The impetus for this book was the desire to systematically organize the
extant literature on the conservation of cultural property made of wood,
from its beginnings before the Christian Era to the year 2000. Various
published reviews and monographs, including Holzkonservierung (Wood
Conserva- tion) published by the senior author in 1988, have appeared
over the years, especially in English and in German. They have provided
exemplary treat- merit of individual areas or aspects of wood
conservation, but a comprehen- sive, up-to-date exposition of historic
and current developments has been lacking. The diverse professional
fields of the authors, as well as their insights into methods of
conservation and restoration of wood artifacts in Europe, North America,
and Asia provided a solid basis for the success of this under- taking.
One of the goals during the examination of the literature was that not
only well-known conservators and scientists from countries that are
leaders in wood conservation should be represented, but that less
well-known, often not as readily accessible contributions should also be
included. Only in this manner was it possible to draw a comprehensive
picture of the national and international state of wood conservation.
The Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (AATA) of the Getty
Institute were very helpful in our efforts to evaluate as many
publications as possible.
