t been translated
into English, either wholly or in part._

CONTENTS

FOREWORD: Page 7

_Chapter I_
GENERAL RESTORATION: Page 15

_Chapter II_
REMOVING STAINS: Page 25

_Chapter III_
REBACKING: Page 39

_Chapter IV_
REPAIRING OLD BINDING: Page 51

_Chapter V_
REBINDING: Page 77

_Chapter VI_
THE BOOK SHELVES: Page 89

_Chapter VII_
BOOK BUYING: Page 99

_Chapter VIII_
THE GREEK AND LATIN CLASSICS: Page 111

INDEX: Page 123

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

INLAID LEVANT BINDING: _Frontispiece_

RE-LINING BACK: Page 21

VELLUM BINDINGS: Page 25

ORIGINAL SHEEP BINDING (1684) REBACKED: Page 39

CUTTING FOR REBACKING: Page 41

CUTTING FOR REBACKING: Page 42

LOOSENING LEATHER FOR REBACKING: Page 43

SETTING NEW BACK: Page 44

BINDING HEAD-CAP: Page 45

FOLDER: Page 47

IRON: Page 48

MODERN LEVANT BINDING: Page 51

SOLANDER SLIP-CASE: Page 77

LEATHER SLIP-COVERS: Page 89

SLIP-COVER: Page 92

KELMSCOTT PRESS BOOK: Page 99

BLACK LETTER VIRGIL: Page 111

CHAPTER I

_GENERAL RESTORATION_

To consider first a few simple processes of ordinary restoration, let us
assume that a rare book in its original cloth or boards, in a more or less
damaged condition but not to the point of necessitating rebinding, has
just been received.

The first operation required is to carefully clean off the binding with a
soft cloth, wipe off the end papers, which often have a coating of dust,
especially when the covers do not fit closely, and, if the top is gilt,
wipe that carefully also. An "uncut" top is freed from dust by brushing
with a soft brush.

The book is then collated to make sure that every page is in place and, if
there are plates, that no plate is missing. This operation, it is perhaps
needless to say, should by all means be done before purchasing, unless the
book comes from a reliable dealer to whom an imperfect copy could be
returned. If, in collating an old book, the amateur discovers that page
173 follows immediately after page 136, he need not necessarily be
alarmed, as mistakes in pagination and even in the numbering of signatures
are very common in books printed a century or more ago. In such cases, the
"catch words" which generally appear at the bottom of the pages, or else
the text itself, should be examined to see whether the page, without
regard for its number, is really in its proper place or not. Each page is
then e