Most book repair goes wrong because too much is done, not too little. Adhesive tape, glue applied to a hinge, a spine replaced with a colour that does not match — each of these can turn a repairable book into one that a conservator has to spend far more time on. The principles below are the ones that keep a repair useful, honest and reversible, and they matter more than any particular technique.
Before touching anything, write down what the book is and photograph it from every angle, including the damage. A repair that goes wrong can rarely be undone, and the photographs are also the only record of what the original looked like. Then decide what you are trying to achieve: a book that can be read, a book that can be handled at an event, or a book that will outlast you. The three goals call for different amounts of intervention.
The three rules that come before any technique
- Do as little as possible. A stable book that is slightly loose is better than a stiff book that has been glued solid.
- Use reversible materials. Wheat starch paste and methylcellulose can be undone with water; PVA and tape cannot.
- Do not hide the evidence. A repair that is invisible may also be irreversible, and a conservator may need to know what was done.
Reversibility is the principle that separates repair from restoration. If a material cannot be removed without damaging the original, it should not be used on something of any value. This is why the traditional adhesives — starch paste, methylcellulose, gelatine — are still in use: they can be softened and lifted decades later.
What you can reasonably do at home
| Damage | Approach | Materials | Do not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loose or torn page | Tissue repair along the tear, paste applied with a fine brush | Japanese tissue, wheat starch paste, blotter | Use adhesive tape or superglue |
| Cracked inner hinge, boards still attached | Thin paste into the hinge, support the book, dry under weight | Wheat starch paste, bondina or mull strip, wax paper | Flood the hinge with PVA |
| Detached board | Reattach the hinge with a lined strip, or reback if the spine is gone | Mull, paste, matching cloth | Glue the board directly to the block edge |
| Torn or missing spine covering | Lift the original, reback with matching cloth or paper | Cloth, paste, spine lining, press | Replace with a spine that does not match |
| Dirty or foxed pages | Dry clean with a soft brush or a conservation eraser, gently | Soft brush, conservation eraser, eraser crumbs | Use household erasers or solvents |
| Water damage or mould | Stop, isolate the book, and get advice before doing anything | None at home | Dry it in an oven or iron the pages |
Adhesives, and what each one will and will not do
Wheat starch paste is the workhorse. It is strong enough to hold a repair, flexible when dry, and completely reversible with water. It is also slow: it takes time to make, it has a short working life in a warm room unless refrigerated, and it dries with some shrinkage, which is why repairs are done with the book supported and dried under weight.
PVA is a synthetic emulsion that is strong, flexible and quick. Its open time is short — a few minutes — and it is not reversible, which makes it unsuitable for anything of value. Methylcellulose is a synthetic ether used as a paste extender and as a size; it is slower and more slippery than paste and often mixed with it to slow drying and improve workability.
| Adhesive | Open time | Reversible | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat starch paste | Several minutes; dries slowly | Yes, with water | Paper repair, hinge repair, spine lining |
| Methylcellulose | Long; slippery | Yes, with water | Paste extender, sizing, consolidation |
| PVA | A few minutes | No | Case construction, new work, box making |
| Paste/PVA mix | Between the two | Partly | Spine lining where some strength is needed |
Pressure-sensitive tape stains, fails and takes paper fibres with it when removed; cyanoacrylate sets hard, wicks into the paper and cannot be undone. Both turn a small repair into a conservation job. This is the single most common cause of avoidable damage.
Repairing a hinge
Support the book
Lay the book flat on a clean surface with the damaged hinge open and supported so the weight of the block is not hanging on the hinge.
Clean the hinge
Brush out loose dust and any crumbs of old adhesive with a soft brush. Do not scrape at the paper.
Apply paste thinly
Brush a thin film of wheat starch paste into the hinge and along the inner joint. Thin is better than thick; excess paste makes the paper cockle.
Line with tissue or mull
Lay a strip of Japanese tissue or a thin mull lining into the wet paste, working from the centre outwards to avoid trapping air.
Dry under weight
Place wax paper over the repair, close the book, and weight it lightly. Leave it overnight. Do not open the book while it dries.
For a board that has come away completely, the same sequence applies but the lining has to bridge the joint and reach onto both the board and the first section. That lining is what carries the load, so it should be wider than you think — 20 to 30 mm across the joint is not excessive on a large book.
What should be left alone
Some damage is stable and better left. A book with a slightly loose hinge that opens and closes without further tearing does not need paste. Foxing — the brown spotting caused by metal particles and moisture in the paper — cannot be removed at home without risk, and aggressive treatment often makes it worse. A book with mould should be isolated in a dry, ventilated space and assessed by someone qualified before anything else happens.
- Do not clean with solvents. You cannot know what is in the paper or the ink, and a solvent can carry dye through the sheet.
- Do not press a wet book. Water-damaged pages dried under pressure will cockle permanently.
- Do not re-sew a text block that is intact. Re-sewing destroys the original sewing, which is part of the book.
- Do not trim a book to tidy the edges. Trimming removes original margin and cannot be undone.
Recording what you did
Write a short note and keep it with the book: what was damaged, what you used, what you did, and the date. If the book ever goes to a conservator, that note tells them what they are dealing with. It costs five minutes and it is the most professional thing in this article.
A first kit, and where to get it
Japanese tissue comes in a range of weights; a medium weight of around 12 to 20 gsm is a good general-purpose repair tissue, and a very thin tissue is used where the repair must almost disappear. Wheat starch paste can be made from starch and water over a low heat, or bought ready-made. A soft flat brush, a lidded pot, blotting paper, wax paper, a bone folder and a small weight complete the kit. None of it is expensive, and all of it is reversible.
Buy from a conservation supplier rather than a general craft shop where you can. The difference between a conservation-grade tissue and a decorative craft tissue is the difference between a repair that lasts and one that fails within a year.
Storage matters as much as repair. Books should stand upright on a shelf, supported, not leaning, and not packed so tightly that they have to be pulled out by the headcap. A book that is too tall for its shelf and lies flat is a book whose spine will eventually sag.
Fold a few sections of cheap paper, damage the hinges deliberately, and repair them. Tissue repairs are much easier to learn on a book you do not care about.
The best repair is the one nobody can find. The second best is the one somebody can undo.A conservator, on being shown a book that had been taped
Buy a small quantity of the right materials — Japanese tissue, wheat starch paste, a soft brush, wax paper, a bone folder — and you will be equipped for most of what a home shelf produces. Buy nothing more until you have done ten repairs and know what you actually reach for.