_REPAIRING OLD BINDINGS_
TRANSLATED FROM BONNARDOT
[Illustration: MODERN LEVANT BINDING]
Not having the secret of that special, certain skill which produces
flexible and artistic bindings, I am obliged to advise amateurs who wish
to see their books reclad in princely mantles, to apply to our able
Parisian binders. But I can give, from my own experience, some good
suggestions to amateurs on the manner of cleaning, repairing and
freshening ordinary morocco bindings, and also, under certain conditions,
those sumptuous moroccos of the Levant, the mere perfume of which
fascinates all true-born bibliophiles.
CLEANING THE COVER. It is possible, without being obliged to touch the
boards of a book, to clean and repair the covering, either entirely or in
spots. To accomplish this, I know some methods which are simple and
practical, although, of course, too imperfect to restore to an ancient
binding all the brightness and vigor of its youth. A rather mature
prima-donna may, perhaps, within certain limits, soften the ravages of
time; but, when observed closely, the lines on her face cannot be
concealed. And this is also the case with the coquettish old bindings of
which I speak.
Morocco or calf which has become soiled by constant handling may be
cleaned with a fine sponge dipped in a jelly of white soap. If there are
spots of oil or grease, this soap will not suffice; it will be necessary
to use black soap, or perhaps a weak solution of some alkali, such as
potash or ammonia. In using such alkalis, it is best to first try them on
some odd pieces of leather of the same color or upon some part of the
bindings not likely to be noticed, because certain colors in leather are
apt to decompose or change their tint under the action of an alkali. It
has been observed that alkalis tend to darken the leather, more or less;
therefore, after employing them, a little acidified water must be applied
to neutralize their effect. Also that morocco should be moistened only
very slightly, as, otherwise, the surface grain may be smoothed away.
One might begin by trying benzine; this liquid will not attack any color
or, at least, only a color formed principally of fatty or resinous
substances. Benzine does not act like an alkali; it does not saponify the
greasy body, but it dissolves it as water dissolves a salt, a gum or
gelatine. It must be used quickly, as it evaporates much more rapidly than
ammonia, which itself is considered volatile. The latter will mix with
water, but benzine combines only with alcohol.
Thus benzine, like all other essential oils, operates only as a dissolvent
and, after having been applied, either pure or mixed with alcohol, upon
the book cover, it must be wiped off with a soft cloth before it
evaporates, so that the particles of grease which it has dissolved, but
not decomposed, will not sink again into the leather and later reappear on
its surface.
The best method, after having poured some drops of the liquid upon one
side of the book, is to turn this side toward the ground. In this position
the benzine, charged with part of the greasy substance, will run down and
accumulate upon the lowest edge of the cover, from which it can quickly be
wiped off with the substances it holds in solution. Perhaps an even better
method of operation may be discovered.
This manner of employing benzine, alcohol or turpentine as dissolvents for
the greasy body is equally applicable for removing oily spots from prints,
and I recommend it to the reader for experiment. When grease is removed
with alkaline water, it is useless to proceed in this manner; the soapy
substance which forms on the leather after rubbing should be removed with
a damp sponge, after which the book should be dried in the air and then
placed under pressure.
Fresh spots of oil or grease may sometimes be removed by impalpable
powders of some clay-like nature, absorbent and slightly alkaline.
A spot of ordinary black ink upon morocco, sheepskin, calf or smooth
parchment, loses its color when touched with a few drops of sorrel salt or
oxalic acid; but I will repeat here the advice already given that these
substances may alter certain colors and that it is best to first try them
on extra pieces of leather. If the tint lightens or changes only slightly,
the spot can be retoned and brightened simply with properly mixed
water-colors, after having neutralized, with an alkali, the traces of the
acid.
The yellowish spot which remains after the black ink has disappeared is
not very noticeable upon brown or yellowish skins, but on vellum or
parchment it is more or less apparent. How can this be removed? For if one
is obliged to prolong the action of the oxalic acid on the iron oxide
which causes it, this portion of the skin not only loses its gloss, but
also becomes subject to a more or less rapid process of dissolution.[10]
When the spots are of Chinese ink, old or recent, and have sunk into the
texture, as sometimes happens, they resist all known agents.
Most of the old bindings which have been long exposed for sale on the
parapets of our quays, have been at one moment roasted by an ardent sun
and at the next distended by a damp atmosphere; they have, therefore,
contracted "skin troubles" more or less curable according to the duration
of their ordeal. The gentler regimen of the bookshelves, placed in a room
where the temperature is more nearly uniform, sometimes suffices to
restore their warped covers; but when the surface of the leather has
fallen off in scales, carrying away the gold tooling, it is better, if
they are worthy of it, to deliver them to the binder for new covers; that
is, of course, when the paper, the essential organ of their existence, is
not musty beyond recovery. If the paper is in bad shape, the book is lost
or, at least, is beyond giving pleasure to a bibliophile; it resembles a
very old man attacked by an incurable disease; it is useful only for
reference.
Some books, placed in less rude conditions, have only the skin stripped
here and there by contact with rougher neighbors trimmed with nails or
clasps, with hard boards or with wicker-work, but movement against these
objects might ruin an entire library in a single day. The library of the
Louvre, it might be mentioned, was being moved last spring to a new
location, by means of these wicker baskets so formidable despite the
straw or oakum with which they were lined. Some of my own books have
passed several times through this fatal ordeal and have suffered greatly
from it. Now when I change my residence I use, with rather tardy
precaution, well-planed boxes.
Books slightly roughened, their bloom destroyed simply by friction, may be
freshened and restored to an aspect of health to conceal, up to a certain
point, the wear of their old coverings. With an old glove one may spread
over their surface a little flour paste or fairly thick starch to which a
little alum might be added. This is smeared quickly over the back, sides
and edges of the boards, and the surplus wiped off with a soft cloth. This
carries away any dust which may have been deposited and also soilings
which soften in the moisture.[11]
After this operation, there will remain on the volume a thin coating of
gelatine or of gluten (the viscous part of the starch). Before this has
entirely dried, it should be thoroughly wiped over with the palm of the
hand. Any scraped portions of the leather will have a dull appearance and
will sometimes show darker than other parts of the cover. The edges of
stripped or broken spots may be refastened to the cover by means of the
starch sizing. The corners which, nearly always, will be found worn or
bent, may be straightened and strengthened. In a word, if the cover cannot
be restored to pass as new, it may at least be rendered more presentable
and made to contrast more favorably with other books it may meet upon the
shelf.
After a washing with starch, as after cleaning with alkalis, it often
happens that the covers of a book are dulled. Their polish, where the
bloom has not been worn away, can be restored by rubbing with a piece of
flannel moistened with a few drops of very siccative varnish (purchased
from art dealers or dealers in bookbinders' materials).
Most amateurs and binders know this inexpensive way of restoring a certain
lustre to faded and erupted, if one may use that expression, bindings. If
I have spoken rather in detail, it is for the sake of amateurs still
inexperienced or living in a small, provincial town. As these latter
probably would not know where to procure varnish, I offer the recipe of M.
F. Mairet, which indicates the proportions for a large quantity but which
may be divided by ten. In the thirty-ninth part of his "Essay Upon
Binding" he says: Dissolve eight ounces of sandarach (resin), two ounces
of mastic in drops, eight ounces of gum-lac in tablets and two ounces of
Venetian turpentine, in three litres (quarts) of spirits of wine at a
temperature of thirty-six to forty degrees.[12] Crush the gums and, to
completely dissolve them, place the bottle which contains them in the
wine, in hot water, shaking it from time to time. This varnish can be
preserved in the bottle in which it is made, keeping the bottle tightly
corked. When one wishes to use the varnish, the bottle should not be
shaken because of the deposit which forms.
I will here make a recommendation analogous to that of M. Le Normand; it
is desirable to place the glass bottle in a basin containing warm water
before placing it in the very hot water, as otherwise it may break. Also,
instead of shaking the bottle, the contents may be stirred with a glass
rod.
This is how M. Mairet describes the use of his varnish; with a very soft
brush, the varnish is spread over the covers of the book without putting
it on the gilding. When it is nearly dry, it is polished with a piece of
white cloth slightly moistened with olive oil. It should first be rubbed
gently, then with more force as the varnish dries. For complete success it
is essential that the covers be perfectly dry[13] and without the
slightest dampness.
Instead of using this varnish, one may give a fair polish which, however,
is not so enduring, by coating with the liquid known as "glaire." This is
made from the white of an egg beaten up with a little water and
alcohol.[14] One might also try a glaze made with hide glue or
gum-arabic.
The lustre of white vellum or of calf, when they have not been badly
rubbed by use, may be restored by rubbing with an agate burnisher, a
polished bone or a curved iron slightly warmed. Sometimes, before
polishing, according to M. Le Normand, the covers should be rubbed with
flannel holding a little tallow or walnut oil.[15] Great care should be
taken in polishing morocco, whether genuine or imitation, in order that
the grain which contributes so much to its beauty may not be rubbed away.
The surface of sheep also, which is a very delicate leather, is easily
stripped. To polish leathers such as these, binders' varnish or, at least,
the glaire mentioned above, should be used.
REPAIRING HOLES AND BROKEN SURFACES. We will now consider any serious
wounds which go deeper than the surface of the leather. One often sees
covers of calf, sheep or morocco deeply stripped or even pierced like the
coats of Diogenes and Ruy-Blas; the back, the sides and corners,
especially the lower ones, broken away even to the point of exposing the
boards. This is a state of cynicism which calls for some remedy; the
simple smearing on of starch is powerless to heal such damages.
It is often possible to restore missing fragments by means of new pieces
of the same kind and tint of leather. I will assume that the amateur
possesses a collection of odd scraps of morocco, brown calf, old vellum,
etc., removed with more or less right from books whose pages have been
unfortunately ruined, to be devoted to more humiliating uses. These should
be searched for a suitable piece; sometimes this is found. The essential
point is to match the grain of the leather. When the tint is too light, it
can easily be darkened with water-colors; when it is too dark, one must
search further. One may, however, lighten a little piece of calf which is
too dark by means of very weak acid.
Suppose the desired patch found. The hole or broken place in the cover is
cleaned and the edge cut sharp to prevent further tearing, and in this is
set a piece from the patch, cut exactly to fit. If the amateur has not
time to do this careful mosaic patching, he may, with a small, thin blade,
raise the edges of the leather about the hole and, applying paste or glue
directly to the board, slip in a patch piece which has been roughly cut a
little larger than the hole and pared thin around the edges. The edges of
the hole should then be moistened with paste and firmly pressed down into
place over the patch. A patch made in this way is less agreeable to the
eye than when made by the first process, for by this latter method there
always remains a sort of raised pad which accents the form of the hole.
Let us consider now the repair of bruises, more or less deep, caused by
rough contact with some hard, sharp or rough body.
When the stripped parts are still hanging to the cover, they should be
straightened out and pressed back into place after being given a light
coat of thick starch paste. But if the stripped parts corresponding to the
bruise are missing, how shall the furrow, which reveals a spongy
appearance, be brought up level with the surface of the cover? With a
corresponding patch inserted in the fissure? This is an operation, I
think, very difficult to carry out, and it is simpler to cut the furrow
into a definite hole if one wishes to proceed in this way. Let us try and
imagine some kind of putty for such repairs.
I do not wish to write hastily of any method of procedure for the
fabrication of bruised leather, but it seems to me that a paste or putty
formed of powdered or shredded leather, boiled with a little flour paste,
would answer our purpose. With this one could fill up the furrow and then,
when the paste has dried, scrape off the excess surface and burnish the
dried inlay. This method should answer very well, but there is still
another which I have tried, although it is not so delicate. I employed
flour paste mixed simply with Spanish white.[16] With this, I puttied up
my book like a picture in process of being retouched. I even succeeded,
with this paste, in imitating the grain of the morocco. I tinted the
patches by applying color mixed with gum. But this sort of repair is only
applicable to parts of the cover away from the edges; in the neighborhood
of the hinges, this unelastic paste will break loose or, at least, render
the book difficult to open.
I experimented also with gutta-percha. This brownish substance has the
property, at a certain temperature (towards seventy degrees)[17] of
melting and adhering to the leather and, on cooling, recovers its natural,
semi-elastic state. But after having been melted at a fire or, if the
season is right, by sunlight through a lens, it turns brown and will not
harmonize in tint except with very dark calf, and I have found no method
of lightening it.
We will now speak of repairing and patching the cover in those parts which
serve as hinges. This is an operation practicable only when a substance
very thin and supple can be found. I have succeeded in restoring this part
of a book by using a strip of gold-beaters skin, slipped between the back
and the side and fastened, on one part, to the edge of the side and, on
the other, to the boards lining the back. I then gave to this skin a tint
corresponding to that of the cover. The break remained visible; I only
reconnected the parts so that the book could be opened and closed.[18]
Would one succeed better by using a thin piece of rubber? I have never
tried this, but this substance, I believe, could not be obtained in very
thin sheets except by being considerably stretched, a process which would
soon destroy the elasticity which is its essential quality. Perhaps the
broken hinges of a dark calf book could be joined without great difficulty
by means of the liquefied gutta-percha mentioned above.
I have sometimes repaired the corners of a volume with more or less
success. In cases where the damage was slight, after having loosened the
paper on the inside of the cover at the corner, either with, or without,
moistening it, I pushed back the damaged skin for a short distance, then
glued upon the board over the corner a fragment of leather of the same
kind and tint, pared thin, then pressed down the rough edges and fashioned
the new corner by moistening the leather. Then, having replaced the broken
edges of the original leather, I recolored the patch to an exact
match.[19]
When the leather at the corner is entirely dilapidated an entirely new
corner of triangular form should be supplied, pasted down level with the
leather on the cover, which has been cut away smoothly where the new
corner is joined on. If the corner of the board is itself tattered, it can
be stiffened by the use of paste or glue, thoroughly soaked in and left to
dry. A little Spanish white might be added to the paste to give it more
solidity.
But when the angle of the corner is entirely rounded, weakened and
demolished by use, it should be renewed by incorporating an entirely new
corner on the board. To fasten this securely, the edge of the board should
be cut across at an angle of forty-five degrees, then split, and the upper
half cut away for a short distance back. The new triangular piece for the
corner is also notched underneath to correspond so that the two patches
will superimpose and exactly fit. Here one makes use of strong paste or
glue. This operation is not difficult but it requires time and patience,
for a considerable amount of leather must be raised from the board and
then replaced. If one is not endowed with patience, it is better to turn
this work over to a binder, otherwise one will work to no purpose and will
damage his book instead of restoring it.
REPAIRING EDGES. To remove a spot of ink or color from the edges of a
book, the substance described for similar operations on pages or prints
may be used. However, there is this distinction; here one is not concerned
with the surface of a single sheet but with a great many page-edges one
after another. If the edges to be cleaned are not placed under pressure,
the liquids, penetrating between them, will stain the pages themselves.
If, however, the ink itself has thus spread into the pages, it might be
desirable to send the dissolving liquid over the same route. In this case,
it will be necessary to efface from each page the moisture following the
application of the remedy, and this requires careful work.
If, on the contrary, the spot soils merely the surface of the edges, the
volume should be placed under pressure in such a position that the edges
to be cleaned stand vertical; then, with a small brush, the necessary
liquid may be applied. The spot removed (supposing that it is of a nature
which may be decomposed) it is necessary, in some cases, to restore the
general tint of the edges; this is not a very difficult matter, at least
when they are not marbled. When the edges are gilt, the gold is not
usually attacked and naturally resists the action of the chemical agents;
the ink or other spot can thus be removed without necessitating the
restoration of the gold afterward. A spot may sometimes be removed with a
dampened sponge.[20] Even Chinese ink, a black which will not decompose,
is often susceptible to this gentle procedure by means of which it may be
wiped away.
Let us now suppose that the edges are free from spots but that they are
faded, and partly discolored. It is easy enough to brighten the colors if
they are not too complicated; I will add; and provided the pages are not
unequal, with some advanced and some drawn back, destroying the general
level, for, in this case, it is necessary to begin by repairing the back
without separating the volume; an almost impossible operation.[21] The
color brightened, it may be repolished with an agate burnisher while the
edges are held closely pressed together. If edges, not colored, but gilt,
have been damaged here and there by use, perfect restoration is
impracticable. A new patch of gold applied over the worn spot contrasts in
freshness and polish with the rest of the surface and, at the points
where it necessarily overlaps the perfect parts, the excess gold remains
noticeable. Undoubtedly, the best procedure is to have the whole surface
regilded by a professional gilder.
If one has gone to the trouble of brightening the edges, one may desire to
complete the restoration by renewing the head-bands. I have never had
patience enough to make a head-band, a kind of needle-work which belongs
particularly to the bookbinders' trade. The amateur should have recourse
to a binder for this or, if he wishes to attempt the work himself, consult
any of the books published on binding.
RESTORING THE GILDING.[22] It is sometimes necessary to brighten, patch
and partially replace the gilt ornaments of a precious book. In cleaning a
book, as I have described above, with soap-jelly or starch paste, the gold
is not affected if the operation is carried out according to directions;
on the contrary, one lifts from the gold the deposit of dirt which deadens
its brilliancy. But if it has been, at some points, destroyed by the
breaks in the leather, it is necessary, in order to restore the gold, to
refinish the leather at the broken point. Here a considerable difficulty
presents itself, and it is necessary to find a filler which will serve as
a base. Gutta-percha will not answer at such points, except for cold
gilding, as the application of a warm gilding iron would liquefy it. The
only satisfactory solution is to inlay with leather.
I have sometimes succeeded in restoring missing spots of gilding by the
simple employment of gilt paint, laid with a fine brush upon the properly
prepared patch, imitating carefully each missing part of the
ornamentation. This kind of joining, however, lacks brilliance and
solidity; wiping with a damp sponge is sufficient to effect it; but it may
be given a little more permanency by a coat of binders' varnish.
I can suggest a less imperfect method of procedure. Where there are thin
lines or figures such as circles to join, the amateur can do this with
home-made tools. Such tools may be made of small brass wire, some straight
edges and others curved like gouges.[23] He should also have small dots of
various sizes, circular or oval in profile. With these simple elements,
most line designs may be patched. The ground properly prepared, the warm
iron tool to be used is applied upon fragments of gold-leaf. The iron
should be a little hotter than boiling water; otherwise it will not fix
the gold in place. If too hot, it will burn the leather. Gilders test the
heat of an iron by touching it with a wet finger, and are able to tell, by
the sizzle and amount of vapor given off, whether the degree of heat is
right. A more simple method, for the amateur, is to try the iron on a
fragment of leather.[24] The excess of gold not pressed in by the iron may
be wiped off with a fragment of woolen cloth.
If it is necessary to restore a complicated ornament upon an ancient and
very precious binding, special irons must be cut, using the tooling still
in place as a guide. With patience and skill, one may fashion these for
himself. The required ornamentation is traced from another spot where it
is still intact on the binding, with a brush holding resin varnish or wax.
This tracing, which naturally leaves an imprint in reverse, is applied to
a piece of copper, and the design retouched on the copper with the same
varnish or wax.[25] The other faces of the cube or cylinder of copper used
are coated, and the copper placed in a bath of azotic acid. The acid will
eat the metal not protected as above, leaving the ornament standing out in
relief, something after the manner of a stereotype plate. Or, the
electro-chemical procedure of stereotyping may be used to the same end.
By the aid of a form obtained in some such manner as the above, it is
possible to restore the effaced ornaments, provided that the leather is
prepared to receive and hold the gold. Let me note in passing that it is
difficult for inexperienced amateurs to set gold smoothly; only long
practice will make this possible. Necessarily, the very thin gold leaf
always covers and reaches beyond the spot to be tooled. It is essential
that the iron be pressed exactly upon the spot intended to receive it,
which is very difficult to accomplish. Moreover, the gold must be kept
smooth and fresh over the entire impression. Perhaps one might substitute
for the gold leaf a coat of gold powder spread over the design, which
should be coated with albuminous paste (glaire) to hold the powder.
One sometimes wishes, also, to rectify a defective title or erroneous date
on the binding. The simplest method is to stamp the desired lettering or
date on an odd bit of leather, which is then applied to the book. The
amateur may do this himself if he has the necessary letter, a form to
hold them, and a certain amount of skill.
Suppose a case where, in a title anciently gilt and which one wishes to
preserve, there is a single letter or a single character to change. It is
first necessary to efface the letter or character to be replaced. To do
this, it is touched with a drop of alcohol; on wiping it, the varnish
which may have covered the gold is removed. If the gold resists thorough
rubbing, chemical compositions may be tried. I would not advise, however,
the use of aqua-regia, the infallible dissolvent of gold, because it would
disorganize the leather. I think that a drop of mercury, applied hot upon
a letter by means of an iron or sunrays through a lens, would absorb and
amalgamate the metallic particles. In any case, there would still remain a
moulded impression which might be removed, I think, by swelling the
leather at that spot by means of a jet of steam applied through a very
narrow glass tube.[26]
The impression effaced, or at least reduced, one may proceed to replace
the corrected letter. For this, a letter or figure matching the others in
size and character must be secured. Sometimes it is necessary for the
amateur to make this himself. This can be done by securing a fragment of
rolled copper and, with the aid of small pincers, fashioning the profile
of the desired letter on its edge. The thickness of the metal would form
the thickness of the letter's face; strokes required slender may be pared
with a knife. With a little care and skill, the desired character may be
produced. The bit of metal is then set in a handle of plaster or clay,
which is allowed to dry and harden.
TRANSFERRING ANCIENT COVERS. Is it possible to transfer the covers of
works richly bound, but valueless inside, to the boards of other books
more precious in their text and more deserving of the transferred binding?
Some of our binders have replied in the affirmative.
Many a volume has retained virginal the splendour of its original binding
simply because the text has been tiresome and insipid. In this class
appear certain volumes of indigestible theology, "Sacred works and not to
be touched," as Voltaire remarked, and those odes of court-flattery,
insipidly rhymed in doggerel, in aristocratic liveries, addressed to high
personages who paid for them but who never read them. From books of such
sorts, one may, without remorse, lift the precious coverings. However, to
make use of them, it is necessary that all their dimensions correspond
with the new volumes on which it is proposed to place them. The old books
in good condition are easily despoiled when there is no need to be
careful of the cording, the fly leaves or the boards. The process
requiring the most time is that of scraping away the dry paste which
adheres here and there to the inside of the leather after its removal. I
have re-covered more than one quarto in covers of gold tooled vellum
lifted from books of the same format. When the back was too narrow or too
wide, I replaced this part, but then the cover was formed of three pieces.
When the back was of the right width, I effaced the old title, generally
lettered in ink, by means of sorrel-salt, and inscribed the new title in
the same place but with Chinese ink. Where the old title happened to be
gilt, I covered it with a new piece of skin, finding it too laborious to
efface all the letters by the process mentioned above.
Let us suppose it is necessary to replace upon a rare volume, changing
only the boards, the old contemporary binding which covered it. If the
skin is worn on the edges and corners and at the hinges, removing it
without injury from the old boards is a very delicate operation. However,
it may be done, even without moistening the leather, by using the skill
and patience which both come from practice. Our binders, in cases where
expense has not been in consideration, have executed more than one feat of
this kind. Only, nearly always, they are obliged to renew the parts
injured by use and the end papers. They apply, here and there, to the new
boards bits of leather matching the tint of the old, reset the preserved
cover, still charged with the rich ornaments which constitute its value
and, upon the portions renewed, restore the gilding after the model of
that which they have before them. More than one binder has succeeded, with
great skill, in placing upon a new foundation the splendid cover of a very
rare book without being obliged to go to the regrettable extreme of a
second sewing and trimming. It is even possible, with the exercise of
great care, to clean the sheets, one by one, and repair the torn and
missing places, without separating the book; but one can see that such
restorations are a matter of expense and not suitable except for books of
considerable value. I believe that there exist in Paris binders of
sufficient skill to replace a cover "in octavo," transposing it without
injury to the volume and without leaving the least trace of this difficult
operation.