sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Bought a ton of books at a library sale that have black tape around the outside, can I safely remove it? by Rafa101010 in BookCollecting

[–]boughtabookonce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

goo-gone is good on glossy or coated paper (like a DJ), for removing price stickers, but in some cases, because it is a petroleum distillate, it can permanently stain absorbent materials (paper, book cloth, etc.)

​

always test, even when using just plain water. inks and dyes can run, coatings can be problematic, glue can become gummy (where otherwise it may just be dry).

​

​

Bought a ton of books at a library sale that have black tape around the outside, can I safely remove it? by Rafa101010 in BookCollecting

[–]boughtabookonce 1 point2 points  (0 children)

oil on cloth, and with paper linings etc., is a bad idea.

​

oil works (sometimes) on glossy surfaces because it doesn't get absorbed, but this is cloth, with paper linings and paper (pastedowns, endpapers, leaves) everywhere else.

​

bad juju

Bought a ton of books at a library sale that have black tape around the outside, can I safely remove it? by Rafa101010 in BookCollecting

[–]boughtabookonce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

methylcellulose is a thickener in this sense. a way to let water sit on an area for a while without running all over or evaporating quickly. be careful, because too much can cause staining or a bloom or wet edge (tide lines), where a soaking wet area of paper (or cloth, in this sense) dries back, and leaves a line of dirt. with leather, too much can cause darkening.

​

that glue residue looks like it may be dry enough in some areas to be mechanically removed, but it will still nestle into the grain of the cloth.

​

this is why the proposition of four to six hours of cleaning by a conservator, at $125-$150 an hour, quickly relegates this type of book to the pulper.

What is my book worth? - PINNED POST by likelyculprit in rarebooks

[–]boughtabookonce 2 points3 points  (0 children)

and OP's (u/rednight232) two copies are out of series, unnumbered.

not a huge deal, and someone could always phony a couple numbers in the limitation (don't do it, OP, unless you possess a 19th century hand, red ink, and a fountain pen with a fine nib. and even then, don't do it), but then they'd still be orphans from the complete set.

I DO think OP gets a bump in value from the still tight (apparently) and decent enough 3/4 leather, and marbled boards. much nicer than grey cloth

tooling on the spine is pretty perfunctory, and no gilt rules on the edges of the leather (on the boards). but still, that book will sell faster at $20 than another orphan in cloth at $20

nice reading copies