 19thC book bindings using vis-NIR spectroscopy.” Anal. Methods, 2023,15, 6603-6609. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3AY01329D

Grayburn, Rosie, and Melissa Tedone. “From Poison Books to Bibliotoxicology” (poster). Hazardous Heritage Congress, University of Antwerp, Belgium. October 23, 2023. Safety & Cultural Heritage Summit, Washington DC. October 27, 2023.

Grayburn, Rosie, and Melissa Tedone. “Searching for Arsenic: The Scientific Approaches of The Poison Book Project.” Papers presented during the General and Concurrent Sessions, AIC’s 51st Annual Meeting, Vol. 2 (2023) 77-79.

Grayburn, Rosie, and Melissa Tedone. “From Poison Books to “Bibliotoxicology”: Highlighting Hazards in Paper-Based Library Collections.” Collections, 0 (0). https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906241255706

Pantoja Munoz, L. Hidden in plain sight: revisiting the synthesis, characterisation, degradation and the intricate relationship between Scheele’s green and Emerald green. Herit Sci 12, 94 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-024-01192-7

Sirmans, Harikleia. “Judging A Book By Its Cover.” Textile Tuesday: Toxic Textiles in Libraries. Textile Society of America. April 18, 2023.

Tedone, Melissa and Rosie Grayburn. “Arsenic and Old Bookcloth: Identification and Safer Use of Emerald Green Victorian-Era Cloth Case Bindings.” JAIC. 22 March 2022.  https://doi.org/10.1080/01971360.2022.2031457

Tedone, Melissa and Rosie Grayburn. “Toxic Tomes: Understanding the Use and Risks of Heavy Metals in Nineteenth-Century Bookcloth.” Collections: a journal for museum and archives professionals. 21 April 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906231159040

Tedone, Melissa. “The Evolution of the Bibliotoxicology Working Group.” Papers presented during the General and Concurrent Sessions, AIC’s 51st Annual Meeting, Vol. 2 (2023) 73-75.

Turner, Andrew. “Lead and mercury in historical books and their contribution to dust contamination.” Journal of Hazardous Materials,
Volume 458, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131981.

Vermeulen, Marc; Samuel M. Webb, Susan Russick, Alicia C. McGeachy, Karissa Muratore, Marc S. Walton. “Identification, transformations and mobility of hazardous arsenic-based pigments on 19th century bookbindings in accessible library collections.” Journal of Hazardous Materials 454 (2023) 131453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131453

Wetten, Juliana. 2021. “Konservatorischer Umgang mit arsenhaltigem Bibliotheksgut.” BA thesis, Institut für Restaurierungs- und Konservierungswissenschaft, TH Köln. https://www.th-koeln.de/kulturwissenschaften/cics—studienprojekt—konservatorischer-umgang-mit-arsenhaltigem-bibliotheksgut_89422.phpThesis supervisor: Prof. Dr. Andrea Pataki-Hundt.

Further Reading

“Copper Acetoarsenite.” NOAA CAMEO Chemicals version 2.7.1. rev 1. Accessed February 13,2020. https://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/2981

Gehle, Kim. “Arsenic Toxicity.” Environmental Health and Medicine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, last modified January 15, 2010. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/arsenic/cover-page.html

Lundblad, Kristina. 2015. Bound to be modern : publishers’ cloth bindings and the material culture of the book, 1840-1914. Trans. Alan Crozier. New Castle, DE : Oak Knoll Press.

Krupp, Andrea. 2008. Bookcloth in England and America, 1823-50. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library; New York: Bibliographical Society of America.

Tomlinson, William, and Richard Masters. 1996. Bookcloth 1823-1980 : a study of early use and the rise of manufacture, Winterbottom’s dominance of the trade in Britain and America, production methods and costs, and the identification of qualities and designs. Cheshire, Eng.: D. Tomlinson.

Whorton, James C. 2010. The Arsenic Century: how Victorian Britain was poisoned at home, work, and play. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.