From Publishers Weekly
Despite advances in book technologyDfor instance, the advent of acid-free paperDbound books do deteriorate. Over the centuries, bookbinders and book conservationists have devised intelligent ways to deal with the effects of light, moisture, oils (from probing fingers), gravity and other natural and unnatural (think children's crayon marks) assaults on the human species' primary repository of knowledge. Wiggins and Lee are veteran practitioners of the craft of repairing and preserving books, and here they work with Ellis (At Home with Books) to bring these techniques into the home. Their "repair kit" includes a hardbound instruction book, The Booklover's Repair Manual, which deals with the damage books receive in the home, with clear, step-by step, illustrated instructions on how to handle, among other problems, page tears, damaged dust jackets, frayed cover edges and recent minor water damage. (The authors advise that badly stained books, or leatherbound collectibles, be taken to a specialist; and they include a list of these.) The kit, packaged in a box that resembles an oversize hardcover, contains much more than the book, however. It holds all the non-household tools one needs to undertake the covered repairs, including, among other items, pH-neutral adhesive, cotton library tape, a microspatula and a bamboo brush. With its high sticker price, this item clearly is aimed at serious bibliophiles or those who love them, and just as clearly it will make a splendidDand usefulDgift for anyone who treasures the books in their life. (Nov. 7)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
One of a kind * Everything in one * Do-it-yourself
Every booklover knows the feeling when a favorite book is damaged: by water, a ripped dust jacket, a loose page. To throw the book out is unthinkable! The damage isn't serious enough for professional attention, but you don't want to risk further damage. What do you do?
This elegant do-it-yourself kit containing manual and mending materials provides the solution.
* mending tears
* reattaching loose pages
* flattening wrinkles or folds
* drying water damage
* reinforcing covers
* repairing dust jackets
* repairing book corners
* tightening books in their cases
* fixing loose labels and bookplates
* reattaching paperback covers
* cleaning and care
* resources
-- -- -- -- --
-- Kit includes:
* The Book Repair Manual -- written by experts on the preservation of books and illustrated with photographs and drawings -- provides step-by-step instructions for more than 20 repair projects and includes anecdotes about book collecting and book lovers. The Manual is handsomely designed and bound in hardcover.
* 25 repair items (many in multiples), run the gamut from neutral pH adhesive, a bamboo brush, transparent mending tape, a stainless steel microspatula, and mat board to cotton gloves and bristol board. The mending materials are of the highest archival quality, and the only materials not supplied are common household items such as paper towels and scissors. These tools and materials are not only difficult to find, but would cost well over $100 if purchased individually.
* A source list for materials.
This unique kit provides step-by-step instructions and all the materials you need to patch, preserve, repair, and restore the books you love in your own home--with no previous experience required.
The kit includes:
o The Booklover's Repair Manual:
81/4 x 101/4, 160-page hard-cover, gloriously illustrated with more than 65 photographs and instructional drawings
o pH-neutral adhesive
o document-cleaning pad
o transparent mending tape
o mounting and hinging tape
o red cotton library tape
o bone folder
o art gum eraser
o soft white eraser
o Pink Pearl eraser
o microspatula
o dust cloth
o silicone release paper
o binder's board
o archival mat board
o Canson paper
o cotton gloves
o bamboo brush
o china bristle brush
o artist brushes, #2 and #4
o knitting needle
o plastic cutting board
o bulldog clamps
o archival permanent glue stick
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