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

Newton in the Lab

October 1, 2015

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...

Gauffered edge of a 1629 Book of Common Prayer

Treatment FOCUS: A Unique 17th-century Bindery

October 31, 2015

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...

Treatment FOCUS: Rebinding a Rare Pentateuch

June 30, 2016

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...