The Missouri History Museum’s Library and Research Center (LRC) contains thousands of historically significant books pertaining to St. Louis and its surrounding area. Unfortunately, factors such as normal handling by the public, how books are stored, and even a book’s own weight can take a toll. Frequently, the bulk of the book (called the text block) separates from the spine, causing cracks along the front and back covers of the books.

Randy Blomquist (left) and Morton Deutsch use scalpels to scrape glue and residue off a book's spine. Photograph © 2007, Missouri History Museum.

Repairing these important artifacts takes special skill. For the past ten years, MHM volunteer Morton Deutsch has come to the LRC every Wednesday morning to restore the spines of these books—a process he calls “rebacking.” He estimates that he has helped to restore at least 500 books, while also teaching the rebacking technique to MHM staff members. “The process has remained the same for the last 500 years,” he said. “If it’s done right, you wouldn’t know it’s been rebacked.”

Deutsch and MHM assistant librarian Randy Blomquist are currently repairing several books. Oddly, many are not from the turn of the last century, but from more recent decades. With some oversized or thick volumes, the weight of the text block starts to pull away from the glue, especially when the book is stored upright on a shelf. Newer books are not as durable as their older counterparts, partly because modern book manufacturers are binding books with glue instead of sewing the signatures together, according to Blomquist.

				Applying glue (top) before laying down a new layer of jaconet (bottom). Photograph © 2007, Missouri History Museum.

Rebacking a book involves regluing, but first the book cover has to be disassembled and separated from the text block. The book is laid flat with the front cover (front board) open. The front board is then carefully cut free from the spine, using a scalpel to slice along the joint groove. The process is repeated for the back board. Now the book cover is made up of three pieces—a front board, a back board, and a spine cover.

Next, the text block is secured spine-side up in a press, a wooden contraption with a wheel that tightens the press to keep the book from moving. Once the book is in place, basting brushes are used to apply a small amount of water to the spine, which softens the glue and residue so that it can be carefully scraped off with a spatula.

After the spine is cleaned of residue, brushes are used to apply new glue (a standard craft glue) to the spine. Next, a piece of jaconet material is cut to fit over the spine, with about an inch of extra material on both sides to serve as flaps. (Jaconet is a lightweight but very strong cotton cloth that holds the text block to the book boards.) The jaconet is then glued onto the spine, and bone folders (long, flat tools made of hard plastic) are used to smooth out it out and to make sure all surfaces of the spine and jaconet touch the glue. The flaps on each side will later be glued down—one to the front board and the other to the back board—as part of the casing in process.

New cloth (top) has been cut and trimmed for the spine cover. The three components have been glued together (bottom) to create the book cover. Photograph © 2007, Missouri History Museum.

While the glue is drying on the spine, the rebacking team moves on to the disassembled boards and spine cover. From a tub of nylon cloth rolls, they choose the color of cloth that best matches the old spine cover, as part of it will be exposed under the reattached spine. This new cloth piece will be used to put the three parts back together to make a case and attach it to the text block, a process called casing in. The cloth is measured to provide coverage over the spine and then cut. A scalpel is used to gently lift up the front and back covering about an inch. The new cloth is then glued onto the exposed boards and smoothed out. Also during this phase, a spine-width length of acid-free paper, called Mohawk superfine, is cut and glued onto the cloth. This strip of paper serves as a stiffener for the spine cover.

After that step, the newly attached spine cover will be flipped over so that extra cloth can be trimmed down, folded over, and glued onto the case. The text block can then be glued back in. At this point, the flaps of jaconet fabric will be glued down to the front and back boards, which will securely hold the text block in place. Next, wax paper is placed over the front board and the back board to prevent any pages from sticking together. When the text block is cased in, the book is ready to be put in a press and left to dry overnight.

				A brass-edged press (top) creates a French groove. A flat press (bottom) is used in the final stages. Photograph © 2007, Missouri History Museum.

MHM has different types of presses, which are used at different points in the process. However, most hardcover books are first put into a press with brass-edged boards in order to create a French groove along the hinge. A French groove indents along the joint and allows for easier page turning. The book is put flat into the press, with its spine exposed. The operator tightens the screws to force the brass edges to press into the newly covered spine, creating a groove.

One week later, the book is removed from the press and the process of pasting down new covers for the insides of the boards is begun. The boards need to be re-covered to hide the new jaconet flaps and any tears. Once again, the acid-free paper is chosen. The new paste downs should completely cover up the old paper, but not the spine fabric. Therefore the new paper is trimmed to fit perfectly over the old. “Ideally, you don’t want to see the new paste downs when the book is closed,” Blomquist said.

The text block has been glued into the case. Photograph © 2007, Missouri History Museum.

If the book is older, and the pages weathered, the team might use different paper. The LRC does keep old paper in a file to use for paste downs when trying to match color. For nonarchival materials at home, Deutsch relies on a few tricks of the trade. “To make a new paste down paper look older, run it through a solution of tea and it will color the sheet,” he said. Or, if there are many blank pages in the book’s front matter, they can be carefully taken out and used for paste downs.

The glue used for pasting down is made by mixing cold water with methyl cellulose powder. When gluing the paste downs, the team follows the grain of the paper to avoid air bubbles and creases. Then wax paper is placed over the paste downs and the book is closed.

				Equipment needed to resew a book’s signatures before rebacking. Photograph © 2007, Missouri History Museum.

The final step in rebacking is to reattach the original spine cover (which contains the book title) over the new one, meticulously trimming off all rough edges from the old cover. The sides are trimmed until the new cover fits neatly over the spine without going over into the gutter on either side. The idea is to minimize the evidence that new cloth has been added. After the spine cover is reattached, the book is put into a flat press to dry overnight.

Not all books in the collection will meet the criteria for rebacking. For example, MHM does not have the equipment to repair books with leather binding. Also, sewn books, as opposed to glued books, are less likely to be repaired because of the time involved. In addition to the above process, all of the book’s signatures have to be resewn by hand. This is called disbanding the book block and is considered a complete book restoration—a process that can take weeks. It’s possible to spend six months resewing signatures on a book.

The final product: a rebacked book with the original spine cover reattached. The new cloth is barely noticeable. Photograph © 2007, Missouri History Museum.

Rebacking books can be expensive, and finding someone with the expertise may be a challenge. Therefore, early intervention is important. Blomquist suggests storing large volumes flat, such as coffee table books and cookbooks. “Look at any book. If the text block is concave, it means the block will separate sooner from the case.”

Although the process might be tedious at times, MHM volunteer Deutsch enjoys the work and appreciates his role in preserving these pieces of history.

 

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