Vintage Children's Books

Looking after your books

Books like the same conditions as children, not to hot, not to cold, not to dry, not to damp but best to be on the cool and dry side. Apart from mistreatment the greatest danger to books is light, both natural and artificial. We have all seen old books whose covers have been damaged by the sun or “Sunned” as they are described by book dealers. Many inks, especially the earlier ones, are “fugitive” colours that will disappear completely if a book is left on a table in strong sunlight. A great amount of damage can occur in a surprisingly short amount of time.

To avoid chipping or further scrapes to more fragile books, use Mylar covers. Please avoid storing them in plastic bags as this can encourage mould. To keep the dust off your books it is best to store them in bookshelves that have glass doors but again remember to make sure they are out of the sunlight at any time of day. Nothing can prevent normal ageing but develop a routine to check them regularly, especially for insect damage.

Cleaning books is a hotly debated subject. In general serious repairs should be done by an expert. If you do attempt your own repairs it is generally advised to do nothing that is not reversible. Read up, research and only use conservators tape and glues. Having said that you need to be able to recognised if someone has “Spruced up” the book you intend to buy so here are some old tricks that are used in the book trade. These are techniques that you should try on less expensive books so you will be able to recognise the signs. If you sell on a book you have repaired please make it clear what you have done. You can always include a note of your actions.

There are some commercial book cloth cleaners for sale that work well on highly decorated covers, but the effects only seem to last about 12 months and the cover appears a little bit more faded with each application. Some dealers swear by Lighter fuel and use it as a cleaner solvent. This is best done in the open air! Traditionally vellum covers (White leather) were cleaned with milk and a watercolour painting sponge. To remove pencil marks there are now a wondrous selection of rubbers available including electric erasers but the more gentle method used, is to rub the mark with ordinary white bread.

To remove labels and book plates, often in attempt to make ex library books presentable, a stiff paste made of flour and water is painted onto the paper you want to remove. It is left to soak for about 10 minutes and then the water soluble glue will break down and the offending label can be gently peeled off off. Another method is to lay a piece of waxed paper over the label and gently apply heat with an iron.

One of the most common problems with old children's books is when they have been defaced with crayons. Unlike ink or paints that penetrates the paper, the wax of a crayon lies on the surface. This can sometimes be removed by careful scraping with some very fine wire wool. It will leave tell tale marks that can be seen with an eyeglass or felt by rubbing sensitive fingertips over the patch.You must experiment with this cleaning method yourself to get the feel of it.

Finally, one of the most unpleasant things that can affect the enjoyment of reading an old children's book is strange smells, especially mould or old cigarette smoke. One method of combating this is to put the book in a plastic bag with charcoal or baking soda or any other odour absorber. If you find the book has insects as well, put the bagged book in the freezer for a couple of days.

 

 

I trust that you have found it of some use. If nothing else I hope it has reminded you of a few of your own childhood books and the pleasure they gave you then and could again now. If it sends you back to the bookshelf in order to renew an old acquaintance with a half forgotten hero or heroine, well so much the better. Perhaps you could even introduce them to one of today's young readers? because the best children's stories can be enjoyed by a child in any age, and of any age, from 3 to 72.

 

Good Hunting and I hope you enjoy your collecting!