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Looks Alarming but Isn't
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home > case studies > looks alarming but isn't > non-mold example 9
This reddish substance is more tricky: it is deep in the gutter of the pages and has a dusty texture. Compare it to examples of mold growing in page gutters and you may find some similarities as well as some notable differences. The marks look ground into the paper rather than sitting on or within the paper’s fibers. Further, the book had no moisture damage, smelled like clay, and covered the history of pottery. This material is the same color as the reddish clay used by many students at Maine College of Art. What we have in this example is clay dust that got inside the book and became ground into the gutter.
Books Gone Bad - Mold in Library Collections was a project sponsored by Maine College of Art, in partnership with the Joanne Waxman Library. Funding for this project came from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation. The Project Lead and Artist for this project was Diane J. Wren. All contents Copyright © 2011 by Diane J. Wren. All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a data base or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Diane J. Wren.