Housings for Archives and Books for Boxes

We offer a wide variety of handmade boxing and housing solutions for books, archives and library materials, however we can also advise upon and supply the many 'off the shelf' archival storage solutions offered by conservation equipment suppliers.

Fine handmade boxes

For many objects a fine bespoke handmade box is the best solution for long term protection and safe storage. Whilst these can be more time-consuming to produce, being well made from quality materials our boxes provide value in the long term and are designed to protect valuable objects for their lifetime. They can incorporate functions required for long term preservation, such as: support for damaged or fragile areas,  fore-edge protection for misshapen books, textblock supports, pressure pads (keeping oxidation, pollutants and other atmospheric causes of degradation to a minimum), buffering to keep acidic components from harming neighbouring materials or even drawers and compartments to allow related but separate objects to be stored and displayed together.

In addition these boxes can be impressive items in their own right. Gold tooled leather covering or spines enable boxes to sit comfortably in any library, and book cloths, buckram or decorated paper covers allow for wide variety of choice.

Four-flap & drop-back boxes

Made from grey/white archival folding box board these boxes offer many of the advantages of the handmade box. Being relatively quick to produce they are particularly suitable for large collections or where budgets are limited.

Book shoes & shelf liners

Book shoes can offer support for dropping textblocks for a whole library without significantly affecting the aesthetic impact of a room full of books. Where shelf space is limited and the books are in a historic order then shelf liners are advised. Our designs are those developed by Nicholas Pickwoad and Caroline Bendix, National Trust Consultants.

Albums, fascicules, pamphlet boxes, envelopes, folders & portfolios

Libraries and archives contain a huge variety of materials and if the correct method of storage for your collection cannot be found in any of the 'off-the-shelf' ranges offered by conservation suppliers, then we have many years of experience in designing and making bespoke storage systems for difficult, vulnerable or fragile collections.

Book supports and display options

All books are sensitive to opening angles and many can only be safely accessed using book supports. Fragile bindings can be especially sensitive to the strain caused by long term display at single openings, especially if the opening angles are too wide and the boards and spine are not supported correctly. We can advise you as to how to correctly and safely display your items as well as design and make book supports for specific page openings for an exhibition, or we can train your staff to assess the strain of a particular opening and measure the profiles of the book and make simple but effective book cradles for display.