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1. A late 17th Century Bible, bound in calfskin leather and needing some TLC...
2. The book's cover is carefully cut away, revealing the pages for further damage inspection...
3. Each page is checked carefully for folds, tears and other blemishes then repaired with Japanese Mending Paper where necessary...
4. In old books, acid can build up on the pages and cause damage. It is therefore important to neutralise it. Using a pH indicator, the Book's pages are checked for the effects of acidity and a neutralising agent with a Calcium buffer solution is applied to the pages as appropriate, restoring the pH to a neutral level and maintaining it there for years to come...
5. The neutrailising buffer solution is re-applied until the pH of the book is restored to neutral....
6. With the book block now repaired, a suitable piece of newly sourced Calfskin leather is prepared and pasted to the book's new cover in the traditional manner...
7. The book is now gathered between pH-neautral boards and covered in the new piece of Calfskin...
8. Once the Calfskin has been turned in and mitred, all the turnings on the face sides and face edges are moulded and shaped...
9. The book is placed between neutral pH greyboards to assist in the drying process. It is then left to settle for two days...
10. The book's joints are now 'sharpened up' by hand and put under tension with a Sizel string...
11. Now the tricky bit! Setting the head caps - this is where we stretch and mould the leather around the head of the book for protection...
12. Moulding by hand with a folder...
13. Shaping with a Cobbler's Hammer...
14. Again, shaping with a Cobbler's Hammer...
15. ...the final touches....
16. Weights - the book is placed between two pH neutral boards and placed under weight while the glue dries....
17. ...two days have passed and the book is nearly ready for the final finishing stage...
18. As the book is a fastback, a jointed end-paper is applied for ease-of-use and strength...
19. The Final Decoration - a new decoration is applied to the book which closely resembles the original in every way - in this case, the original 'Cambridge Window' design is reproduced and an antique roll closest to the original design is sourced and used to roll a design into the newly dampened leather of the front and back covers...
20. The Final Decoration - a new decoration is applied to the book which closely resembles the original in every way - in this case, the original 'Cambridge Window' design is reproduced and an antique roll closest to the original design is sourced and used to roll a design into the newly dampened leather of the front and back covers...
21. The Final Decoration - a new decoration is applied to the book which closely resembles the original in every way - in this case, the original 'Cambridge Window' design is reproduced and an antique roll closest to the original design is sourced and used to roll a design into the newly dampened leather of the front and back covers...
22. The Final Decoration - a new decoration is applied to the book which closely resembles the original in every way - in this case, the original 'Cambridge Window' design is reproduced and an antique roll closest to the original design is sourced and used to roll a design into the newly dampened leather of the front and back covers...
23. The Final Decoration - a new decoration is applied to the book which closely resembles the original in every way - in this case, the original 'Cambridge Window' design is reproduced and an antique roll closest to the original design is sourced and used to roll a design into the newly dampened leather of the front and back covers...
24. The Final Decoration - a new decoration is applied to the book which closely resembles the original in every way - in this case, the original 'Cambridge Window' design is reproduced and an antique roll closest to the original design is sourced and used to roll a design into the newly dampened leather of the front and back covers...
25. The Final Decoration - a new decoration is applied to the book which closely resembles the original in every way - in this case, the original 'Cambridge Window' design is reproduced and an antique roll closest to the original design is sourced and used to roll a design into the newly dampened leather of the front and back covers...
26. The final Magnum Opus....
26. The final Magnum Opus.... fully restored, de-acidified and preserved by Walkers Bookbinders for many years to come!
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