Horton, Carolyn

Carolyn Price Horton (July 13, 1909 – October 21, 2001) also known as Carol Price Rugh, was an American bookbinder and conservator-restorer of books. She may have been the first conservator of an American library while working at the American Philosophical Society from 1935 to 1939. She was the first book conservator at Yale University Library and opened her own book restoration business, Carolyn Horton and Associates. Horton and volunteers known as "Mud Angels" helped museums and libraries in Florence, Italy, to recover books and manuscripts damaged from the 1966 flood of the Arno. Horton developed novel emergency conservation techniques which she also applied in the 1972 flood of the Corning Glass Museum in Corning, New York. Horton is considered a pioneer of modern book and paper conservation. Her book Cleaning and Preserving Bindings and Related Materials was first published by the American Library Association in 1967 and republished in 1969. It has been described as "a landmark book describing the proper basic care to conserve books and library materials." Horton joined the Guild of Bookworkers (GBW) on August 9, 1954, served as the Supply Chairman of the Guild from 1959–1972, and was named a most senior Honorary Member in 1992. She joined the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) in the 1970s and was named an Honorary Member of the AIC as of 1982. She retired in 1984.