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1Ezzlar
I hope this is the right place to ask this question.
I recently bought a book printed in 1740, still in the original leather binding. It's in pretty good shape for it's age but the leather is quite brittle. It was shipped to me by mail and the evelope was full of chafed off leather and paper dust. Is there anything that can be done (without doing more harm) to reduce further deterioration?
I recently bought a book printed in 1740, still in the original leather binding. It's in pretty good shape for it's age but the leather is quite brittle. It was shipped to me by mail and the evelope was full of chafed off leather and paper dust. Is there anything that can be done (without doing more harm) to reduce further deterioration?
2cbellia
old book leather often gets a condition called Red-Rot. Not much can be done about it. There is a substance called Clusel G which stabilizes some of the loose leather. It is available from book-binding merchants.
3Ezzlar
Thanks for your reply cbellia.
You mean probably Klucel G (Hydroxypropylcellulose) - also available as Klucel E?
This looks quite like what I was looking for. I'll see if I can find instructions how to use it (like what solvent to use, what concentration etc).
I noticed it's slightly acidic (pH 5). Wouldn't that be a problem though?
You mean probably Klucel G (Hydroxypropylcellulose) - also available as Klucel E?
This looks quite like what I was looking for. I'll see if I can find instructions how to use it (like what solvent to use, what concentration etc).
I noticed it's slightly acidic (pH 5). Wouldn't that be a problem though?
