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by Joseph W. Zaehnsdorf
3rd Edition Published in London 1897
a book damaged by damp has little or no chance of being made
good again. A book so damaged can only be strengthened by
re-sizing or some artificial means. To re-size leaves that cannot
be plunged into the solution, the sizing may be done with a soft
brush. Place the leaf on a piece of glass or marble, and use the
brush to the leaf as one would do in pasting; when sized, lift
the leaf up very gently and lay it out on paper to dry; when dry,
the reverse side is treated in like manner; or a thin paper of a
transparent character may be pasted over the pages, either on
one or both sides.
Mud -Luckily a book stained with mud is not of frequent
occurrence. Mud seems to be a combination of all that is
objectionable, generally it is a mixture of iron and grease.
Wash the leaf well in cold water, then in a weak solution of
muriatic acid, after which, plunge in a weak solution of chloride
of lime. Rinse well, dry, and size. Sometimes it will be
brush, a shaving brush for instance; this may be done by laying the leaf on a slab of glass; use great care with the
brush, or the surface of the paper will be abraised; after which, rinse well with water.
Very often such stains, if fresh, will disappear if a fine jet of water be allowed to play on the parts dirtied, the water
being ejected through a fine rose jet.
Foxing marks-Books so stained may generally be cleaned by immersing the leaves into a weak solution of
hydrochloric acid; one must not make the bath too strong, ½ ounce of the acid to 1 pint of water, using the bath hot,
will be found about right. Should the marks not give to this treatment, plunge the book, sheet by sheet, into a weak
bath of chlorine water. The book may be left in for some hours, taken out and replaced in the hydrochloric bath; after
a half hour it may be rinsed with cold water, hung up to dry, and sized.
Finger -marks, commonly called “thumb-marks.”-These are the most difficult to erase, the dirt being generally of a
greasy nature, and forced into the fibres of the paper. Make a jelly of white or curd soap, apply to the stain, and
leave it on for some time, then wash away gently by means of a soft brush while the leaf is in cold water; this will, as
a rule, take all, or nearly all, away. A slight rinsing in very weak acid water, again, with cold water, and when dry size.
Blood stains -The leaves stained must be plunged into cold water; when thoroughly soaked, the stains may be
washed with a soft brush charged with soap, then well rinsed with water again. Dry.
If hot water be used, the heat renders the albumen of the blood insoluble, and the stain will be difficult to erase.
Ink stains (writing)-Some inks are more difficult to erase than others. As a rule ink give way if the writing be treated
with a solution of oxalic acid, and afterwards to a weak solution of chloride of lime. It is perhaps better to immerse
the whole leaf in the solution, as the lime is likely to bleach and leave a mark; the leaf should in any case be plunged
in warm water afterwards, to wash away the lime and acid, and, after drying, it should be sized.
Ink stains (marking ink, silver) may be removed by a solution of tinctu8re of iodine; nitrate of silver, the basis of the
ink, is changed into iodide of silver, this is then treated with a solution of cyanide of potassium. It may perhaps be
necessary to repeat this two or three times; when quite dissolved out, it must be well washed. As the cyanide quite
dissolved out, it must be well washed. As the cyanide is a deadly poison, one may substitute hyposulphite of sodium.
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