By Ryn Marchese, Marketing Manager (2025)
Phillis Wheatley Peters made literary history with a single book—Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, published in 1773. It was the first book published by an enslaved person and the first by a woman of African descent in Britain and its colonies. Though Poems would be her only book, it secured Wheatley’s place in literary history far beyond her short 31 years of life.
Four institutions entrusted the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) with the conservation of their copy of Poems: Clark University, Peabody Essex Museum, Vassar College, and Washington University in St. Louis. Each volume showed signs of its 250-year history, with unique conservation challenges. This story highlights the conservation goals and the treatments used to ensure Wheatley’s work endures for future generations.
Clark University
Clark University’s copy of Poems in the Robert H. Goddard Library had been rebound in the 1960s, but the tightback structure restricted its opening and put stress on the pages at the front and back of the volume. In anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the book’s publication, the University sought to improve the book’s ability to open safely while mending compromised pages. The frontispiece—an illustration facing the title page—had been adhered to the title pages with synthetic adhesive which prevented it from fully opening to display the illustration. Repeated opening of the volume and attempts to view the frontispiece had caused the dedication page to tear in the inner margin.
Conservation Treatment
Conservator Morgan Mahan released the pages that had been glued together when the volume was rebound in the 1960s. The frontispiece was reattached using Japanese paper hinges and wheat starch paste, and damaged pages were mended while retaining as much original material as possible.
Clark opted to have an archival box custom-fitted to the volume, which helps ensure its long-term preservation by protecting the book from light damage, dust, and environmental pollutants.
Peabody Essex Museum
The Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) cares for two signed copies of Poems, including an annotated edition owned by John Dabney, a well-known bookseller in Salem, MA. Wheatley inscribed a personal message to Dabney, presenting the book as a gift:
“A present from the Author to the owner, J Dabney. And many has been the pleasant hours the owner has pained with this prodigy!!” – Phillis Wheatley
Two and a half centuries later, PEM brought Dabney’s copy to NEDCC. The joints and hinges were broken, and the full leather binding was crumbling. The title page had been previously torn and mended with a whipstitch of sewing thread. PEM’s goal was to stabilize the book for exhibition while preserving evidence of past repairs.
Conservation Treatment and Digital Imaging
Book Conservator Kiyoshi Imai disbound the volume, removing the leather binding and original sewing. He then surface cleaned the pages to reduce dirt, taking care not to disturb the historic whipsticthed repair. Wheatley’s inscription and signature were written in iron gall ink. As iron gall ink ages, it can be subject to corrosion which eats away at the underlying paper. The ink was stabilized with a calcium phytate treatment to neutralize the corrosive iron ions, preventing further degradation. Tears were then mended, and detached leaves were reattached using Japanese paper and wheat starch paste.
PEM staff opted to have the book digitized during conservation, which is the optimal time to perform digital imaging. With the binding removed, each page could be imaged flat, ensuring the highest-quality image. After digitization, the text block was resewn, and the binding was repaired by rebacking with Japanese paper and toned linen ensuring both structural stability and a visual match to the original materials. Notably, the historic whipstitch repair on the title page was preserved as a testament to the book’s history.
Vassar College
Vassar College’s copy of Poems is housed in the Archives and Special Collections Library. This copy was also signed by the author, along with three previous owners. The book had been rebound in the 19th century, but its weakened structure included loss on the spine, loose pages, and a torn frontispiece. Interest in this book’s use ahead of the 250th anniversary had increased, and the conservation goal was to create a structurally sound volume while preserving its binding for safe handling and research.
Conservation Treatment
After surface cleaning and mending minor tears, Conservator Imai repaired the detached frontispiece and title page. The binding was then repaired by rebacking with toned linen and Japanese paper, incorporating the original spine piece. Vassar also commissioned a custom cloth-covered clamshell box for secure storage.
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY AT ST. LOUIS
The Washington University at St. Louis’ (WashU) copy of Poems faced severe structural and aesthetic challenges, such as a detached front cover, heavily stained and torn pages, and significant loss to the title page. Most notably, a past reader had added a speech bubble to Wheatley’s portrait, writing the word "poems" in crayon.
While full rebinding was beyond the project’s scope, the WashU prioritized conservation for exhibition. The University hoped to exhibit the volume in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of its publication.
Conservation Treatment
Conservator Mahan carefully reduced the crayon graffiti, cleaned and stabilized the most vulnerable pages, and reinforced the title page to prevent further loss. The book was then housed in a protective archival enclosure.
CONCLUSION
“With all their imperfections, the poems are now humbly submitted to the perusal of the public.” – Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, p. v
Each of these copies of Poems tells a different story—of ownership, readership, and preservation choices made over centuries. Through conservation, the institutions caring for these copies ensure that Wheatley’s work continues to inspire new generations in its original form.
As literary historian Charles F. Johnson observed, "Her work must not be judged by the standards of a later day, but by the work and standards of her own time and her own contemporaries." Conservation honors this principle, preserving not just the text but the material history that surrounds it.
Peabody Essex Museum
PEM’s mission is to celebrate outstanding artistic and cultural creativity by collecting, stewarding and interpreting objects of art and culture in ways that increase knowledge, enrich the spirit, engage the mind and stimulate the senses.
Learn more about the PEM Collection here.
Clark University – Goddard Library
Clark University’s mission is to educate undergraduate and graduate students to be imaginative and contributing citizens of the world, and to advance the frontiers of knowledge and understanding through rigorous scholarship and creative effort.
Learn more about the Robert H. Goddard Library here.
Vassar College
The mission of Vassar College is to make accessible “the means of a thorough, well-proportioned and liberal education” that inspires each individual to lead a purposeful life.
Learn more about the Library here.
Washington University in St. Louis
The mission of Washington University in St. Louis is to act in service of truth through the formation of leaders, the discovery of knowledge, and the treatment of patients for the betterment of our region, our nation and our world.
Learn more about the Library here.
Northeast Document Conservation Center
The Northeast Document Conservation Center is a nonprofit organization specializing in paper-based conservation, digital imaging, audio reformatting, and preservation services.
Its mission is to improve the conservation and preservation efforts of libraries, archives, historical organizations, museums, and other repositories; to provide the highest quality services to institutions without in-house conservation facilities or those that seek specialized expertise; and to provide leadership in the preservation and conservation fields.
Learn more about book conservation here.