The vibrant plates, unique bindings, and often oversized formats of art books offer more than just information; they are aesthetic objects in their own right. Whether it’s a catalogue raisonné, a collection of fine art photography, or a limited edition artist’s book, these volumes hold significant cultural and often monetary value. Protecting these treasures requires understanding the basics of book conservation, ensuring they can be appreciated for generations to come. It’s not about making old books look brand new, but rather stabilizing them and preventing further deterioration.
Understanding the Threats to Your Art Books
Before you can protect your books, you need to know what you’re protecting them from. Damage rarely happens overnight; it’s usually a slow process caused by a combination of factors. Awareness is the first step in prevention.
Environmental Hazards
The environment where you store your books plays a massive role in their longevity. Key factors include:
- Light: Both sunlight and artificial light, especially fluorescent types, contain ultraviolet (UV) rays. UV light causes irreversible damage, leading to fading of covers and illustrations, yellowing, and embrittlement of paper. Keep valuable books away from direct sunlight and consider UV filters on windows or using low-UV lighting.
- Temperature and Humidity: Fluctuations are the enemy. High temperatures accelerate chemical decay processes within paper. High humidity encourages mold growth and can cause pages to swell or cockle. Conversely, very low humidity can make paper and bindings brittle. Aim for a stable environment, ideally around 18-21°C (65-70°F) with relative humidity between 45-55%. Avoid storing books in attics, basements, or near heating/cooling vents where conditions swing wildly.
- Air Pollution: Dust and airborne pollutants can be abrasive and acidic, settling on books and contributing to their decay. Good air circulation helps, but avoid storing books directly under vents that might blow dust onto them.
Handling and Storage Mishaps
How you interact with and store your books directly impacts their condition.
- Improper Handling: Always handle books with clean, dry hands. Support the weight of the book properly, especially large art books; don’t let the text block sag and strain the binding. Avoid opening a book flat, particularly older volumes with stiff bindings, as this can crack the spine. Use book cradles or supports for reading if needed. Never use paperclips, rubber bands, or sticky notes, as they can damage pages or leave residues.
- Poor Storage: Overcrowding shelves forces books together, causing abrasion and potentially distorting bindings. Books need space to breathe. Store books upright and of similar size together, using sturdy bookends to prevent leaning, which warps the structure. Very large or heavy art books are often best stored flat on a shelf, but don’t stack too many on top of each other, as the weight can damage the books below.
Inherent Vice
Sometimes, the danger comes from within. Many books, particularly those from the mid-19th to late-20th century, were printed on acidic paper made from wood pulp. This acid slowly breaks down the paper fibers, leading to yellowing, brittleness, and eventual disintegration. While you can’t easily change the paper’s nature, controlling the environment slows this process significantly.
Pests and Mold
Insects like silverfish, booklice, and beetles are attracted to the organic materials in books (paper, glue, bindings). Mold thrives in damp, stagnant conditions. Regular inspection of your collection and maintaining a clean, stable environment are the best defenses.
Preventive Conservation: Your First Line of Defense
The absolute best approach to book conservation is prevention. Stabilizing a book’s environment and handling it correctly can prevent most common forms of damage, saving you potential heartache and costly repairs down the line.
Creating a Safe Haven
Think of your bookshelf not just as storage, but as your book’s microclimate. Choose shelving made of stable materials like sealed wood, powder-coated metal, or archival-quality board. Avoid unsealed wood, which can release harmful acids. Ensure shelves are strong enough to support the weight without bowing. As mentioned, maintain stable temperature and humidity, minimize light exposure, and ensure reasonable air circulation.
Handling with Care
It bears repeating: clean hands are essential. Lotions and natural skin oils can stain paper. When removing a book from a shelf, push the neighboring books back slightly and grasp the book firmly by the middle of its spine, rather than pulling from the top edge (the headcap), which can easily tear. When reading, support the book adequately. Use a clean, thin bookmark rather than folding page corners.
Protective Enclosures
For particularly valuable or fragile art books, consider protective enclosures. Acid-free, lignin-free boxes (like clamshell boxes) or phase boxes provide excellent protection against light, dust, pollutants, and buffer against environmental fluctuations. Custom-made enclosures offer the best fit and support. Even simple four-flap wrappers made from archival paper can offer a significant degree of protection for less cost.
Basic Cleaning and Maintenance
Gentle, regular cleaning can prevent the buildup of damaging dust and grime.
- Dusting: Use a soft, natural-bristle brush (like a goat-hair brush) to gently whisk dust away from the book, particularly the top edge of the text block. Brush away from the spine to avoid pushing dirt into the binding. A microfiber cloth can also be used carefully on covers, but be cautious with fragile materials.
- Surface Cleaning: For light surface dirt or pencil marks on robust paper, specialized cleaning materials might be used *very* cautiously. Archival dry-cleaning sponges (smoke sponges) can lift surface soot. Soft, pliable archival erasers (e.g., vinyl erasers) can sometimes remove pencil marks, but always test in an inconspicuous area first and work gently. Never use water, solvents, or household cleaners on book pages or bindings unless you have specific conservation training.
Minor Repairs: Tread Carefully
Attempting repairs without proper knowledge or materials can cause more harm than good. However, some very minor issues *might* be addressed by a careful owner using the right supplies.
Tear Mending
Small, clean edge tears in pages (not involving text or images if possible) can sometimes be mended. The standard conservation method involves using long-fibered, acid-free Japanese paper (like Sekishu or Tengujo) and a stable, reversible adhesive like wheat starch paste or a prepared archival methylcellulose adhesive. The repair tissue is applied subtly, often to the less visible side of the page. This requires practice and precision.
Resist the urge to reach for household tape! Common tapes like cellophane or masking tape use adhesives that yellow, become brittle, seep oils, and can permanently stain or damage paper fibers. These repairs are often irreversible by non-professionals and cause significantly more harm than the original tear over time, making future conservation treatment much more difficult and expensive.
Tipping in Loose Pages
A single loose page (one that has detached cleanly at the binding edge) can sometimes be “tipped in.” This involves applying a very thin line of archival PVA adhesive or starch paste along the binding edge of the loose page and carefully reinserting it into the gutter of the book, aligning it with the text block. This requires precision and minimal adhesive to avoid puckering or sticking adjacent pages. If a whole section (signature) is loose, or if the page is torn out, this is a job for a professional.
Knowing When to Call a Professional Conservator
Preventive care and minor maintenance are valuable, but many problems require the expertise of a trained book conservator. Attempting complex repairs yourself can devalue the book and lead to irreversible damage. Seek professional help if you encounter:
- Structural Damage: Broken spines, detached covers (boards), severely damaged sewing.
- Mold or Pest Infestation: Active mold growth or signs of insect damage require specialized treatment to eradicate the problem safely and stabilize the affected materials.
- Significant Tears or Losses: Large tears, especially those running through text or images, or missing pieces of pages or binding.
- Water or Fire Damage: These cause complex and often severe damage requiring immediate professional intervention.
- Brittle Paper: Books exhibiting advanced embrittlement need expert handling and potentially deacidification or specialized housing.
- Damage to Valuable Bindings or Illustrations: Leather decay (red rot), damaged photographic prints, or flaking pigments need a conservator’s touch.
A professional conservator has the training, experience, and specialized materials to assess the book’s condition, discuss treatment options with you (including the principle of reversibility), and perform repairs that are chemically stable and aesthetically appropriate, preserving the book’s integrity and value.
Choosing Archival Materials
Whether creating storage enclosures or attempting minor repairs, always use materials designated as “archival quality.” This generally means they are acid-free (pH neutral or slightly alkaline), lignin-free (lignin is a component in wood pulp that causes paper to yellow and degrade), stable, and have passed the Photographic Activity Test (PAT) if they will be in contact with photographs. Using standard office supplies or craft materials can introduce acids and other harmful substances, accelerating decay.
Caring for valuable art books is an ongoing commitment. By understanding the risks, practicing careful handling and storage, performing gentle maintenance, and knowing when to seek expert help, you can ensure these beautiful objects remain stable and accessible for many years. It’s a rewarding effort that honors the artistry and history contained within their pages.
