Help Needed

Several of my books were damaged from having been boxed up for 3 years. I thought I would check into getting a book press to see if I could fix the damaged books, but so far, all the ones I have found are antique and out of my price range. Can anyone make any suggestions as to where I might be able to find a reasonably priced one? Thanks!

What exactly is the damage? Are they just bend? Out of shape?

I have some books that need repair too. They are some old first editions. If you find any book presses let me know

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Under $90.

I have one of these, and use it a lot for binding projects.

Thanks so much for the link lilithcat! Guess what Santa is bringing me this year, lol!

I bought one from Demco. (Can't do all that fancy click-here-and-jump-to-the-site that lilithcat does....)

It's your basic pipe clamp, but is mounted on a platform, and unlike lilith's, pretty much guarantees even pressure over the entire surface. I've saved dozens of books with it in the 2 years I've had it. Some were bowed, most were out-of-kilter. Very much worth the investment.

#6: Cool! Santa can chose between the two for me for Christmas. Thanks a lot for the help WholeHouse.

I need to clean a non-book item which will hopefully go in the library. I found a painted wooden supposedly Balinese statue. It looks like a crazed tiger with wings. I've no idea how old it is, but it is absolutely filthy. I thought I could brush some of the dirt from the crevices with a soft brush, but need help from some of you archival/museum/book fiend folk on how to attack the grime without ruining the paint. I doubt that it has any great value, but don't want to ruin it. Thanks for any advice.

Very mild soapy water works wonders and shouldn't disturb the paint. For heavily stained areas, 409 works great!

Thank you. I've found out the name of this critter is a Singha, and supposedly is a guardian/protector.

PLEASE be careful. It may be gilded. Soft soft brush. Makeup applicator soft.

More than likely the paint is water soluble so test first in some out of the way spot near the base

I did a stupid thing. I knocked a nice large book off a high shelf. I tried to keep it from crushing the dog, so it ended up hitting the ground on the end of the upper spine after falling about ten feet. The glue broke loose from the spine and the end papers tore about two inches along the seam. It’s a nice book but not valuable enough to take to a pro. Any suggestions about repair?

Would it be possible for you to post pictures of the damage?

I think from your description that mending tissue might fix the end papers. It would really help to see the condition of the book.

Will try. Back in a mo. I’m in a zoom meeting until 3:00.

I've used an archival book glue to repair some damage that I think may be similar in nature to what you experienced.