"Bibles
R us!" is what we say. We always have Bibles - big & small, old &
new, rare & standard, all kinds of Bibles. And, we get more Bible
works around this time of the year - the Christmas season! So, here it is, another
one. I just finished a 1953 edition of Thomas Nelson & Sons'
standard Bible last night. It was a simple hardcover binding with burgundy
cloth and imitation leather spine, which was obviously well used by the owner.
The client wants a brand new full leather case with the owner's name stamped on
the front cover. It's going to be a Christmas gift to the owner of the Bible.
Restoring a Bible for your loved-ones for Christmas is the best gift anyone can
give. I like working on Bibles because they always have a very deep history
comes with them. Very personal and touching, no matter what kind of Bible it
is. They always remind me of how fortunate I am to have a profession that lets
me participate in and contribute myself to someone's life in a humble way. This
feeling is priceless, really. Anyhow, regarding the restoration of this
particular Bible, there's nothing technical to say about it except for a couple
of small things. As you all know, the paper used in personal Bibles are
extremely thin, and it tends to get crumbled and torn easily. Repairing the
thin Bible paper requires a bit of a focus because the water based glue for
mending paper might "melt away" the sensitive original paper when
applied. I uploaded a before-and-after picture of a page I mended. You must be
careful if you need to use an iron to straighten the surface after it gets dry.
I don't really recommend the use of iron especially for large paper because
each swath of heat applied will create inconsistent shrinkage to the grain of
the paper, but it's alright for a small book like this one. Personal Bibles
usually have something written on the endsheets (and any blank pages), and
normally, the clients want to preserve them. For this Bible, both front and
back endsheets had written notes which were heavily covered with scotch tapes.
Thus, the original couldn't be saved. In cases like that, we make
copies. This time, because they were basically simple hand written notes, I
scanned and cleaned them up and printed them. Above are the partial pictures of
the before/after. I loathe working on a computer, but hey, imagining a happy
face of the recipient of my work keeps me going. My backache is worth it!
"Bibles
R us!" is what we say. We always have Bibles - big & small, old &
new, rare & standard, all kinds of Bibles. And, we get more Bible
works around this time of the year - the Christmas season! So, here it is, another
one. I just finished a 1953 edition of Thomas Nelson & Sons'
standard Bible last night. It was a simple hardcover binding with burgundy
cloth and imitation leather spine, which was obviously well used by the owner.
The client wants a brand new full leather case with the owner's name stamped on
the front cover. It's going to be a Christmas gift to the owner of the Bible.
Restoring a Bible for your loved-ones for Christmas is the best gift anyone can
give. I like working on Bibles because they always have a very deep history
comes with them. Very personal and touching, no matter what kind of Bible it
is. They always remind me of how fortunate I am to have a profession that lets
me participate in and contribute myself to someone's life in a humble way. This
feeling is priceless, really. Anyhow, regarding the restoration of this
particular Bible, there's nothing technical to say about it except for a couple
of small things. As you all know, the paper used in personal Bibles are
extremely thin, and it tends to get crumbled and torn easily. Repairing the
thin Bible paper requires a bit of a focus because the water based glue for
mending paper might "melt away" the sensitive original paper when
applied. I uploaded a before-and-after picture of a page I mended. You must be
careful if you need to use an iron to straighten the surface after it gets dry.
I don't really recommend the use of iron especially for large paper because
each swath of heat applied will create inconsistent shrinkage to the grain of
the paper, but it's alright for a small book like this one. Personal Bibles
usually have something written on the endsheets (and any blank pages), and
normally, the clients want to preserve them. For this Bible, both front and
back endsheets had written notes which were heavily covered with scotch tapes.
Thus, the original couldn't be saved. In cases like that, we make
copies. This time, because they were basically simple hand written notes, I
scanned and cleaned them up and printed them. Above are the partial pictures of
the before/after. I loathe working on a computer, but hey, imagining a happy
face of the recipient of my work keeps me going. My backache is worth it!
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