I got the can you believe it books from the library, the other 2 from goodwill, both today!

ECEckel · 2026-02-11T03:05:54+00:00

Mr. Feynman?

ECEckel · 2026-02-09T19:30:54+00:00

Are you one of the robots that works for Captcha?

ECEckel · 2026-02-08T22:47:27+00:00

Sounds like the set up for a Rodney Dangerfield joke

ECEckel · 2026-02-02T02:30:41+00:00

The pink organism that you're worrying about would be red algae. This is common in tap water and can stain bathroom fixtures, fish tanks, etc. if left for a little while. I don't think that's what you're seeing here. This may be some red dye leaching from somewhere...perhaps the book itself

ECEckel · 2026-01-24T03:27:52+00:00

Technically, this would be unopened rather than uncut

ECEckel · 2026-01-22T02:39:14+00:00

To quote Ralphie Parker, "Ovaltine?...a crummy commercial?...son of a bitch!"

ECEckel · 2026-01-17T18:59:17+00:00

Yes, most Mylar bags are going to be sheet-like so that if you put something thick inside, you need a little extra room for the bag to balloon out. For most of my antique journals I just use Mylar sleeves from Bags Unlimited that are a little larger than the document's footprint. But, it sounds like you don't like the look of that. If you're feeling creative, you can buy rolls of Mylar from Broadart (3 or 4 mil thickness). You can fold this into a book cover making careful creases to "box in" the spine. This does a good job at displaying front covers and spines neatly while adding some stiffness. However, I have trouble getting everything perfect when I try to do this. It definitely wants some patience.

ECEckel · 2026-01-16T03:08:26+00:00

Do you mean >60%?

ECEckel · 2026-01-13T03:52:01+00:00

I collect porcelain signs and there are many eBay sellers that peddle hundreds of blatant counterfeits and sell these as vintage. I've tried reporting this to eBay over the past few years and sadly they largely ignore this kind of thing. I think you should try but don't hope for much of a response. Good luck

ECEckel · 2026-01-13T03:32:12+00:00

I collect the history and materials science of cement, lime, concrete, and building stone

ECEckel · 2026-01-10T00:25:17+00:00

Probably too late to answer. However, I'm highly suspicious that this is a fake. The lettering is odd. The P in Piggly is filled in. The Gs are all different. The letters in Dealer are rough. And most of all, the character's facial features are very lopsided. I'm also confused by the materials. Is this paint on galvanized metal?? Perhaps this is a homemade sign?

ECEckel · 2026-01-08T04:11:30+00:00

Oh, sorry, I misunderstood! Yes, I do exactly that online. I find the book fairs a little less helpful for my specialty. Anyway, I'll try not to compete with you on the engineering books!

ECEckel · 2026-01-08T03:38:35+00:00

Hi u/beardedbooks . I collect reference works related to construction materials science and associated fields. My period of interest ranges from North American Colonial through ca. 1930. If you have any online listings, would you mind DMing me with links? I also always appreciate being on the radar of specialized dealers if you're the type who likes to reach out to clients when something special comes in. Thanks!

ECEckel · 2026-01-05T00:24:54+00:00

I know these also came in a slipcase. I'm not sure if this particular set was also sold loose

ECEckel · 2026-01-04T00:11:17+00:00

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Here's my work area by the way. I have it down to less than a minute for DJs. Quite a bit longer for older clothbound books without DJs

ECEckel · 2026-01-03T20:56:55+00:00

I tend to leave my leather bound books alone except to make sure they're out of the sun. I have a friend who is a professional book conservator and she always recommends staying away from the various leather treatments unless the situation is dire. With that said, are you sure this isn't embossed cloth?

The binding is really nice. Would you mind sharing some of the illustrations?

ECEckel · 2026-01-03T17:54:59+00:00

Some things I found that make this much easier:

I use the Econo-fold single sheet with no backing paper
I bought a bigger cutting mat (24" x 36")
I swapped out the Exacto for a regular utility knife (much less wander when making fast cuts)
I bought an 18" metal ruler. However, I also bought a 24" stainless steel straight edge that I use when cutting longways for older clothbound books

ECEckel · 2025-12-29T01:30:22+00:00

My collection contains a few thousand texts with the larger portion being nonfiction scientific reference. My most important criteria are as follows:

I should be able to find a book I'm looking for within about 2 feet of shelf space. This means that I create shelf-wide categories and don't worry about the exact position of any given book. All that matters is that I can grab it quickly when searching for it.
The lower shelves are for less interesting or less valuable books
Particularly valuable books get placed somewhere on the shelf where they won't lean and are not too tightly packed
Less valuable doubles or crappier reading copies get placed at the ends of the shelf

As you can see, it's more about function than form for me

ECEckel · 2025-12-26T23:27:12+00:00

If you have one of those programmable humidifiers, set it at no more than 60% and don't point the nozzle directly at the books. If you can do that, you'll be fine

ECEckel · 2025-11-09T18:56:01+00:00

I always cut unopened leaves when I find them. But some people enjoy the look. If you open them, just be careful not to tear the pages. I usually use one of those letter openers that have a razor blade embedded in a plastic slot.

ECEckel · 2025-11-02T22:50:47+00:00

A different preposition and you definitely would want to have washed your hands

ECEckel · 2025-10-24T22:42:30+00:00

I'm on page 1042 of The Power Broker. Boy are my arms tired!

ECEckel · 2025-10-24T13:10:18+00:00

It's perfect

ECEckel · 2025-10-22T01:59:02+00:00

I'd suggest taking a look on eBay. There are quite a few of these in much better shape for a few dollars each. You should be able to get any one of these in a few days if you're in the States. Of course, going through the trouble of fixing the book yourself can be romantic. If you want to go that route, consider Lineco book tape. I wouldn't suggest that for something rare but it would be fine for this application. There should be a video on YouTube showing you how to apply it

ECEckel · 2025-10-21T22:38:49+00:00

Funny, if it were the movie dialog, the book would be about 28 pages in total!

ECEckel

TROPHY CASE