How to Preserve Antique Books

-->

Books are unlike other antiques. Many people think that just because a book is old, that it is “worth something.” While I am one of those people who think books are always “worth something,” to collectors and potential buyers of your book, being old does not make it more desirable. Unlike other antiques such as furniture, toys, and clothing, which are used a lot over the years, the majority of books only get read a few times over the years and spend most of their time unharmed on a bookshelf. Books from the 1700s and before are prized by collectors, as well as 1^st editions of books and books signed by the author. Many of us wish to preserve our books for their information and beauty, despite their lack of collector value.  



If you have a historical book or book of importance, it's best to leave this to a professional. (I mean it.)

Before you start preserving your book, decide if it is a book that you want to read a lot or not. If it is a book you will want to read a lot, consider making a digital copy of the book. You can photograph each page with a digital camera or use a photocopy machine that is designed for old books (the ones that have 2 panels to scan instead of one flat one, these can be found in large research libraries.) Once you have a digital book, you can keep it digital or print it out and put the pages into a binder.   

Before you touch your book, wash your hands and make sure they are very dry. The oils on our hands can break down the paper and inks. Some people like to wear white cotton gloves but I think that it is harder to turn pages and you are more likely to cause damage to your book.

Open your book carefully. Find two spare books and lay towels on them to hold your book slightly closed so you don’t put stress on or break the spine or binding of the book.

Go through the book and remove anything that should not be in there such as book marks, newspaper clippings, bugs, dust and dirt. You can very carefully vacuum the dust and dirt out but I find that a clean feather or never before used paint brush work very well. Be careful when turning fragile pages. You can use a loose leaf of paper to turn the pages if your book is too delicate.  

Unfold any folded pages; this can be very tedious because sometimes a lot of pages are “dog eared.” If you leave these pages bent, the bent part will weaken the paper and eventually fall off. You may see some of the page corners in your book already broken off.

Decide how often you will need the information in your book. If you will be using your book often and did not want to make a digital copy, wrap your book like you would a school “book cover” only make sure you use acid free, archival paper. This can be bought at craft stores in the scrap booking section or from an office supply store.

If you will not be using the book much, wrap your book like a present; again use acid free, archival paper. Be sure to label your book cover in pencil. I write the title and copyright information on an index card and tape it to the front of it to avoid ruining the book cover while pressing to hard on it with a pencil. Your book can then be placed in a zip-lock bag.

If your book is very important (diaries, family bibles, a book with high collector value), make a box for it, out of archival cardboard; make sure the book is a tight fit. If your books aren’t very important, like mine, I place three or four books in a shoe box.

Store the books or boxes, lying flat on a surface in a dry dark place. Inside drawers or on bookshelves are good places. Make sure that bugs will not eat your books by putting bug traps on top of and behind your shelf.

Some other problems you may have:

Mildew Stains-- The greenish brown stains in books are not mildew but what is left behind after mildew has been there. There really is no cost effective way to remove these stains. There is not danger of the mold returning if it is only stains. 

Mold or Mildew—If your book has mold or mildew currently, you may wish to make a digital copy (outside) and discard the book. Books with mold or mildew can infect other books. It is very hard to remove mold and mildew because touching them only spreads the spores. A good rule is to never buy books with mildew on them in the first place, no matter how cheap.   

 

Oxidation or "Foxing"—Rusty looking stains in books. These can only be removed by a conservationist but will not hurt the book.     

Crinkling of the pages or Tears—These can only be repaired with great care. Try to flatten out crinkles the best you can. Do not tape tears; it only leads to more problems in the future. If you need to repair a tear learn how to repair it the proper way with Japanese rice paper and a rice based glue. I will probably post a short tutorial on fixing tears sometime in the future.  

*Note: Look at the Godey's Lady's Book Lithograph at the beginning. There are two children using an umbrella in the snow. :D I hope you all enjoyed and can make use of this information.

A Mutiny in 1916 -- Over Hardtack and Pie

I came across this article in the New York Times Archive Database. I was originally looking for a recipe for naval hardbread. I was unsuccessful in finding the recipe but I came across a fun little article: I think the subheading says it all "Kitchen Ga-ley Resounded with Death Threat Over Slice of Pie." The article tells of what was probably a small incident but it is covered it as though it were a romanticized, full fledged Mutiny. The article is charming and picturesque, it gives images of angry sailors storming the deck with belaying pins (those wooden clubs on the inside edge of old ships, used to tie the ropes to,) and sailors chanting the old sea shanty "Leave Her, Johnny," while the captain stands aloft with his pretty daughter.  It's so rainy today, grab a cup of hot chocolate and a cozy blanket and read a newspaper clipping, that is probably older than your grandma.

This article was so cute I couldn't help but post on it, and since the article is really hard to read a typed version can be read below:

"WEEVIL IN BUISCUIT ROUSE SAILOR’S IRE

Fued Rages Between Fidor, the Cook and Seamen as the Mashona Reaches Port.

POLICE QUELL A “MUTINY”

Magistrate Told How Kitchen Ga-ley Resounded with Death Threat Over Slice of Pie.

Four able seamen, Anton Vaneik, Alexander Lemberg, John Andersen, and John Paulton, were arrested yester-day afternoon on board the four-masted bark Mashona. Incoming from Buenos Aires. They were locked up in the Stapleton Police station on warrants sworn out by Ernest W. Fidor, the cook, who charged that they had threatened him with bodily harm after the vessel had arrived inside the three-mile limit and was under the jurisdiction of the United States. The seamen said they were glad to be brought ashore and in-carcerated, because they would have a chance to get some food fit to eat, which they had not experienced for the last seventy-five days, they told the Police Lieutenant.

            When the Mashona arrived in Quar-antine yesterday forenon with 3,4000 tons of linseed from Buenos Aires and Montevideo, Captain Gunderson told the Health Officer that four of his crew were mutinous and had given him a great deal of trouble on the voyage. He wanted a police boat to come and take them off, he said. After the bark had anchored off Stapleton a police patrol boat went alongside and two of the Harbor Squad went on board to look the situation over. The vessel was flying the Uruguay flag and had a Scandinavian crew of twenty men for-ward nad [sic] a Captain, two mates, car-penter, sail maker, and cook aft.

            When the police officers climbed on deck they found that the Mashona was in a state of siege, but there was no signs of violence. The Captain and his mates stood on the poop shouting to the men that they were “a bunch of beachcombers” and other unkind things, while the crew stood in a group around the capstan on the foc’sle head growling out the old sailor chant, “It’s Time for Us to Leave Her.” With the Captain on the poop stood his fair-haired, tall daughter, Ggatha.

            The sailors told the police that they all had their certificates for ability in their duties. What they complained of, they said, was bad food. Fidor, the man who was doing the cooking, they declared, did not know how to cook salt water. The beans were so mouldy, they added, and the biscuits were so full of weevils, the seamen said, that they had to be nailed down to prevent them running all over the deck. Weevil steeplechasing was their only sport the men said.  The bark was seventy-five days on the voyage, and they did not get any meat fit to eat until the vessel was within four days of Sandy Hook.

            Captain Gunderson said the men had not attempted any violence, but that they had threatened him at various times, and Earnest Fidor, the cook, who said he hailed from Milwaukee, declared that one of the able seamen had threat-ened to slice his liver out if he did not give him a piece of pie. After listening to both sides the police told Captain Gunderson they could not take any action and suggested that he should go on shore and search New York City to find the Consul for Uraguay.

            When the Captain and his daughter had gone ashore, Fidor, the cook, took a boat and landed at Stapleton, where he went to the police station and asked for a warrant for four of the crew, who had threatened him. He said that these men had pretended to be ill a month ago, and when the Captain and his mates went forward with the carpenter and sailmaker to carry them to the hospital, where they could give them more attention, the rest of the crew, armed with belaying pins and sheath knives had showed fight, and forced the captain and his officers to retreat aft.

            Fidor was taken to Ninth Branch Detective Bureau at St. George’s Ferry House, after  swearing before Magistrate Hanry at Stapleton that the four seamen had threatened to kill him after the bark had passed inside Sandy Hook. The detectives said goodbye to their families and looked well to their revol-vers, expecting to have to deal with a piratical crew, on board the Mashona, but they have had no trouble in taking the men ashore.

            The cook said that even when the Captain had three pigs killed on Sunday, the crew had complained that the porkers were too fat to eat. He told the reporters that he was the only American on board and that in 1900, for a wager, he had rowed alone in a lifebzoat [sic] from Galveston to San Juan, Porto Rico, which took him three months, but he would not allow that to appear in the uapers [papers.] He disliked publicity, the cook said.

            Fidor told the Magistrate that he would hace Captain Gunderson in court this morning to appear against the four seamen. The skipper and his daughter were reported to still be looking for the Consul to Uruguay when the sun sank below the horizon last night. The men cannot sue the Captain under Uruguay’s laws for giving them bad food, as they could if the vessel was sailing under the American Flag."       

I love the song that is mentioned in the article, Leave Her Johnny. I actually love sea shanties and naval music. A few really good "sailor music" cd's are Roast Beef of Old England (Traditional Sailor Songs), Irish Pirate Ballads and Other Songs of the Sea, and Shanties & Songs of the Sea. The last cd is sung by a man named Johnny Collins who is 70+ and still singing! He has a very unique voice that is perfect for his music. It is worth looking into. Thanks for reading! 

 

Revolutionary War Reenactment at the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation

This weekend was the Revolutionary War Reenactment at the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation. You may ask, if I ever spend time in the 21st century, unfortunately I do. But today, I put on my petticoat and, jacket and shift and was ready for a warm May day in 1776. A day in 1776 for me, an indentured servant, involved getting wood to keep the fires in the kitchen going, helping out with the cooking, cleaning the dishes, getting more wood, cooking some more, getting more wood, and listening to the battle that was being fought off in the distance and cooking yet again. Then I got to the fun part of the day: cleaning. :D It may seem bleak but I would rather be a weekend indentured servant than pretty much anything else.

Somehow, cooking and cleaning the old fashioned way is much more suited to me. Maybe it's the fact that the standard of "clean" was much different then than it is today. I think more likely it is the fact that everything is done by old fashioned hard work- no washing machine, no dishwasher, no microwave. There is something very satisfying about a good day's hard work and then collapsing for a nap at the end of the day.
I also like the fact that work is done together and that everyone's work benefits all others. I do not mind work when work is also time spent with family or friends- not like the 21st century where members of the family all go off to separate jobs and barely see each other.  

Some specialty reenactors came out to the battle:

A physician and his lovely wife, also a physician.  These two were full of information about Colonial medicine. They had lots of period medicines and instruments, including that scary instrument pictured. They talked about the healing properties of honey and how honey was used in the colonial times to heal wounds and was only recently rediscovered by medical professionals within the last 5 or so years.  

A British physician and his son: These two were knowledgeable, especially the son who is only 12 or 13. He is learning colonial medicine the same way doctors really did back in those days. It is surprisingly effective!

A Hessian Soldier: ( I talked to this man's fiancee. I asked her if she knew she knew her fiancee was a "Hessian Soldier" while they were dating. She said "Yes, he told me--but I didn't know what that meant." :D ) Now she's all dressed up and being dragged to reenactments, they are even thinking about colonial dancing at their wedding reception. (Sometimes I don't think people know what they are in for.) I am lucky that Andy and I are equally interested, crazy, *insane* about history and reenacting.

I hope you all have escaped into the 18th century for the few minutes that you read this post. I hope it makes you all want to gather your siblings or children and do the laundry in a basin in the back yard during this lovely weather we have been having or gives you an ache to make dinner in the hearth tonight.  

Our New Arrival: Coal, the Kitty

Andy and I have long been searching for the perfect kitty. Some cats are friendly, others want nothing to do with you, but this one likes to play and cuddle and purrs nonstop. Coal is mostly black, he has the slightest bit of white on his chest and on the tip of his tail.

  Coal runs to the sound of anything jingling and likes to take a few playful swipes at it to see what it is. He also likes to climb up on you while you are sleeping and curl up on your chest. He's such a tiny, little guy that you'd hardly notice him curled up beside you- accept that he purrs like a little motorboat for hours. He really is the cutest thing and he seems really happy.

We adopted him from a loving family who catch and fix/neuter strays. You can tell they were very affectionate; Coal loves people.    

We are glad that this cute, lovable guy was born in modern times as there were many time periods and places where it was hard to be a black cat. After the Malleus Maleficarum, the famous medieval, witch-hunting treatise was written in 1486, it was generally accepted that  witches could turn into black cats nine times in their lifetime. In later periods, people thought that cats were "witches" in disguise or were "the familiars" of "witches" and that they strutted around town doing "witches'" dirty work --not this little guy, he's brought nothing but happiness. 

My New Colonial Outfit

I have been working on hand-sewing a new Colonial jacket, shift and petticoat. It has been moving very slow. The shift is completely sewn other than the two armbands at the bottom of the sleeves and my jacket is about halfway done. The jacket is taking a long time because the fabric and the lining are sewn separately so it is like sewing two jackets and putting them together. I am still not sure what color petticoat I should make. I originally thought that a nice checkered linen pattern would be pretty, but I ended up having blue and white linen fabric for my jacket, I now need a plainer petticoat. Above is a sketch of what I hope the finished dress will look like. (Sorry it is really not a good drawing, I was really just trying to see how it looked all put together. You'd never know I was an artist!) I am not sure about the maroon skirt, yet.

My shift is very plain, there is a diagram for a shift on A Stitch in Time at Home that is very easy to use. Linen wrinkles like crazy, sorry about the picture.

This is the the detail of the hand sewing on my shift. I very much like the look of hand-sewing. It is definitely not the best but it does make a prettier looking garment. I used to be afraid of hand-sewing. It really isn't that hard and you have a larger selection of stitches to choose from.

This is my jacket fabric. It is linen but was too thin so I have been lining it with a linen tablecloth. The fabric is pretty, but I think I will feel like a china plate wearing it. It was the only stamped, linen I could find, though.

So, will the maroon petticoat look nice or will it look to "old timesy patriotic?" The other option I have been thinking about is possible blue and white stripes (run vertically.) Any other ideas? I am hoping to finish the outfit in time for reenacting season.