The Paradox of Restoration and the Conservation of Organs Artifacts in Use is a fresh look at the future of preserving historic organs. This revolutionary guide explores the means and meaning of preservation and restoration for the heritage of worthy pipe organs. Current thought holds that the skin of age, which can be the first loss in conventional restoration, is itself a powerful testimony of the past. In aged surfaces, we now are finding a window to the past, and there are implications for the way we think about preservation and restoration. Artifacts in Use explores the Paradox of Restoration whereby preservation-worthy historical evidence tends to be lost during conventional restoration. Discover the “restorative conservation” approach by which the renewal of aesthetic and musical qualities is balanced with an equal respect for the physical record of historical organbuilding and early use.

OHS Press in association with Colonial Williamsburg, 249 pages, paperback.