I got this book today- its structurally fine, its just a little crumbly and needs some TLC. Any ideas? The previous owners used duct tape on the spine but that was both ugly af and clearly didn't work.
I've used ribbon to cover/ repair spines before on paperbacks - would that work here?
I got this very beat up copy of The Stand for 4 dollars recently (early BCE holding no real value). I think this is a good candidate for my first more involved repair.
The endpaper on the front is completely detached, the one on the back is fairly intact and glued down. The hinges are very loose.
The spine is incredibly thin, and I'm not familiar enough with the original construction to know what its supposed to look like, so I'm looking for some advice. Here's my plan based on what I can see:
1 - Trim the mull to separate the text block from the case
2 - Reinforce the text block. Depending on how it looks I may reinforce with some kozo before putting new mull on
3 - Make a new hollow for the text block, glued over the mull.
4 - Reinforce spine somehow (not sure what would be best here but its basically a flimsy sheet of paper now)
5 - Glue the case back on at the spine on the other side of the hollow.
6 - Glue the endpapers back down
I tried to take the best photos possible to ask for advice. I'm also going to try to reshape the messed up corners after, but it'll basically just be to stabilize them. I kind of love the beat up look of it and don't want to fix any cosmetics, just want to address the structural issues.
If anyone has advice they can lend or even video links where this sort of thing is being done properly, feel free to let me know. I have a bunch of bookbinding tools, kozo paper in various weights, archival PVA and wheat paste, and am going to be making a book press soon, so I'm trying to do this right.
Thanks in advance!
I have a several hardcovers where the page block (I think that’s what it’s called) is separating from the spine. I was wondering, does anyone have any tips or tricks for fixing this? Should I just add some homemade wheat paste glue, flip the books so they lay on their spines while they dry and call it a day? Or is it more complicated than that?
I recently picked up a paperback where a spot on the back cover had been ripped away when the price sticker was being removed. Luckily the damage isn't visible most of the time since it's on the back of the book, but I can still feel the spot whenever I hold the book open and read it. I'm guessing this damage is not completely fixable, but is there anything I could use to smooth the spot out and make the back cover feel uniform again? Also, is there any kind of paint/etc. folks would recommend to try and make the spot blend in more with the rest of the cover? Thanks in advance! :)