Dust jackets
On a modern first edition the jacket often carries most of the value. An archival sleeve, never tape, never trimmed to fit. Price clipping reduces value, so leave it alone.
Caring for books
Most damage is slow, and most of it is avoidable.
Nothing here needs equipment or expertise. It is the handful of things that decide whether a binding is still sound in fifty years.
The four that matter
- DampThe biggest killer. Mould needs moisture and still air. Keep books off external walls, off the floor, and out of lofts, garages and cellars.
- LightDirect sun fades a spine in a season and it does not come back. A shelf facing away from the window costs nothing.
- Heat swingsSteady matters more than any particular temperature. Radiators, sunny bay windows and unheated rooms all move the boards.
- WeightStacked flat, a book is crushed by the ones above. Leaning, the spine deforms. Upright and supported, always.
On the shelf
- Upright, with the neighbours holding them square. Not so tight you have to pull to get one out.
- Take a book off by the middle of the spine, a finger either side, never by hooking the headcap. Hooked headcaps are the most common damage on a fine binding.
- Oversized volumes lie flat on their own, one or two deep, never at the bottom of a stack of six.
- Slipcases go on the shelf with the spine out and the book the right way up inside, so the text block is not resting on the head edge.
- Bookends rather than a book taking the strain at the end of a run.
Leather
Leave it alone more than you think.
Leather dressings are the most common way a good binding gets ruined by someone trying to help.
Conservation practice moved away from the old advice to feed leather years ago. Dressings darken a binding permanently, migrate into the paper and leave a tacky surface that holds dirt. Applied to a book that did not need it, the damage is not reversible.
If a binding looks dry or is shedding a fine powder, that is a question for a conservator, not a tin from a shop. It costs nothing to ask and a great deal to undo.
General guidance only. For anything valuable or already damaged, speak to an accredited conservator.
Cleaning
A soft brush along the top edge, away from the spine. No water, no wipes, no polish. Dust is abrasive, so once a year matters more than doing it thoroughly.
Repairs
Never adhesive tape. It yellows, stains through the paper, and removing it costs more than the original repair would have. If a page is loose, keep it loose and keep it with the book.
Bookmarks
Paper, or the ribbon it came with. Not a pen, a paperclip or a folded corner. Metal rusts into the page and leaves a brown shadow that will not lift.
Opening a new book
A tight new binding wants easing open, not forcing. Support the boards, open a few leaves from each end, work towards the middle. A minute, and it prevents a cracked spine.
Moving house
Small boxes, spine down or flat, filled but not packed tight. Never spine up: the text block sags away from the binding under its own weight.
Books survive neglect far better than they survive enthusiasm.