Bone dust

Description

Bones that have been crushed and ground to form a fine powder. Ground bones primarily contain Calcium hydroxyapatite. It is mixed with powdered chalk and pumice to form an abrasive mixture called bone dust. Bone dust is used to clean vellum bindings (Roberts and Etherington 1982).

Additional Information

M.Roberts, D.Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1982.

Sources Checked for Data in Record

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982