Applying mend to spine

Book Conservation

Books of any age and type

Whether it’s a medieval manuscript or a much-used 1960 cookbook, we can preserve it. Our conservators can help determine the best treatment for your objects and your goals, whether it's best to rebuild your book with a new cover, clean its pages, or build a custom storage box.

We’ve treated Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s handwritten Sherlock Holmes manuscripts, first editions of Isaac Newton's texts, and treasured family Bibles.

We’ve treated:

  • first editions
  • rare printed books
  • incunabula
  • illuminated manuscripts
  • scrapbooks
  • atlases
  • photograph albums
  • family Bibles
  • ledgers, diaries, recipe books, minute books, and orderly books

Services include:

  • stabilization of original bindings
  • surface cleaning
  • stain reduction
  • page mending
  • tape removal and adhesive reduction
  • rebinding in paper, cloth, parchment, or leather
  • gold-tooled titling and decoration
  • mold remediation
  • washing
  • sewing replacement and repair
  • humidification and flattening
  • cover board reattachment
  • custom storage box construction
  • calcium phytate treatment

Related

While William Marshall Bullitt (1873-1957) is best remembered as a successful lawyer and outspoken critic of Alger Hiss, he had two private passions: mathematics and book collecting. In 1936, inspired by a discussion with mathematician G.H. Hardy, Bullitt set out to acquire first edition texts by 25...
Nicholas Ferrar was born to a wealthy family in London in 1592. After graduating from the University of Cambridge, he pursued various business prospects in London. Upon losing a substantial amount of money to the Virginia Company, Ferrar moved to Little Gidding, a small town roughly 80 miles north...
Every treatment project at CCAHA is the result of conversations between client and conservator. Some, like a recent project with the Rosenbach Museum & Library, inspire particularly exciting collaboration. The Rosenbach brought a rare Hamishah Humshe Torah, or Bologna Pentateuch, as it is more...