medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: "George R. Hoelzeman" <[log in to unmask]>
> I have a number of older, leather bound books ranging from the early 20th
Century back to 1685. The leather binding on several has dried out
considerably and some are quite fragile.
just to return to the (mostly unanswered) specific question at issue here, as
far as the mid-19th and 20th c. items are concerned, unless you are talking
about quite expensive original bindings, once those Guys start to Go, they're
Gone and cannot be Resuscitated by any means short of a complete Binding
Transplant (to use the technical term).
this is because the method used to cure the leather involved chemical
processes which both speeded up the process and insured that the product would
not last for very long.
my memory of what's going on is that the leather becomes excessively acidic
and, when exposed to oxygen (with heat) over time simply eats itself to
death.
this is most clearly evident in books of c. 1900 (+/- 30 years) which are
suffering from the notorious "red rot" --upon handling the binding literally
rubs off on the hands.
if you've got That, you've effectively got Toast --and it's time to look for a
donor for the Binding Transplant mentioned above (though it is rare that books
suffering from such a condition are worth the cost of that procedure).
before c. 1860 (just to pick an arbitrary date, which will vary from country
to country) the leather for bindings was cured ("tanned") the Old Fashioned
Way --in an "industrial" context this could involve something like burying the
hides in a pit in the ground in layers alternating with oak bark (which
contains a high level of "tannin" (specifically, quercitannic acid,
C15H12O9).
or so the story goes which was told to me 30+ years ago by an Aboriginal Old
Timer, here in the Hills of Southern Indinaer, speaking of a "tanning pit"
which was conveniently located next to a sawmill in his boyhood --now the site
of a large grocery store (progress).
drastic as suchlike a process sounds, it did have the advantage of being
entirely "natural" and produced tanned leather which could, with proper care
(e.g., periodic "dressing" with, say, neatsfoot oil), last almost indefinitely
when used for shoes, harnesses, etc.
presumably hides ultimately intended for finer purposes like binding would
have been tanned in circumstances which were somewhat more controlled, but
which were probably essentially the same, as chemical processes.
---
otOh, i have seen quite a few "fine bindings" of the late 19th-20th c. which
were carefully and beautifully done (many "signed" by noted binders), with
loverly gilt tooling, marbled endpapers and edges, etc., which suffered from
detached "boards" --one or both.
this was not because of a defect in the leather itself (which was usually
quite stunningly beautiful in color and texture) but rather because the
binding process called for excessive "skiving" --the splitting and shaving of
the leather, esp. at the joints.
for books suffering from this condition, an expert "rebacking" is called for:
the original (usually beautifully gilt-tooled) spine is "lifted" off, as is
the leather at the spine edge of the board(s), and a new, plain leather spine
("back") of matching color is installed; the original spine is then "laid
down" over the new one, walla.
expensive, if done right, but, if done right, nearly undetectable.
c
(who used to Sell Books for Food, in a Previous Incarnation, but is So Much
Younger Now)
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