Page repair recommendations

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

Geminii23

Well-Known Member
Jul 10, 2015
223
1,677
VA
So I got a decent first edition copy of The Regulators. Come to find out that one of the pages has a small tear at the top. It is not near the spine which is good, but I would like to repair it somehow to prevent it from getting worse. I also noticed a few pages had been ear marked and bent back but the creases are still there.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
 

muskrat

Dis-Member
Nov 8, 2010
4,518
19,564
Under your bed
So I got a decent first edition copy of The Regulators. Come to find out that one of the pages has a small tear at the top. It is not near the spine which is good, but I would like to repair it somehow to prevent it from getting worse. I also noticed a few pages had been ear marked and bent back but the creases are still there.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Be careful with that page.
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
157,324
Maine
So I got a decent first edition copy of The Regulators. Come to find out that one of the pages has a small tear at the top. It is not near the spine which is good, but I would like to repair it somehow to prevent it from getting worse. I also noticed a few pages had been ear marked and bent back but the creases are still there.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
I found this article which might help.
 

summer_sky

Well-Known Member
Oct 15, 2015
414
2,003
Is there any way except taping to close (repair) a torn page?
If you do not wish to use a thin, acid-free tape like Filmoplast® Tape, you may glue the tear shut by taking the following steps:
  • Rest the torn page on a sheet of waxed paper.
  • Run a line of acid-free glue, such as Brodart Bind-Art® Adhesive, along the tear, using a fine paintbrush, cotton swab, or toothpick.
  • Wipe away any excess glue with a cloth and place a separate sheet of waxed paper on top of the tear.
  • Close the book and apply a book weight, or other books, on top for a few hours until the glue is completely dry.
  • The waxed paper will remove easily when the glue is dry.
Excerpt from Book Care and Book Repair
 

blunthead

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2006
80,755
195,461
Atlanta GA
So I got a decent first edition copy of The Regulators. Come to find out that one of the pages has a small tear at the top. It is not near the spine which is good, but I would like to repair it somehow to prevent it from getting worse. I also noticed a few pages had been ear marked and bent back but the creases are still there.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
Don't read that one. Save it. I mean the book, not the page itself.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
I have never considered doing something like this but it seems plausible that it would work. I have used the Brodart glue to glue loose pages back into the spine of a book or even to repair the inside of a broken 'spine' when someone has opened a book as far as they could and ended up separating the pages from each other and it's worked for me.
 

summer_sky

Well-Known Member
Oct 15, 2015
414
2,003
I once went to a real bookbinder and wanted to learn the trade. He asked how long I would be in town because he knew I was not native to that little town in South Carolina.
I said I didn't really know as I had just arrived a few weeks earlier.
While he appreciated my interest, he declined to take me on as an apprentice. He said that to master the art, one must devote many years to the trade and want to make more of it than just a passing hobby.

I have never followed up on this idea of mine to learn how to repair and bind books, but I still would like to learn...
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
I once went to a real bookbinder and wanted to learn the trade. He asked how long I would be in town because he knew I was not native to that little town in South Carolina.
I said I didn't really know as I had just arrived a few weeks earlier.
While he appreciated my interest, he declined to take me on as an apprentice. He said that to master the art, one must devote many years to the trade and want to make more of it than just a passing hobby.

I have never followed up on this idea of mine to learn how to repair and bind books, but I still would like to learn...
So, you didn't snatch the pebble from his hand, Grasshoppa? ;;D
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
:( no. :(

But, I did get a tour of his awesome shop with lots of antique equipment. He also showed me some really lovely old books he was working on, too.
I totally understood where he was coming from, to tell the truth.
I don't think that Book binding is something one can learn in a few weeks or even months. There is an art to it, especially if one is repairing old books. I've always been fascinated with the book binding process myself. It was hard enough for me to print out a copy of The Plant and trying to figure out how to get the odd and even numbered pages to correspond with each other.....:flat:
 

Pucker

We all have it coming, kid
May 9, 2010
2,906
6,242
62
I have never followed up on this idea of mine to learn how to repair and bind books, but I still would like to learn...

Isn't it funny how few things actually get repaired anymore? Or is that just me?

Part of my mother's family used to be cobblers, and it wasn't that long ago. I can still remember the way the urethane glue made the whole shop smell.

I think I'll go buy a buggy whip, just for the hell of it.
 

summer_sky

Well-Known Member
Oct 15, 2015
414
2,003
Isn't it funny how few things actually get repaired anymore? Or is that just me?

Part of my mother's family used to be cobblers, and it wasn't that long ago. I can still remember the way the urethane glue made the whole shop smell.

I think I'll go buy a buggy whip, just for the hell of it.
Oh! A buggy whip :devilish:
erhmmm, I mean, oh, a buggy whip :redhat:. I had one of those when I was a kid. Until my father sold the buggy for big dollars.

There is still a real cobbler in my town. I tend to spend way too much money on good shoes and he repairs them for me.
He says most of his customers these days are folks with foot issues who need specially made shoes.
People these days buy shoes that last a few months and then throw them away.
Sad. But, that's consumerism. Or is it Capitalism.