Dear all,
every now and then a "patient" with a classical damage finds its way onto my workbench: 19th or early 20th century book with Victorian binding (meaning colourful, embossed covers and spine), book block in more or less good condition, front and back cover more or less all right, but the spine has fallen off completely or the hinge was torn on one side.
If it is mass production, with rusted staples (I found that many British and German publishers of that time stapled the signatures onto the bands instead of sewing them - guess it was cheaper in mass production) and dryed-out, crumbling paste, there is no way around rebinding, and in those cases I usually manage to convince the owner I should give the book new clothing.
However, in some cases, I am being asked to restore the spine under all circumstances. I've been trying to figure out a good way to do so myself, but it is a difficult tast and bookbinding literature does not deal a lot with the question of rebacking.
Does anyone have experience, hints, or reference to share on rebacking?
Many thanks in advance
Uwe