paper repair


Using a Meeting Guard to Allow the Pages to Freely Open

This little colonial American book of psalm tunes, The Essex Harmony, presented a not-unusual binding problem requiring a variant sewing structure to allow it to properly open. The book measures only 6 1/8” x 5 3/8” consisting of 2 signatures. Given its small size, the printing fills the entire page right into the gutter. The […]

pages sewn onto the meeting guard lay flat

Jardins Anglais has been rebacked with a new leather spine gilt to replicate the original.

Book conservation/Book restoration: Deciding upon a course of action

Book repair, book restoration, book preservation, book conservation or do nothing at all. With a worn or damaged book in hand, the choices for treatment (or no treatment) may seem bewilderingly complex. Add to this the contradictory advice and opinions offered by different authorities, it may seem impossible to come up with a ‘best’ course […]


An Unusual Dust Jacket Restoration, Part 2 2

This is the second part of a dust jacket restoration (see part one here) where I am removing a torn, wrinkled heat set plastic covering the entire front and rear panels as well as most of the flaps. While the dust jacket looks like it has seen better days, fortunately, the actual damage, in addition […]

dust jacket repair, dust jacket restoration

dust jacket repair, dust jacket restoration

An Unusual Dust Jacket Restoration, Part 1

This week, I have a dust jacket restoration that has some interesting problems. The Outsiders and Others by H.P. Lovecraft is a rare book and an even rarer dust jacket. Perhaps only 1,000 copies were produced and, of course, there are far fewer remaining today. Interestingly, we had another copy of this same book and […]