Seven Ages of Britain

[denis567]

As much as I admire David Dimbleby, and as much as I am enjoying this series, I cannot understand why he is allowed to handle rare medieval books without wearing protective gloves. Can you imagine a member of the general public being allowed to do so?

[Mr Veritas]

Might it be that what he was handling was a facsimile,and not the original?
Some medieval manuscripts are too valuable or fragile to be handled (even with gloves on)

[Mr Veritas]

PS:~
Many museums,libraries (including the British Library) etc, have excellent photographic facsimiles made,so that students and members of the public can handle these volumes,and actually see what they look like.It also enables more than one person to see a volume at any one time.

[denis567]

Thanks Mr Veritas, that could be the answer, I certainly hope so.

[Mr Veritas]

Hi there again,
I thought you might like to see this answer to a letter in next weeks Radio Times, asking much the same question as you.
It comes from Clare Price in Cambridge.
She also asked about handling of priceless documents.
I feel the answer given is a not what |I would agree with,but as it's the experts view we have to take it on board?

"Those responsible for the treasures featured supervised filming.
What many people do not know is that with books and manuscripts, curators often prefer handlers not to usegloves because the material affects the natural sense of touch, increasing the risk of inadvertently tearing pages.
Gloves can also get caught on the fibres of the paper, and transfer dirt more readily than clean hands"

Well, that's us told isn't it!LOL

Have a look at the British Library's guidance on the subject,here:~
http://www.bl.uk/abou...0Text%20Draft%206.pdf

[denis567]

Thanks again Mr Veritas and thank you for the link. Very interesting and it just shows you can always learn something new.