How to know if foxing is mold that will spread

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How to know if foxing is mold that will spread

1RRCBS
Juil 12, 2022, 8:41 am

I receive a heavy set of books bought from the US (I’m in Canada) and the shipping was quite expensive. I can return them and recoup most of my money, though not sure about return shipping.

The books were listed as sealed and in as new condition. The books arrived with two big bangs to the slipcase and one side of the slipcase is completely split. There was barely any protection in the box they were shipped in, so probably shipping damaged I guess. The books also have foxing all over the text blocks.

Personally, as long as the foxing isn’t mold that will spread, but just something not nice looking, I don’t mind that much. The banged corners on the books are very disappointing but maybe repairable with some flattening and archival tape.

I would return them and still might, just wondering if they are salvageable. The shipping to return them would be fairly expensive and then they would likely be thrown out by the seller.

Does anyone have any experience on foxing? I have read old posts but not sure how to tell what kind of foxing it is. This is a Folio Society set from the early 2000s.

2lilithcat
Juil 12, 2022, 8:57 am

Foxing, by definition, is not mold.

Do you have photos you can post? That might help us tell which you are dealing with.

3mr.philistine
Juil 12, 2022, 9:06 am

>1 RRCBS: Please upload photos of foxing and big bangs to help better understand your problem. Also buyer protection clauses on eBay, Abebooks, Amazon, Etsy or even a direct payment against a PayPal invoice protect you from receiving an item 'not as advertised'. The seller is FULLY responsible for shipping it safely to you. Depending on what you are willing to live with and how you play your cards, you could negotiate a partial refund and perhaps use the proceeds to repair any damages.

4RRCBS
Juil 12, 2022, 9:26 am

5Keeline
Juil 12, 2022, 11:33 am

>4 RRCBS:

I agree that it looks more like foxing than any sort of mold.

While mold is a variety of fungi that grows in moist environments, foxing seems to be more related to the source of paper. For example, paper from the U.K. seems to be far more likely to have foxing than paper produced in the U.S. Of course wood or paper could be shipped around the world, especially during periods of shortage, so merely knowing the imprint can't always tell you where the paper came from.

On a book like Peter and Wendy the British printing from Hodder & Stoughton routinely has foxing. The U.S. printing from Scribner's almost never does.

In my experience, mold will often flake off if you use a knife to shave at it gently. Probably not a bad idea to wear a mask for this since you don't need to breathe in mold if there's any chance that is what it is. Foxing is very firmly integrated with the paper and doesn't really come off. This can vary a bit, of course.

James

6Glacierman
Juil 25, 2022, 8:16 pm

>1 RRCBS: >5 Keeline: Definitely foxing. To my mind, not worth worrying about, as it is minor.

The damage to the books/slipcases is another thing entirely. >3 mr.philistine: above is right.