One of the more useful skills a bookseller can acquire is that of being able to quickly, and without undue expense, convert damaged or cosmetically unattractive books into something more presentable and, in turn, marketable. Many of us have had the experience of buying books that had to be set aside because of condition issues. If the application of a few simple techniques could bring at least some of our acquisitions back from the dead, it could turn an otherwise total loss into a handsome profit, not to mention keep a higher number of out-of-print books in circulation.

Not every book can be readily restored. Some require actual replacement of parts or complete rebinding (which is probably better left to a professional) or involved restoration techniques that may require a high level of expertise, a huge commitment of time, or both. If you’re like me, you have only enough patience to deal with the simple stuff and move on.

With this in mind I’ve written a series of articles that may help you rescue some items from your inventory and increase your profits. Most of my suggestions are based on a number of “mad-scientist” experiments I’ve conducted over the past few years, not on commonly practiced or widely taught procedures.

Because of this, there are techniques described here that you may not have heard of before, and also (and this is more important yet) that you probably shouldn’t even attempt on a potentially valuable book without practicing first on something you’re prepared to dispose of if things don’t come off as planned.

Also, it’s entirely possible that one or more of my suggestions would horrify a professional conservationist. What I’m getting at is, please accept this in the spirit it’s offered: as a set of ideas arrived at, by the seat of my pants, in a dimly lit, Frankenstein-like workshop deep in the sub-tropics with limited testing and absolutely NO supporting documentation.

One more note of caution: I offer these techniques without even attempting to address any ethical issues that might arise from their use. Once one enters into the business of altering items that are intended for resale, I think that there may be instances when it’s important to disclose up front what sort of work has been done. Of course, there may be other times when it couldn’t matter less. Perhaps this is something that would be worth discussing at length in a future article, but now that I’ve completely covered my you-know-what, let’s get to the nuts and bolts.

My focus in this series will be on two types of restoration which, by the way, are not always mutually exclusive: that which improves the integrity or function of a book, such as repairing a partially-split hinge, and that which improves the book’s appearance: cleaning, for example. In the coming weeks I’ll be discussing the following topics, not necessarily in this order:

1. How to reinforce and reattach covers (or wraps) on stapled booklets.
2. How to reattach pages that have come loose (from any type of binding) or completely restore a glued binding on a paperback.
3. How to repair partially split hinges or gutters.
4. How to correct warping of boards in hardback books.
5. How to do spot color restoration on bindings due to chipping, dry rot, or other problems.
6. How to clean and deodorize books.
7. How to remove labels and markings from books.
8. How to partially recondition or upgrade an ex-library book.
9. How to brighten the appearance of a book prior to taking a picture.

And, finally, I will divulge the formula for Craig's Secret Book Restoration Elixir. (See http://www.auctionbytes.com/pages/abu/y202/m01/abu0062/s02 for before and after photos of a book that has been cleaned with Craig's elixir.)

Stay tuned!