Book & paper conservator and editor of Conservation of Books (2023)
As one of the directors of Bainbridge Conservation, I specialise in the conservation and preservation of books and works on paper, working with libraries, museums, historic houses, dealers, and private collectors.
With over 20 years of experience in both the US and UK, I bring a thoughtful, practical, and collaborative approach to each project. Alongside my studio work, I’ve taught conservation in further and higher education, assess Icon accreditation candidates and apprentices, and mentor students and early career professionals—many of whom join me in my Southeast London studio through internships and placements. My approach is rooted in a deep understanding of historic craft and use, guided by scientific insight into how materials age and degrade, and always adapted to the unique needs of each object and context. In 2023 I edited “the book” on book conservation—Conservation of Books (Routledge), written by 70 authors in 35 countries.
You can catch a glimpse of my work on Hidden Treasures of the National Trust (Season 2, Episode 1), where I treated the extraordinary Shell Gallery at the 18th-century A La Ronde—one of my most rewarding recent projects.
Hard not to laugh when the book is this thick and this stuffed with loose material! Books like this need a bit of imagination along with good planning and timekeeping to find a solution.
Our purpose-built book and paper conservation studio meets the requirements for National Trust and English Heritage, both clients of ours with exacting security standards.
I recently disbound, repaired, and rebound renowned architect Allison Smithson’s scrapbook for the Tate Gallery. This huge project was funded by the Paul Mellon Centre and executed in collaboration with architecture historian Clare Zimmerman and Smithson’s daughter Soraya Smithson. This was a really exciting project: collaboration with other experts, a meaty debate about how to handle the treatment ethically and logistically, and a satisfying before and after transformation.
An example of recent paper conservation carried out in the studio—this varnished, cloth-backed wall map came in severely discoloured and embrittled. After humidification allowed unrolling, I washed it and removed the textile and varnish, relining it with Japanese kozo paper. It is now flexible and more legible and after filling the losses with toned fills, we will mount it to museum standards and frame in a custom frame.
Treatment of the paper items in the 16-sided interior shell grotto, the Shell Gallery, at A la Ronde, was a huge project undertaken.
Tristram is a furniture conservator specialising in Asian lacquer. He has been a furniture conservator at the Victoria and Albert Museum since 2011. He has lectured in conservation at West Dean College, City & Guilds of London Art School, and Camberwell College of Arts. He has an MA in Conservation Studies from West Dean College and a BA Hons in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute.
Tristram is an accredited member of Icon, serving on the Furniture & Wood Group committee, and is a trustee of the Anna Plowden Trust.
Bainbridge Conservation and Abby have been consummate professionals as long as I have used their services, able to handle a wide range of conservation issues sensitively and with aesthetic sense. Their quotations and timeframes are accurate and promptly met.
They bring a spirit of rigorous intellectual curiosity to their work which makes them an educational delight to a trade client like me - and results in thoughtful, effective work tailored to the needs of each object. I do not hesitate to recommend them to friends and clients as a first port of call.
N. G. McBurney
Early printing & manuscripts of the Islamic world