18th Century Parchment Case Binding
The binding had split due to a spine stiffener that had warped and split the sewing and text block. The spine stiffener was locally humidified so it moved back into the correct position. The original cords were extended and the text block resewed with additional thread attached to the original sewing. Inner hinges were added to consolidate attachment and to look aesthetically pleasing.
Client
Victoria & Albert Museum
Year
09/2023
18th century Leather Bound Book with Detached Back Board
The back board had become detached (fairly unusual, it usually the front board!). Due to the high levels of tooling, the tight back binding making it difficult to easily lift the leather and the weight of the board and text block, standard board attachment methods were deemed insufficient. The technique used here was published by E.Fraser in 2023 and involves using a jewellers drill to create a thread attachment that is attached to the centre of the first gathering of the textblock at the original sewing stations, through the board, out and back through the spine leather and then secured on the pastedown of the board. Inner hinges were added for a subtle finish.
Client
Victoria & Albert Museum
Year
02/2024
18 Century Leather Bound Book - reback a reback
This book had been rebacked previously by a conservator . Unfortunately, the leather used for the initial reback had red rot, a deterioration of leather commonly found in vegetable tanned leather from the late 19th and early 20th century, caused by uses of products during the tanning process being absorbed by the leather. A powdery red substance forms on the leather and the leather becomes spongey and fluffy. There is no ‘cure’, and it will continue to deteriorate. If the red rot is in the beginning stages, the leather can be consolidated.
Client
Victoria & Albert Museum
Year
09/2024
20th Century Cloth Bound Book
Due to sheer size of this volume it had sustained large amounts of damage to the head caps, edges and corners. This was likely due to the difficulty of handling such a large and heavy book. In addition to the weight of the text block putting a lot of pressure on the binding.
Client
Victoria & Albert Museum
Year
11/2023
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