Split endpaper and acidic newspaper clip on this 90 year old book
DiscussionsBook Care and Repair
Rejoignez LibraryThing pour poster.
1RickFlair
This is from LEC - Gullivers Travels. The links below will take you to the pictures.
Should I just try to use PVA to mend the split endpaper as well as possible? I do not want to replace the end papers and I do not want to place a hinge on top of the existing end paper. A book binder told me that carefully lifting the existing end paper up to repair behind the end paper could cause the end paper to tear and ruin. Seems my only remaining option is glue?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-CSUMgwwQfqKr_W8TqgnkpAvhlbozz3_/view?usp=shari...
What should I do, if anything, about this newspaper clip that someone decided to glue on one of the pages? You can see it has left a perfect square stain on the page in front of it because of the acidic nature of the newspaper clipping.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-97hDmYbLRUuaKrTh_phDPlDwBfwO3wK/view?usp=shari...
Should I just try to use PVA to mend the split endpaper as well as possible? I do not want to replace the end papers and I do not want to place a hinge on top of the existing end paper. A book binder told me that carefully lifting the existing end paper up to repair behind the end paper could cause the end paper to tear and ruin. Seems my only remaining option is glue?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-CSUMgwwQfqKr_W8TqgnkpAvhlbozz3_/view?usp=shari...
What should I do, if anything, about this newspaper clip that someone decided to glue on one of the pages? You can see it has left a perfect square stain on the page in front of it because of the acidic nature of the newspaper clipping.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-97hDmYbLRUuaKrTh_phDPlDwBfwO3wK/view?usp=shari...
2fayevert
That's at the hinge, right?
Yes, sneak some PVA glue into the crack. Match up the endpapers as well as you can and let them dry. You *could* apply some page repair tape (Like filmoplast) over the hinge but it wouldn't be as strong as hinging tape - it won't be nearly as obvious as regular tape but wouldn't be invisible, either. Personally I'd just do the glue.
Not much you can do about the stain or the newspaper clipping without seeing a conservationist, put to prevent further damage I suggest you just inter-leave a piece of lightweight acid free paper or tissue paper between the two pages.
Yes, sneak some PVA glue into the crack. Match up the endpapers as well as you can and let them dry. You *could* apply some page repair tape (Like filmoplast) over the hinge but it wouldn't be as strong as hinging tape - it won't be nearly as obvious as regular tape but wouldn't be invisible, either. Personally I'd just do the glue.
Not much you can do about the stain or the newspaper clipping without seeing a conservationist, put to prevent further damage I suggest you just inter-leave a piece of lightweight acid free paper or tissue paper between the two pages.
3maisiedotes
Just wondering, since this is something already in my house: is printer paper acid free?
4MarthaJeanne
If the package doesn't say acid free, then it's not.
5mr.philistine
acid free ~ pH neutral ~ archival/ conservation grade ~ museum quality
6varielle
You can buy printer paper that is acid free but you really have to look for it. Last time I bought some I had to get it on-line. Office Depot and Staples don’t normally stock it.
7maisiedotes
>4 MarthaJeanne: >5 mr.philistine: >6 varielle:
Thanks, I was hoping to use a household item, but I'll look around.
Thanks, I was hoping to use a household item, but I'll look around.
8mr.philistine
>7 maisiedotes: Depending on your requirement, you might also want to investigate 'handmade deckle edge' paper or envelopes on Amazon or Etsy. These are made with plant-based fibres; but more importantly look for acid/ chemical-free certification.
9terebinth
>7 maisiedotes: I was hoping to use a household item, but I'll look around.
I've seen plenty of the damage done by newspaper clippings in older books I've bought, and by such things as transport tickets used as bookmarks. It's long been my habit to be reading several books at a time, and all too often to forget some of them along the way: so I've improvised bookmarks myself and I often rediscover them decades later. When I was younger and even more foolish these now and again included till receipts for the books, and those did the expected damage. Mostly, though, I tore a strip off the nearest kitchen roll, and even after forty years I haven't seen any discernable harm done by those. Not of course a measure for any professional archivist or to be considered for a moment with any book that's a unique treasure, but in the home setting it might serve as well as anything else and save a few dollars.
I've seen plenty of the damage done by newspaper clippings in older books I've bought, and by such things as transport tickets used as bookmarks. It's long been my habit to be reading several books at a time, and all too often to forget some of them along the way: so I've improvised bookmarks myself and I often rediscover them decades later. When I was younger and even more foolish these now and again included till receipts for the books, and those did the expected damage. Mostly, though, I tore a strip off the nearest kitchen roll, and even after forty years I haven't seen any discernable harm done by those. Not of course a measure for any professional archivist or to be considered for a moment with any book that's a unique treasure, but in the home setting it might serve as well as anything else and save a few dollars.
