Team

Dr. Melissa Tedone

Lead Conservator

Melissa Tedone, PhD, MSIS, is Assistant Professor in the University of Delaware Department of Art Conservation and Associate Director of the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC). 

As the lead conservator of the Poison Book Project​, Melissa researches the use of heavy metals in mass-produced, nineteenth-century Euro-American bookbinding. As founding co-chair of the Bibliotoxicology Working Group (BibTox), she facilitates an international cohort of conservators, conservation scientists, librarians, and health and safety professionals who are exploring safer practices for the identification and management of library collections with potentially toxic components.

Dr. Rosie Grayburn

Conservation Scientist

Rosie Grayburn, DSc, PhD, MSci, holds a dual appointment as Associate Scientist and Manager for the Scientific Research and Analytical lab at Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library, and Affiliated Associate Professor in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, where she teaches conservation science and analytical methodologies to graduate fellows in art conservation. 

Her current research projects skew inorganic: from an investigation into toxic pigmented bookcloth, to the optimization and study of treatments for silver and silverplate. She was previously a postdoctoral fellow in Conservation Science at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, and holds a joint PhD in Physics and Analytical Chemistry from Universiteit Gent and the University of Warwick.

Brittany Murray

Project Assistant

Brittany Murray is a third-year Master’s student in the Winterthur/ University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. She is specializing in library and archive materials and is currently interning at the Library of Congress. 

Brittany has researched the use of heavy metals in book production, and has assisted with testing books for the presence of copper acetoarsenite. She answers research inquiries and is in the process of making safety and handling resources for the website. Her position is generously funded by the Nadia Sophie Seiler Fund.

Estrella Salgado

Project Assistant

Estrella Salgado is a second-year Master’s student in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture. She is pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation and is currently writing her thesis on post-Vatican II architecture.

Estrella manages institutional requests for bookmarks, advances development strategies, and is in the process of reenvisioning the website. Her position is generously funded by the Nadia Sophie Seiler Fund.

Kaitlyn Cannizzo

Project Assistant

Kaitlyn Cannizzo graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor’s degree in Art Conservation and Art History and is currently gaining pre-program experience at the Princeton Public Library. She is interested in pursuing a graduate degree in library and archives conservation. 

Kaitlyn distributes complimentary bookmarks to individuals based on individual requests submitted through the website.

Contact

For inquiries specific to the Poison Book Project, please contact us at poisonbookproject@udel.edu.

For more general questions about potentially toxic library and archives materials, please contact the Bibliotoxicology Working Group at bib-tox@udel.edu.

Our Research Community

Winterthur/University of Delaware Team

Meghan Abercrombie, Winterthur Intern
Allie Alvis, Winterthur Curator of Special Collections
Carley Altenburger, Winterthur Assistant Librarian
Clare Breene, Bookmark Request Fulfilment Volunteer
Jane Burslem, Bookmark Request Fulfilment Volunteer
Alison Chew, Winterthur Intern
Philip DePaola, Winterthur Intern
Phoebe Doherty, Bookmark Request Fulfilment Volunteer
Dr. Patricia Elena Gonzales Gil, Visiting Researcher (Winterthur), Professor, Sección Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Emily Guthrie, (former) Winterthur Library Director
Layla Huff, Winterthur Intern
Amanei Johnson, Winterthur Intern
Sara Leonowitz, Winterthur Intern
Sarah Lewis, Winterthur Assistant Librarian
Emily MacMillan, Winterthur Intern
Dr. Liora Mael, UD Post-Doctoral Fellow
Catherine Matsen, Winterthur Sr. Conservation Scientist
Demetra McBrayer, Graduate Assistant, University of Delaware
Diane McMinn, Bookmark Request Fulfilment Volunteer
Keith Minsinger, Assistant Registrar, Museum CMS
Brittany Murray, WUDPAC Fellow and Project Assistant
Rebecca Parmer, Winterthur Library Director
Jess Ortegon, WUDPAC Fellow
Mina Porell, Winterthur Postgraduate Fellow in Paintings Conservation
Estrella Salgado, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture Fellow and Project Assistant
Tempe Stewart, Winterthur Intern
Esther Weyer, Winterthur Intern
Janet Wittine, Winterthur Intern

Bookmark Design

Karissa Muratore, WUDPAC ’20 (v.1)
Gayle Bezerra, Teresa Vivolo, Stephanie Gaster, Winterthur Marketing (v.2, v.3)

Website Design

Kayla Abner, Digital Scholarship Librarian, University of Delaware
Estrella Salgado, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture Fellow and Project Assistant

Consultants

Michael Gladle, (former) Director; Brandon Calitree; John Verdi, University of Delaware Environmental Health & Safety
Karen Gartley, Research Manager/Program Director, University of Delaware Soil Testing Program
Kirsten Moffitt, Conservator and Materials Analyst, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Contributing Institutions and Individuals

American Antiquarian Society
Appalachian State University
Boston Athenaeum
British Library
Burt Thompson
George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida
Jordan Library, Queen’s University
Library Company of Philadelphia
Lilly Library, Indiana University
Middlebury College Special Collections
Mitchel Gundrum & Jane Knoll
National Library of Scotland
Northwestern University Library
Ohio University Libraries
Philadelphia Athenaeum
Ronald Smeltzer
St. Andrews University
University of Arkansas
University of Delaware, Morris Library
University of Oregon Libraries
University of Southampton
University of Washington
William & Mary Libraries
Winterthur Library