Fixing Books

[SweetErika]

Some of my favorite childhood books are coming apart after nearly 3 decades in storage and tons of use. One is a Dr. Seuss-type book from the 70s or 80s, and the pages are pulling out of the binding (I can see the threads). Also, our toddler tore part of a page off on his favorite book. I have the large piece, but I'm not sure how to put it back together (scotch tape?).

Any ideas on easily putting the pages back in a hardbound book without too much effort so we can continue to enjoy it?

And should I just tape the torn page back together with clear tape?

Yeah, I could just buy new books, but these have my name stickers on them from my childhood, and my toddler loves them.

 

[infinity706]

I've always just taped pages back together with clear tape.

 

[amofiga]

Some of my favorite childhood books are coming apart after nearly 3 decades in storage and tons of use. One is a Dr. Seuss-type book from the 70s or 80s, and the pages are pulling out of the binding (I can see the threads). Also, our toddler tore part of a page off on his favorite book. I have the large piece, but I'm not sure how to put it back together (scotch tape?).

Any ideas on easily putting the pages back in a hardbound book without too much effort so we can continue to enjoy it?

And should I just tape the torn page back together with clear tape?

Yeah, I could just buy new books, but these have my name stickers on them from my childhood, and my toddler loves them.

Erica

In many older books, the pages were sometimes "sewed" in bundles before putting a glue base on the bundle and binding them against the backbone. That assembly was finished off with another piece of heavy paper that was glued to the inside of the covers and to a "dummy" page of the page bundle. If the back binding of the books are still in good shape and the pages are still bound (usually they were sewn or held with thread in older books) you may be able to repair them by using some white glue (Elmer's glue) on the inside of the binding and sort of putting the book back together. I've done this with some old books.

If the pages have actually rotted to the point where they are no longer bound in the glue base, you may have to look into professional repair. You can talk to a library in your area that may give you a source. Torn pages can be repaired with Scotch Magic Tape which is virtually invisible in place.

You can PM me if you want to discuss.

 

[tenderlily]

You can actually buy tape specifically to repair books. I'd recommend using it as opposed to scotch tape because it won't yellow and age in the same way. It's also relatively cheap. I've used this before.

When it comes to the binding, that can be a bit trickier. Depending on how long you want the repair to last, you can stick with the clear tape, or go with something like this for a more permanent fix.

Some of my favorite books were passed down to me by my mom, and my step-mom. I hope your son enjoys yours.

 

[EdwardMidweston]

Crystal Clear is good stuff--I've even used it as informal mounts for photos in quick-and-dirty portfolios because it's much cheaper than so-called archival tapes or mounting tissues (which wouldn't work anyway, for pages printed on both sides).