Slightly warped / wavy pages on Franklin Library books

Hi All,

I've been collecting Franklin Library books for a couple of years now and this forum has been a gold-mine of information for me. So first of all - thanks!

I wanted to ask you all about a very common issue I see when looking at 2nd hand Franklin Library books, which is where the pages tend to take on a subtly curved or 'wavy' nature, which is usually visible when looking at the page block from the top, bottom and sometimes side. It seems to affect larger books more than thinner ones, although that may be anecdotal.

I'm not talking about where there has been obvious water damage, but more the kind of gentle, often very subtle, waviness that I assume is caused by changes in humidity or temperature over long periods and is often evident on books that are otherwise pristine and clearly unread.

So, does this kind of thing bother you all, and do you always look for perfectly flat and straight pages when collecting? I just find that any uneveness can prevent the pages turning as smoothly as I would like. However, I find that at least 50% of the books I look at have this issue, so I have started to wonder if I have unrealistic expectations, especially for 40 year old books!

Is there a way to correct the 'waviness' - perhaps a week or so in a book press? Or does it simply not bother you?

I welcome all your thoughts!

I see that in some of my Franklins too, but it hasn’t bothered me. The gilt has not been damaged. Perhaps it has to do with the kind of paper they used, and it would have been thinner on the large books. I doubt there is any way to reverse it, but you could try a press.

Thank you for your thoughts!

Ah yes, good point about larger books having thinner paper. I did wonder if it has to do with the type of paper Franklin used as I seem to see it more often with their books than I do with say Folio Society books of a similar age. Although it seems that Franklin used good quality archival paper.

It seems that lots of these books may have been stored in less than ideal conditions for many years (unheated garages, attic spaces etc), so I imagine that plays a role too. As you say, it certainly doesn't spoil the books. I may try a book press just out of curiosity.

Here's a photo just to illustrate what I am referring to. This is "The Stories of John Cheever" from the Pulitzer Prize series (a lovely edition, by the way, and really the only nicely bound collection of Cheever's stories i've been able to find). You can see from the top of the page block that rather than the pages being straight, there is a gentle undulation / wave, which becomes more pronounced towards the edge of the page and continues along the fore-edge.

>1 GardenOfForkingPaths: probably has to do with humidity. I noticed when I read my thin page leather bound books (Franklin or Easton Press) in my backyard on a humid summer day, that they developed this waviness. I have since stopped reading my books outdoors.

>4 HugoDumas: agree ... I once brought a really nice DLE on a cancun mexico vacation ... that was a quick learning experience. The humidity destroyed it. I also enjoy the art of magic ... and brought several really nice decks of cards ... and well ... those hardly fit back in their tuck box after taking them out. Humidity is not your friend.

Thanks guys. I've been thinking about getting a de-humidifier for the room with my bookshelves, just in case.

In doing a little bit of research, I found one forum post where someone suggested they had had some success reversing the waviness by taking the book into the bathroom and running a hot shower for a very short amount of time to raise the humidity very slightly, then allowing the book to dry in a normal (i.e. not humid) setting.

All in all it sounds like quite a risky technique and probably not one to try on a nice Franklin Library book!