The Manual of Musical Instrument Conservation

This is the first book to combine museum-based conservation techniques with practical instructions on the maintenance repair adjustment and tuning of virtually every type of historical musical instrument. As one of the world''s leading conservators of musical instruments Stewart Pollens gives practical advice on the handling storage display and use of historic musical instruments in museums and other settings and provides technical information on such wide-ranging subjects as acoustics cleaning climate control corrosion disinfestation conservation ethics historic stringing practice measurement and historic metrology retouching tuning historic temperaments varnish and writing reports. There are informative essays on the conservation of each of the major musical instrument groups the treatment of paper textiles wood and metal as well as historic techniques of wood and metalworking as they apply to musical instrument making and repair. This is a practical guide that includes equations formulas tables and step-by-step instructions.