Disassembling a Book

We have completed making the assessment, and will now begin the process of restoration. The first step in restoration is to disassemble the book (take it apart) to the extent required.

Steps to Restoration

In the example that we have seen, the work required to restore the book is quite extensive. We will require to:

• Disassemble the book, into its component parts: i.e. Separate the book block, cut the sewing, remove each section and separate the folios
• Start with restoration of the Folios
• Remove acidity from the paper, to the extent possible
• Strengthen the paper
• Mend any paper tears
• Flatten the folios and assemble into sections
• Sew the book back together again
• Press the book block, and reduce the size of the swell
• Mend the case, and prepare for binding
• Bind the book.
• Finishing the repairs

That's quite a lot of work! For someone like me who has no experience in book conservation whatsoever, I am feeling like 'Alice in Wonderland' right now.

Pause Before you Begin

One important question that we need to ask ourselves is this: Is it really worth the effort?

I mean, conservation is usually undertaken on valuable works, and typically, the basic quality of paper, binding, etc. is far better. Paper and books very much retain their look and feel even after 150 - 200 years. And this book that we have taken, is obviously a poor product for restoration.

If I were a professional, I would have to agree. But I am learning; And I know that this is the kind of book that we will deal with, in our organization, more often than not. What better example, then, to learn book restoration, than on this perfect specimen?

Let us see where the rabbit hole takes us...

Remove the Tapes


We begin the restoration process by removing the tapes. Since the glue on the tapes are very poor, it peels off very easily.

The difference between archival tapes and regular tapes is this: In archival tapes, the quality of the glue is such that it retains its stickiness even after a long time. In books that are hundreds of years old, it is possible to reactivate the glue just by moistening the spine!

In the case of poor tapes, hot glue, etc. the glue loses its stickiness very quickly. And in the case of hot glue, it starts to break apart as well.

NOTE: Most machine binding use hot glue!


Clean the Spine

Having taken the book block apart, we proceed to clean the spine.

We mount the book block on a finishing press, just to hold it in position, so that we can work on the book. Given that hot glue has been used, we clean the book mechanically. A blunt knife can be used to lift up scraps of paper and brittle hot glue sticking onto the spine.

If required, apply a thin layer of paste (just enough to moisten the spine), and use a blunt knife to remove unnecessary material and to clean the spine.

Looking much better now! A little more work should do it...

Before we take the book apart :Remember to

• Number unnumbered pages
• Make note where the photographs go back

Without this step, we can of course take the book apart, but will have trouble putting the book back together again!


We use a hook blade (on a scalpel) to cut the sewing threads, and to separate each section. Remove the remnants of the thread from each section.

That is the entire book, after it has been disassembled...
- End papers have come apart
-  16 sections
- 15 sections of 16 pages / 4 folios each, and the last section has only 8 pages / two folios.




Book Binding Tip: If it is necessary to have one section with a lesser number of pages / folios, it is better that it is the penultimate section, rather than the last one. The first and the last section are typically under the most stress, and it is best that these sections are thick and strong!




Starting to look neat, is it not?!?

Now, we are in a position to begin the process of paper restoration...

Read about paper restoration by clicking here