Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Book Restoration New Jersey Professionals Offer Can Bring Your Old Volumes Back To Life

By Donald Morris


Book lovers, who are lucky enough to own their favorites instead of borrowing them from the library, often like to show them off in bookcases and shelves. A lot of these individuals especially treasure those that are handed down from generation to generation. Most don't know whether or not their collectibles are valuable and, over time, many deteriorate. In order to keep them from getting beyond repair, owners turn to the kind of book restoration New Jersey professionals offer.

Owners can either physically bring the work to the restorer's shop or send in good photographs that show all sides of the volume. The restorer will examine the exterior and interior and do whatever research is necessary to come up with an opinion of value. After that this professional will give the owner options for restoring the work or suggest that there is not enough value to warrant an expensive restoration.

An honest evaluation includes letting an owner know what cannot be restored. If old leather is rotting and falling off, there isn't much that can realistically be done. There are chemicals, some restorers use to harden the material, but whether or not the effect lasts is a matter of disagreement among experts. No professional restorer will do anything to a work that makes it appear more aesthetically pleasing, but reduces the value.

Leather covers without a dry rot problem can often be returned to something like the original state with conditioning. Deteriorating pages can be repaired with the use of a special tape. It will disappear if correctly applied and will not yellow over time. Pages with torn edges or missing sections may be mended using discarded volumes of the same period.

Even gently used old books get stains, dirt and grime on their pages. There are specific techniques restorers can utilize to eliminate the majority of the stains. Cleaning paper with water is not an option unless the paper in question is of extremely high quality. This is an expensive process that involves painstakingly removing the pages from the stitched binding.

Restorers can mend old cloth covers and touch up the colors with special dyes. They may put matching cloth under the original material to repair it. Depending on the extent of its damage, the results can be very impressive. Many restorers do not recommend that the old techniques of gluing and sewing bindings be used. These professionals prefer to use newer methods to give the pages more flexibility.

Most professional restorers recommend that truly valuable and rare books, requiring old technology, be taken to individuals who specialize in them. Owners can contact university libraries that have rare book collections for references and referrals. There are also special techniques used for rare and family bibles.

Old books are a source of pleasure and pride for those who own them. Many are treasured reminders of loved ones who have passed on. Restoring them to their former glory is a fitting tribute to the original owners.




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