Rebinding: Short Stories for High Schools

My first rebinding! Short Stories for High Schools by Rosa M. R. Mikels was printed in 1915 and holding up very well for its age when I bought it at the local library’s book sale. The book block was in good shape, binding holding, cover decent (a beautiful blue!), and the only marking from the previous owner was writing on the first free end page.

Considerations:

I chose a vibrant blue book cloth to honor the original, complimentary blue and white headbands, and end papers in “Archive” so as to not clash with the aging pages. I also rounded the corners of the end papers since the page corners were no longer crisp. The spine label was cut from the half title page, which was removed with the first free end paper.

Process:

• Removed book block from case
• Removed first free end paper from book block
• Repaired a few small page tears
• Lightly sanded book block edges for a cleaner look
• Rehydrated spine glue and removed old spine lining, mull, and headbands
• Tipped in new end pages
• Applied Japanese tissue for spine preservation, new headbands, new mull, new spine lining
• Let spine dry overnight
• Built new case – boards, spine liner, book cloth
• Cased in book block
• Glued on spine label
• Let dry under light weight

Learnings:

While I’m very pleased with the results, I spotted some mistakes once I was finished: I cut the head bands a little too wide, my French grooves aren’t quite in the right spot (too close to the spine), and I didn’t use enough glue on the cover (if I run my fingers over certain areas, I hear the crinkling of the book cloth’s paper backing, even though the cloth is tight against the boards). Still, the book is structurally solid, visually pleasing, and everything I’ve done (besides removing the FFEP and first title page) is reversible should someone want to conserve it in the future. I call this project a win!