Paper Reback

This book was originally bound in marbled paper. The spine had delaminated and pieces were missing. The corners were also badly bumped.

Rather than reconstructing the spine and attempting to tone to match, I decided to attach a new spine piece made from linen lined Morike.  First I removed the remaining spine piece, and cleaned and lined the spine. Then I attempted to re-round it gently with a hammer. I lifted the paper on the boards, and trimmed it back slightly. I also lifted the end papers to make room for the turn ins. I attached the new spine piece, turned it in and pressed the book with jointed boards. This was the end result.

Leather Reback

On a recent field trip to the book conservation lab at Cornell University, I saw a few leather bound books that were rebacked with new leather (calf). This was interesting for me because most of the leather rebacks were do at Syracuse are repaired with PC4 paper. I decided to go through the stacks and find a good candidate for this treatment. This was the book I found.

My first step was to dye some of the calf leather we had to match. I used J.Hewitt aniline dyes, which start as a powder. You mix the powder with wheat starch paste (powder) and a little water to make a paste, then dilute as needed with boiling water. Dampen the leather with a sponge, then apply the dye. This picture shows the leather before (left) and after (right) dying.

While the leather was drying, I removed the old spine piece (saving the label), and cleaned the spine with methyl cellulose. I had to watch it carefully to the original end bands did not come off with the gunk. I pasted out the spine and lined it with Japanese tissue, which came up on to the end bands for additional support. Then I cut strips of linen, to fit between the cords, and glued them down with PVA. While the spine dried, I lifted the leather and end papers at the spine and corners of the boards. I reattached the boards by gluing the linen spine lining down under the lifted leather.

I pared and pasted out the new leather (one thick coat, let sit for 10 min folded over itself, add another coat) and molded it over the corners and spine. I also made sure to leave enough leather at the head and tail (after turn ins) to construct head and tail caps. I left this to dry over night. 

The next day, I glued down the lifted materials with PVA. I glued out a strip of Mylar, and slid it under the lifted leather, tapped down on it gently, and slid the strip out. This ensures just enough glue gets underneath, and has less risk of the leather darkening. I also pasted out strips of Japanese tissue for the inner hinge. 

While this dried, I worked on the spine label. I found a Morike similar in color to the label, and glued two pieces together. Then I glued the original label to the Morike and toned it to a better match with acrylics. I measured the spine width, and the height between cords, and cut the Morike to size. Then glued it in place with PVA. These are pictures of the end result.

I am going to try the technique on other books in the lab. The biggest problem I faced was building up my corners, which is something I need to work on. Other than that, my color is a little light, so the next time I will add a few additional coats of dye and dab them on with a sponge, to give the leather an aged look. Aside form dying the leather, this process didn't take much longer than a PC4 reback, and I like the end result better. Obviously the materials for this type of repair are more expensive, but I think it is worth it for the right books.

Leather Reback with Previous Repair

I picked this book off the cart because it had a lot of previous repairs. The sewing had broken and the text block was in two pieces. The sections closest to the break were being held in place with pressure sensitive tape. Being a tight backed book, the spine had also broken. The book was being held together by what looked like maroon duct tape. This tape was also on a few pages in the first section. There was also approximately ten pages of images, which had be cut down and taped together, in a random order, with pressure sensitive tape behind the title page.

I began be removing the tape from the spine. The adhesive was delaminating, so it peeled off easily, but did leave some residue on the leather. Next I removed the pressure sensitive tape from the pages of the text block with a tacking iron. I repositioned the now loose folios, cleaned the spine, and lined it with Japanese tissue and linen. Then I repaired the sewing at the break.
I worked on the images while my spine liners were drying. I removed the tape from all the images and lined the sheets with heat set tissue. The images were on single sheets, which I collated and guarded together. Then I tipped them on to the front of the text block with a thin strip of Japanese tissue.
Then I lifted the leather on the cover and attached the text block via the linen. I constructed a new spine piece from linen lined Morike and added a 10 pt board stiffener. I attached this under the leather, the glued the leather back down. Finally, I put some PVA and Japanese tissue on the corners to reshape them, and covered the linen hinge with a strip of Japanese tissue (paste).

This book was an experiment in toning techniques for leather. I toned the new spine piece prior to attaching, and I tried to stipple a variety of hues to better match the leather. My colors were a little light for this book, but overall I was pleased with how it looked. I plan on trying this technique again on other books.

Half Leather Reback - Private Job

This is a repair I worked on during my weekly class. These are the before treatment images.

It follows the same basic guidelines as my previous entry, with a few additional steps. Because the leather extended further on to the boards, I had to infill the board with a thick paper (I used water color paper), to make the transition smoother. The paper used to infill was left one millimeter away from the lifted cover material. This gap allows the new spine material to fit flush underneath the cover materials.
I also did some gold tooling along the spine (using a template I made of the original lines) and reattached the original label, lined with Morike so it reached the shoulders. These are images of the finished book.

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

Rebacking Full Leather Bindings

Rebacking is a treatment typically performed when the text block has broken at the joint in the following three ways: where the endpapers fold, where the boards are connected to the text block (linen or mull spine liner in cloth bindings and the cords that lace on boards in leather bindings), and the cover material. Rebacking consists of constructing a new spine piece out of durable/flexible paper, and using it to reattach the text block and boards so the book can function properly.
To illustrate the process with full leather bindings, I selected four dictionaries from the collection at Syracuse which needed rebacking. All front covers were detached from the text block, and about half of the back covers. Spines had split away from the covers and had several bits missing and all the endbands cracked and coming away from the text block. The following images depict this condition.

 

The first step is to clean and reline the spines. I removed the old covers, spines and broken endbands. Using silicon release paper lined boards, I cleaned each spine with methyl cellulose, being mindful of the raised cords. When the spine was clean, I lined the entire spine with Japanese tissue. Since it is necessary for the cords to remain uncovered, I wanted to practice with two main methods of attaching the linen lining. For two books, I cut the linen into strips the exact distance between the cords, and lined each section between cords and at the head/tail. This took much longer, but laid flatter. For the other, I cut one long strip of linen, and then cut out spaces for each cord, which was faster, but bunched and wrinkled by the shoulder. Once the linen was attached I began resewing the endbands. Due to the large size of these books (approximately 18" tall), I had to move from the bench to the board shear to get the right height for sewing.

When the endbands were completed I began preparing the spine pieces. For leather bindings, PC4 paper is used. It is a heavyweight paper, which is toned with methyl cellulose and acrylics. PC4 paper is relatively flexible when damp, but dries rather hard, functioning as the spine and the stiffener. The PC4 paper is cut into strips the length and width of the spine, accounting for turn-ins, and is parred at the edges. In order to fit tightly over the cords, the prepared spine piece must be molded. This is done using a finishing press (with screws along the sides) and cords. The PC4 paper must be dampened and placed in position. When this is done cords are wrapped around the raised cords of the spine, and secured at the screws like so:

While the spine pieces were drying, I worked on lifted the endpapers and leather on the covers. I then began re-attaching the boards to the text blocks via the linen. First I placed a sheet of waste paper and silicon release paper under the linen. Next, I glued out the linen (PVA) and removed the waste sheet. Then I  placed the covers on so the linen would stick to the board where the endpaper was lifted away, and kept the book closed to dry. Once it was dry, I began attaching the PC4 spines.
I began by putting the spine piece in position. I work with the book flat on the bench so the spine piece is weighted down by the text block. I glued out the board underneath the lifted leather (PVA) and continuously pressed down the PC4 paper until it stuck. Then I placed silicon release paper between the PC4 paper and the lifted leather (to prevent moisture from being introduced to the leather too soon), and flipped the book over to dry under the weight of the text block. I did this to all four books, then repeated the process with the other side. Then I glued down the lifted leather (PVA). Once all the spine pieces were attached to both covers, I glued down the head and tail turn-ins. When those had dried, I glued down the lifted endpapers (PVA), and then covered the hinge with a strip of Japanese tissue (paste).
After all the inside hinge repairs were done, I glued the remaining original spine pieces to the new PC4 spine (PVA) and consolidated the leather with Klucel G. Next I repaired the corners and put Japanese paper along the leather at the joint and along the edges of the original spine pieces. I used two different methods for this as well. On two books I used morike (top), which had to be cut to shape with a water pen, but was already a similar color and therefore easier to tone. On the other two I used dry tear strips (bottom), which allowed for fast and easy application, but proved more difficult to tone. Finally, I rubbed some SC 6000 over the joints to add some shine to the toned Japanese tissue and prevent the acrylic from cracking with use (Winter 2009).