The Book Restoration New Jersey Professionals Suggest Can Transform A Family Heirloom

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.

If you don't have time to take the volume to the restorer's shop, you can send clear photos of the exterior and interior. A good restorer will research the work, evaluate its current condition and give you an estimate of its value and what it would be worth if you went to the expense of having it restored. The restorer should be honest with you if the volume's value is primarily sentimental.

A reliable restorer should also be honest about books that are so damaged it would be impossible to recondition them and restore them to their original state. Dry rot can damage leather covers to the point they crumble when they are touched. Most restorers agree that this is permanent damage. Others will attempt to harden the fabric using a chemical solution, but that may be temporary at best.

Leather covers in better shape can often be reconditioned and given new life. Paper pages in old books are often very fragile, and they frequently sustain significant damage, especially if they were well used. Torn pages and missing corners can be restored using paper taken from discarded volumes similar in type and time period.

Books that have been used over the years often have stained and soiled pages. Restorers can actually clean the paper using specialized techniques. Unless the paper is very high quality, it is not cleaned with water. This is an extremely costly process that involves removing the pages from sewn 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.

Displaying treasured family volumes is a great way to start a conversation with your children about their ancestors and the history of your family. It can be especially interesting if they are past editions of books your children are familiar with. Restoring editions to their original condition helps ensure they will be saved for future generation.




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