If Books Could Kill

The rich, jewel-like colors of manuscript illuminations can be dazzling—and dangerous. For centuries, highly toxic materials such as lead, arsenic, and mercury were used by scribes, artists, and bookbinders to create handmade books and to illuminate their pages. If Books Could Kill casts light on the hidden dangers of manuscripts within the Walters’ rich collection and reveals the delicate science behind recognizing those toxic materials and handling them safely today.

The exhibition will reveal how the toxic materials used to paint manuscript illuminations spanned cultures, geographies, and time periods. Vermillion—derived from mercury-rich cinnabar—produced a brilliant red pigment used to illuminate an Armenian gospel book in 1455. Arsenic-based orpiment provided pops of yellow for a Thai treatise on elephants in 1824. And lead gave the pages of a 1906 French missal a creamy white hue. But these beautiful colors, along with the dangerous materials used on book bindings to protect them from bookworms, came with a price—one often paid by the books’ creators and users, who were unknowingly exposed to these toxic substances.

This unique manuscript exhibition presents 24 rarely displayed examples of toxic books and materials from around the globe while delving into the human stories behind the manuscripts. It also explores the scientific processes used by the Walters’ Conservation Scientist to test the books and the methods used by the Walters’ Head of Books and Paper Conservation to safely handle and preserve these beautiful but dangerous treasures.