Bible restoration is a large part of our business. The photographs that follow show the steps we took to restore a Family Bible that came to our studio. Because the text block was in good condition, our primary focus was the rebuilding of its cover.
Example no. 1
BIBLE RESTORATION {BEFORE}
This family bible’s boards were detached, its board corners were disintegrating and the leather was brittle. The textblock was in good shape, needing only a few page repairs. The spine had some pieces missing and needed to be remounted on Japanese tissue for strength.
The inner hinges had also broken and the fly sheet was missing.
The leather was filthy and very dried out. The board corners had been chewed away by mice and needed to be rebuilt.
Example no. 1
BIBLE RESTORATION {AFTER}
Cleaning and moisturizing the leather brought back much of the gold’s original sheen. The corners were rebuilt using paste and Japanese tissue and then were dyed to match the original leather.
The spine was rebuilt using Japanese tissue for linings and new endbands were attached. Book calf was pared and mounted and headcaps were formed over the new endbands. The original spine was re-mounted in its place.
New end papers were added as well as an internal cloth hinge for extra strength. The bible now operates like new.
Example no. 2
BIBLE RESTORATION {BEFORE}
Example no. 2
BIBLE RESTORATION {AFTER}
