Bookbinding and The Care of Books
Librarians by Douglas Cockerell with Drawings
by Noel Rooke and other Illustrations
New York
1902
Book binding Chapter XIX
Part 3
with is the question of the nature of the decay of
leather. To arrive at their conclusions on this
subject, the sub-committee made a number of
tests and analyses of samples of decayed leather
bookbinding’s, as well as of leathers used for
binding. The committee found that the most
prevalent decay was what they term a red decay,
and this they think may be differentiated into old
and new, the old red decay being noticeable up to
about 1830, and the new decay since that date. In
the old decay, the leather becomes hard and
calf-bound books, tanned presumably with oak bark. The new form affects nearly all leathers,
and in extreme cases seems absolutely to destroy the fibers. Another form of deterioration, more
noticeable in the newer books, renders the grain of the leather liable to peel off when exposed to
the slightest friction. This is the most common form of decay noted in the more recent leathers.
In nearly all samples of Russia leather a very violent form of red decay was noticed. In many
cases the leather was found to be absolutely rotten in all parts exposed to light and air, so that
on the very slightest rubbing with a blunt instrument the leather fell into fine dust. . . .
The second point is the cause of the decay. An extensive series of experiments was carried out
with a view of determining the causes of the decay of bindings. The sub-committee find that this
is caused by both mechanical and by chemical influences. Of the latter, some are due to mistakes
of the leather manufacturer and the bookbinder, others to the want of ventilation, and to
improper heating and lighting of libraries. In some cases inferior leathers are finished (by
methods in themselves injurious) so as to imitate the better class leathers, and of course where
these are used durability cannot be expected. But in the main the injury for which the
manufacturer and bookbinder are responsible must be attributed rather to ignorance of the
effect of the means employed to give the leather the outward qualities required for binding, than
to the intentional production of an inferior article. . . . Leathers produced by different tanning
materials, although they may be equally sound and durable mechanically, vary very much in their
resistance to other influences, such as light, heat, and gas fumes.
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