Giving new life to French Syntax: Book Repair Part 2

The repairs are well underway. Before rebinding could commence, some of the pages needed some tender loving care. Tears were repaired with tissue - some imagination was required when putting some of the sections (groups of pages) together as there were pages missing. The next stage was the rebinding. I decided to use the original holes (from the original sewing) and sewed the text block back together on tapes.

As mentioned in the earlier post on this project, Giving new life to French Syntax: Book Repair Part 1, the cover was detached. I repaired the spine by creating a hollow and inserting some new book cloth under the original book cover. The original cover was the re-attached to the repaired text block using the tapes, linen and adhesive. The end papers were tipped (glued) back in place.

The blue colour of the new cloth is somewhat brighter than the original so I am planning on using some acrylic paint to tone it down a little and make the repairs a little less obvious. The book is once again sturdy enough for use. In addition, there is no longer a risk of losing more pages as the loose ones are now back where they belong.

Although this book has been repaired, the integrity of the original is still in place as original materials have been used wherever possible. I just love this old book. Here is another excerpt of text that I find interesting and adorable.