Wooden Boards Recase

I would typically not take the time to post about a recasing job, but this one was unique in the sense the original covers were wooden boards attached by a leather spine and covered with decorative paper. (This is the first time I have encountered wooden boards).

The book qualified for recasing because the sewing was broken and the text block was detached from the spine, in several small groups. I removed the loose signatures from the book, and removed the original endpapers (which were already delaminating) by spraying them with a 50/50 water/alcohol mix to loosen the remaining adhesive. Next, I pulled the text block and placed the folios between Reemay for washing and deacidification. While thumbing through the text block, I found a small ink drawing. I tested in the inks, and they were water soluble. So I set the image aside and later brushed the back with Wei T'O to deacidify it. This is the drawing.

 The text block required a full treatment because it was originally stab sewn. After washing and deacidifying, I went through and guarded all the sections with Japanese tissue. (The top image shows the text block being guarded and dried between Reemay lined boards. The bottom shows the text book after guarding and collating pages).

Next, I sewed the text block back together, adding new dove gray endpapers, cased it in, and made a label. Then I began to work with the original covers. I made a fake text block from corrugated board to support the covers, and wrapped it in polyester film (mylar) so it could be handled without further damage. Finally, I constructed a phase box to house these items together.