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Rebinding Todd's Johnson, 1828: Part 2 -Endsheets, Sewing, Lining, and Covering

10/23/2020

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Welcome to Part 2 of our historical rebinding of Johnson's Dictionary Improved by Todd, published in Boston in 1828. Last week, at the close of Part 1, our dictionary had been removed from its original decrepit covers, washed, guarded, mended, and reassembled into the neat little textblock pictured above. This week, we finally moved our project from loose leaves back into a bound state, and what a pleasure it is to be back in one piece!

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Rebinding Todd's Johnson, 1828 - Part 1: Disbinding, Washing, and Mending

10/18/2020

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Just as the leaves began to change here in Boston, swashing an already beautiful skyline with a whole new set of colors, our studies at NBSS transitioned from the millimeter bindings of the early 20th century to the full calf bindings of the 18th. Sewn on raised or recessed cords, trimmed in boards, covered with undyed skin and stained with mild acids after covering, the structure was as foreign as it was satisfying to complete. After a few models to get a hang of the processes, I decided to dive into my own collection and rebind a sorry volume of my own from the early 19th century in this style, repeating many of the binding processes that it had first undergone nearly 200 years ago. 

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Shit Sandwich: Cellulose Acetate Lamination at the National Archives

1/20/2020

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This past summer I had the privilege of working as an archivist intern at the National Archives in Washington DC. In between scanning, digitally-editing, and transcribing handwritten documents from the four years of Lincoln's presidency, I was allowed to pursue a personal research project with the tools and materials at Archives 1 and 2 at my disposal. With an interest in the history of conservation practices at the Archives as my starting point, my research eventually led me to focus specifically on the origins of the Archives as a organization for the safekeeping of government documents and the adoption of one particular preservation technique which didn't age well at all: cellulose acetate film lamination. 

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Make Way for Book Things Part II

11/8/2019

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At long last, a classic dust jacket is freed of its pressure-tape mummification and returns to its corner store display a little more lively than it was a month ago. 
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Make Way for Book Things...

10/8/2019

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I'm currently in hot, slow pursuit of a dairy-related enamel sign screwed to a seemingly decades-unused wooden door in an alley on Boston's North End, less than a block from the North Bennet Street School. While making my way back from yet another attempt at first contact, I spied this familiar title, in a sorry state, through the window of souvenir shop next to The Paul Revere House. A damaged book with a story based in Boston, during my first month in the city for a book restoration program? They say there're no such things as coincidences...
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'Carrots', Just a Little Boy - Mrs. Molesworth, 1891

3/16/2019

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'Carrots' came to me in decent shape from a $1 sale, but the joints were torn and the textblock was solid be separated from the covers. 
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The textblock had taken parts of the front and back pastedown with it, but they were still present, so I saved them for later.
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First step is clean all of the old spine lining and glue off of the textblock.
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Much better.
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After lining the spine with kozo paper using methyl cellulose, I opted to practice some sewn silk endbands on this book. It didn't come with endbands originally, and if it had they would've been the pre-fabbed, glued-on type, but this was a great opportunity to practice the skill on an inexpensive binding.
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Using red and gold based on the cover art, I think it turned out nicely!
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Here's the completed reback. After the endbands, the spine was lined with another layer of kozo paper, then linen, then paper. A new spine piece was fitted into the boards, new spine cloth was toned to match the existing cloth, then everything was slid, glued, and pressed together. 
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Evangelisches Choralbuch, ~1890

3/16/2019

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After allowing this volume to passively grace my music stand for several years, I decided it would be better appreciated by a pianist friend of mine, and so restored it to a usable state. The textblock was coming loose at the signatures and was almost completely separated from its case. I repaired the signatures, resewed and lined the textblock, then refit the textblock into the original case after lightly treating the spine leather to quell disintegration at the head and heel.
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Signatures re-guarded with kozo paper and bone-folded.
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Textblock re-sewn and lined with kozo paper and linen.
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Completed repair. While the textblock was being repaired, the spine leather was lined with kozo paper on the inside and powdery areas were treated with Klucel G to prevent further deterioration.
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A Dictionary of the English Language - Samuel Johnson, 1756

2/4/2019

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In lieu of my latest restoration project (which should be completed in the next few weeks), I can't help but flaunt the newest (and, ironically, the oldest!) addition to my personal library: a second-edition printing of Samuel Johnson's first dictionary of the English language, published in two volumes in 1756. My copy is volume two, 'L-Z'. 
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Title page showing areas of loss and previous owners' inscriptions from 1811, 1894, 1899, and 1937.
It came to me in a very sorry state: most of the original cover is gone, with only the laced-in back board still attached to the textblock, although the sewing itself is in great shape. I also noticed a tiny knot of red and gold silk threads sticking out of spine edge, which might be a clue as to what the original sewn endbands looked like.
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Back board with remnants of possible (marbled?) paper cover
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Red and gold thread knot, possibly left over from the original sewn endbands.
The volume also has some water/mold damage on its last dozen pages or so, which may require an aqueous cleaning treatment. Once the textblock is back in order, I plan to replace the boards and give the volume a full-calf makeover in as close to the original style as I can, with the finished product resembling something like the edition pictured here. That project is a little outside of my skillset for now, but I'm looking forward to giving this 263-year-old beauty a new set of clothes in the very near future!
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Source: https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30007969682&cm_sp=det-_-bsk-_-bdp
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History of the American People - David Saville Muzzey, 1935

12/20/2018

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In classic school-book fashion, the pastedowns and a good part of the text was covered in pencil markings.
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These cleared up nicely with a soft eraser.
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Several pages were detached or torn, leaving the edges exposed and tattered.
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The case is separated from the textblock.
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Sewing begins. I didn't take pictures, but this volume kept popping pages, and there was lots of paper repair done prior to this.
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Completed textblock. It was originally machine-sewn, but since this isn't an exceptional book, I decided to try out some different techniques.
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New bookcloth toned to match the original. Since this piece is only visible at the hinges, that's the color I aimed to match.
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The completed reback. Since I only wanted to return this to a readable state, I left the corners and edges frayed.
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The Complete Nonsense Book - Edward Lear, 1923

9/8/2018

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The cover was completely detached from the textblock when I found it and clear packing tape had been used to secure a label and hold the cover together.
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The damaged sewing (shown below) left most of the pages in the front half of the book loose and tattered on their edges.
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Detail of the worn, broken sewing.
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Given the state of disrepair, the rest of the sewing was removed so that pages could be repaired and new, stronger sewing could be added.
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Scotch tape and some other adhesive had been used on a few leaves, leave the paper brittle and stained. The tape was removed and the leaves were repaired one by one with strips of kozo paper and methyl cellulose.
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The stack of completely repaired and re-punched signatures.
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Sewn and rounded by hand. I visited a local studio to use their backing press and return the textblock to its original curve.
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The rounded and backed textblock is lined with linen cloth using PVA. The lining is wider than the spine to provide an attachment point for the original boards.
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Dying new bookcloth to match the patina of the old spine piece and boards.
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The complete reback, showing the new, dyed bookcloth at the hinges.
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The original spine piece was lined with kozo paper and adhered to the new spine cloth with PVA.
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The damaged endsheets were left as they were found, but the linen and kozo lining makes this binding as strong as if it were brand new.
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The tape-stained folio, after extensive paper repairs.
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