Rebinding

These are two batches of rebinds I worked on. I toned some PC4 paper lightly with acrylics and wanted to use it for quarter rebinds.

Encapsulation and Screw Post Binding (2)

This book required a lot of attention. The original binding was two industrial staples, which had rusted and broken away from several pages. The pages had secured in their original positions using pressure sensitive tape (scotch tape). The pages were also terribly brittle. It would have been impossible to touch this book without causing more damage to the pages.

My first step was to remove all the pressure sensitive tape. Luckily, most of the original adhesive had deteriorated, and it came off easily. Next, I collated and pulled the book. Once I had all the pages separated, I placed them between Reemay and washed them. Twice in a warm water bath, and once with magnesium bicarbonate to act as a buffer.
Even after washing/deacidifying, the paper was still to brittle to guard and resew. So, I opted for encapsulation. This would enable the pages to be handled, and help prevent further damage. I encapsulated each page in Mylar, and bound them as a screw post binding.
These are pictures of the end result.

Recent Rebacks

These are two cloth rebacks I completed simultaneously. Thankfully for both books the sewing was in tact. This first book's covers were detached, the end papers were delaminating, the spine round was askew, and the first three pages were loose.

I started by tipping in the loose pages with wheat starch paste. Then I pasted out and lined the spine, with Japanese tissue and linen. When both linings were dry, I gently hammered the spine to fix the round. Then I proceeded with a reback repair as usual. This is the end result.

This is the second book.

Cook Book

A good friend of mine inherited this cook book from her aunt, in this condition. It is a little dated with some of the recipes, but she claims it also contains priceless ones. Looking for a new project to tackle, I offered to repair it for her. The covers were totally detached, the endpapers were falling off the boards, and the first section and the last two pages were in pieces. (The middle image shows the first section's pages and the bottom is the last page of the index. This is also the page missing the most information).

I began by flattening and repairing the damaged pages. I lined them with heat set tissue, and added additional tissue to the fraying edges. The first pages of the first sections were missing, so when the pages I had were repaired, I guarded them to pages of Dove Grey to complete the section. I also made new endpapers from Dove Grey. Next, I cleaned the spine, repositioned the sections, tipped on the last two pages with paste, and lined the spine with Japanese Tissue. Then I put the first section and end papers in place and put the book in the press. Then I lined the spine again with linen. Once that lining was dry, I sewed on the endpapers, the first section, and repaired the sewing for the sections in the middle which needed it. Then I slightly rounded the spine and lined it with a heavy weight paper to help hold the shape.
Then I made a new spine piece from linen lined Morike, complete with 10 pt board stiffener. I lifted the cloth on the covers, positioned them on the book and carefully moved it to the press. Next I attached the new spine piece to the covers, glued down the turn ins, and then cased in the text block via the linen and new endpapers.
Finally, I did some Japanese tissue repairs on the cover and toned the new spine piece to match with acrylics. (The middle image shows pages from the first section and the bottom is the last page of the index).

Drop Spine Box

I have been looking for a way to protect and securely house my Sword and the Stone. I decided this would also be a good opportunity to practice with drop spine boxes. I followed the manual available from Syracuse University online. I found the most difficult part to be actually covering the boards. This book was also particularly difficult because the dimensions were so close. It was suggested to me to use a heavier weight paper for inside of the case. I initially used Dove Gray, but then covered it with Stonehenge. I recommend the Stonehenge, it makes the step from the turn-ins softer. Unfortunately, these are images of the box (pre-Stonehenge).

Rebacking Half Bound Books

I have worked on several reback repairs, but not any on half bound books until recently. What I mean by half bound is that the spine material differed from the covers. For this particular book, the spine was book cloth and the boards were covered in paper. The text block had fallen out of the case and the spine was only attached to one cover.

I cleaned and lined the text block, then worked on the boards. The difference between this book and other reback repairs is that the excess book cloth on the covers is removed, flush with the paper. This creates a smoother transition between the new spine and cover materials.
Once the book cloth was removed I lifted the paper slightly, so the Morike will fit underneath it. Then I proceeded to attach the text block and repair the case as usual. This is the completed repair.

I worked on a similar repair in my class, which I will post when I have the pictures.

Previous Repair

I came across these two book on the end processing cart, which had previously been repaired in some way. Strike had a oxford hollow added to the spine which was keeping the spine piece attached.

With the Pictorial Family Encyclopedia, the spine was glued directly to the original lining to keep in in place. Also, the joints had been covered with strips of book cloth at some point which were delaminting.

My first step on both was to remove the spine piece. For Strike, I took a scalpel and cut the hollow at the joint, being careful not to damage the spine piece. For the encyclopedia, I was lucky because the original lining the spine piece was glued directly to was delaminating. I was able to totally remove the spine with a spatula. Next, I removed as much as I could of the old linings on both spine pieces with a spatula, and set the pieces aside.
From this point on, the encyclopedia became a standard rebacking job. The covers were already falling off, so I removed them, cleaning and lined the spine, repaired some sewing and then constructed a spine piece from linen lined Morike.
Strike was finished a little differently. This book had decorative endpapers that I did not want to disturb, and the covers were firmly attached. I still cleaned and lined the spine for support, and made a new Morike spine piece, but instead of breaking the joint, I lifted the cloth and brought the new material on to the boards.
Finally, I reattached the spine pieces and did some basic Japanese tissue repair to the covers on both. These are the finished books.

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.

Rebacking Experiment

Rebacking cloth bindings is a relatively common repair, with several variations in treatment technique. For this reason, I decided to experiment with two different methods by experts in the field. Using instructional manuals, I completed two cloth rebacks in the style of Don Etherington and Dominic Riley.
To begin I choose a set of two books from the stacks, which were identical in size, thickness, and required the same level of treatment.

The first step in each method was the same. I separated the text block from the case, cleaned and lined the spine with Japanese tissue (paste), and trimmed the boards (just a hair) at the joint edge. Next, I attached the head and tail bands to both books and lined the spine with linen (PVA), using aeroplane linen on the Etherington volume because it is what he advocates. With the linen lining providing extra stability, I repaired broken sewing in both volumes. At this point, both methods advise attaching a spine lining of "thickish" paper, the exact height of the text block. I used 10 pt board (PVA), dampening the strip for the Etherington volume as advised.
The next step in Riley's manual is to repair the corners, using wheat starch paste, and dry them under pressure from a bull dog clip (I used clothes pins). I typically use PVA for corner repairs, so I treated the Riley covers as directed and left the Etherington (to be treated with PVA) for comparison. Then I lifted the cloth and endpapers on both books. As advised in the manual, for the Etherington volume, I removed excess board fibers by lining the lifted area with masking tape, pressing down, and pulling it off. This does remove a good amount of unnecessary board.
With the text block and covers prepped, I began constructing the new spine pieces. This was really the biggest difference between the two. Riley suggests using toned cloth, sized with methyl cellulose. For this is used linen, and toned with an acrylic/cellulose mix. Then I attached a spine stiffener of 10 pt board. Etherington prefers to use Japanese tissue. He suggests using morike of a similar color, lined with linen, and coated with Klucel G. I had to tone the morike available slightly, so I used an acrylic/Klucel mix. For this spine stiffener, I used blotting paper, because Etherington claims it is easier to shape (which proved true). I parred the edges on both spine pieces to reduce bumps under the cover cloth.

When the spine pieces were ready, I cased in each volume. Both advocate attaching the new spine piece first. Riley's detailed instructions were very helpful for this part. He suggests positioning the boards and then moving the book to a press, sticking out enough to have room to freely move the lifted cloth (The ploy-press was very handy for this part). Next, I glued out the cloth (making sure no adhesive got on the spine stiffener) and positioned it on the text block, with the stiffener was in the correct position. With the spine piece in place, I removed the book from the press, and glued down the turn-ins. Then I attached the case by drawing the linen over the joint, with the cover raised by boards and weights keeping the book in position (as seen below in my Reattaching a Text Block entry).
Etherington suggests casing-in a similar way, except he attaches the Japanese tissue to one cover first. Next he attaches the spine stiffener in the necessary position and trims the second edge of the Japanese tissue spine piece to fit in position on the second cover. I opted to attached the spine stiffener first and trim the morike to size, so the spine piece could be parred.
The finishing steps for both volumes are gluing down the endpapers and cloth, reattaching remaining original spine pieces, and toning with acrylic. This is the completed set (vol. I - Etherington, vol. II - Riley):

My reason for this experiment was to learn variations of cloth reback repairs, and develop a personal preference. I really liked Riley's method, and have used it since. I was taught to attach the text block to the covers first, then add the spine piece. I feel working on the case first is faster, and I like the end result better. However, I do prefer to use morike lined with linen for the spine piece, because it is easier to work with and to tone.
I was also interested in the difference between the paste (Left) and PVA (Right) corners. The corners repaired with paste and held with clothes pins dried perfectly flat, while the PVA corners remained slightly curved. The only problem is the paste took a long time to dry. I think whether this additional time is worth while will depend on the book (2010).

Manuals used:

Repairing an Original Cloth Case Binding - Don Etherington

The Art and Science of Cloth Rebacking: Some Useful Techniques Shared - Dominic Riley

Japanese Style Binding

I wanted to do a Japanese binding as a variant from the Western styles I have been working with. I wanted a beveled edge, so I tore my folios from larger sheets of Gutenberg Laid. Traditional Japanese bindings have a relatively soft cover, so I used 20 point board. To cover the board, I cut my cloth to the necessary size and glued it down only at the turn-ins. I took one of my folios, tore it in half, and drummed the single sheets against the covered boards. I positioned the folios (fold at the foredge) and the boards, and used bulldog clips to keep everything in position while I drilled the holes with a Dremel. The design I chose for the spine sewing was "The Noble Bind" (Winter 2009).*

*From Japanese Bookbinding by Kojiro Ikegami.

Secret Belgian Binding

The Secret Belgian Binding was rediscovered by Hedi Kyle. I came across a copy of the instruction manual at Syracuse and decided to try the binding style. This is my Belgian:

 

The sewing was a little difficult. The hardest part was the getting the signatures attached to the spine sewing. I was using a pre-cut  text block, and cut my boards to fit that. My book was shorter and more square than the instructions size, and I wonder if my text block would have slipped less if I used the taller, rectangular dimensions.

The book cloth I chose caused the most problems. If I covered the boards too soon after applying the PVA, the glue caused the cloth to darken in several spots. I had to wait to for the glue to be almost entirely dry, then cover the board and reactive the PVA using a tacking iron. I also mistakenly tried to cut the corners at a 45 degree angle, and fold them over. This fabric frayed excessively after I folded the corners, and I had to apply some glue to keep the fibers down. If I was to use this book cloth again I would try lining it with Japanese tissue or even a different style of corners (Fall 2009).