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Table 7 Analyte masses (ng cm -2 ) trapped on books held at Glasgow University Archives

From: Measurement of volatile organic compounds emitted in libraries and archives: an inferential indicator of paper decay?

Date of book sampled

Toluene

Furfural

Benzaldehyde

ethylhexanol

Nonanal

Decanal

Thymol

Cm. 1.5: Rome, 1470.

3.8

< 0.01

0.20

0.72

0.55

2.4

< 0.01

Bx. 3.25: incunables with washed out annotations; 1471

1.8

0.20

0.42

1.1

1.7

1.4

1.5

SM1984&BD9-d.13: 2 similar bindings; 1481

6.1

0.34

0.49

2.6

1.5

1.1

< 0.01

Poliziano, Angelo,. 1498.

6.3

0.36

0.51

0.97

5.4

0.70

< 0.01

Book covers from 1498.

3.8

0.42

0.39

0.67

0.97

0.33

< 0.01

Bv. 2.31: The chronicles of England, 1480

< 0.01

< 0.01

< 0.01

< 0.01

< 0.01

< 0.01

1440

17th c work and pasteboard type binding; Leipzig, 1694.

7.4

0.44

0.58

2.8

1.9

1.5

0.51

Aq-e 23: 18th c work on browing paper; London 1721.

4.0

0.37

0.39

1.3

0.66

1.2

1.6

RB 4765: 18th c pamphlet; 1739-1767

1.5

0.22

1.0

1.5

1.2

3.3

< 0.01

Z2-d.6: 19th c work; 1835.

3.7

0.55

0.36

1.7

3.5

1.4

< 0.01

RQ:3071: 19th c book and binding: 1810,1811

3.4

0.45

0.33

1.8

3.0

1.3

< 0.01

RQ 3052: 29 19th c pamphlets in modern cloth binding.

3.6

1.6

0.47

2.3

4.8

3.0

< 0.01

Early / mid 19th c loose letters (incoming and copy letters)

2.8

0.37

0.31

1.3

0.92

0.90

< 0.01

Late 19th c letterbook:

8.4

3.5

0.30

1.0

1.6

0.84

< 0.01

1940s loose papers (mainly typed duplicates):

6.6

0.73

0.35

1.5

2.4

1.1

< 0.01

1950 photostats in volume: MS Farmer 702

8.7

0.15

0.16

1.32

1.7

0.47

< 0.01

Trotsy periodicals:acidified newspaper from 1946 (US).

0.57

< 0.01

< 0.01

< 0.01

< 0.01

0.73

< 0.01

Modern binding in a box 19th c.

4.0

0.72

0.86

2.4

2.4

1.4

< 0.01

Late 20th c ms notes/offprints: MS Hobsbaum (Ben Johnson)

2.9

0.85

0.83

2.6

2.9

1.0

< 0.01