As the Northeast dries out after Hurricane Irene, now’s a good time to think about the effects of moisture and humidity on rare books. Just as too much sun can damage your rare books, so can too much moisture.
And we’re not just talking about direct moisture, such as liquid spills. The relative humidity of the air is also a concern. Excess humidity (usually relative humidity above 75%) can encourage the growth of fungi and mildew, which can lead to foxing.
Foxing is the name for the splotches, spots and specks you often see on older books. It’s rare to find a book from the eighteenth or nineteenth century that doesn’t show signs of foxing, and some modern books may also be foxed.
Tips to Prevent Foxing
The best way to prevent initial or further foxing on your rare books is to store them properly. Books should be kept in a cool, dry place. Libraries and museums maintain a relative humidity of 50%, which halts foxing altogether. At home, use the following techniques:
Store your books thoughtfully. Keep them in a room that has central air conditioning and heat.
Outfit your library with a humidity meter. Digital versions are reliable and affordable.
If you live in a relatively humid area, consider using a dehumidifier.
Always use acid-free paper if wrapping, packing, or mounting rare books and ephemera. Foxing changes the pH of the paper, and additional acid can cause further degradation.
Strategies to Remove Foxing
Removing the marks of foxing should generally be left to a skilled book conservator or preservationist. Experts may choose one of two approaches to reverse foxing:
Using a reducing agent, such as sodium borohydride, on the paper. These agents are mild enough that they don’t have to be rinsed from the paper after treatment, but they may not remove the marks completely.
Treating the paper with an oxidizing agent like sodium tetraborate. Slightly stronger than reducing agents, oxidizing agents must be washed out of the paper after treatment.
The strength of the agent used depends on the weight of the book’s paper, so the chemicals must be mixed and applied properly. You’ll find that most rare booksellers opt to leave foxing along and simply strive to prevent further damage.
It’s also important to look for signs that foxing has been removed with bleach, which will cause the paper to degrade more quickly over time. Bleach treatment may cause page wrinkling and ink bleeding.
Many collectors see foxing as a lovely, desirable part of a rare book’s patina. What’s your take?
Julian Sands’ one-man show recently closed in Edinburgh, and in September it will head on national tour. Directed by none other than John Malkovich, the play’s subject may surprise you: poet and playwright Harold Pinter.
Pinter asserted himself not only as an author, but also as an actor and political activist. The recipient of 18 honorary degrees, Pinter won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005. Horace Engdahl, Chairman of the Swedish Academy, described Pinter as an artist “who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression’s closed rooms.”
Long before his literary career began in 1957 with The Room, Pinter had stood out as an exemplary student of English and literature—and as an actor. He played both Romeo and Macbeth in the late 1940’s. In 1950, his first poem was published outside of school magazines.
Despite favorable reviews Pinter’s second play, The Birthday Party, was performed only eight times. However he later adapted the play for the screen, as he later did with The Homecoming and Betrayal. It was not until 1960, with The Caretaker, that Pinter found commercial success.
Why Collectors Love Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter’s wide variety of literary interests affords collectors the same wide variety of collecting opportunities.
Pinter’s beautiful poetry lends itself well to fine press editions. The 2002 Enitharmon edition of The Disappeared and Other Poems features particularly lovely illustrations by Tony Bevan.
Pinter frequently teamed up with other directors and screenwriters. For example, he famously worked with both film director Joseph Losey and Proust scholar Barbara Bray to write The Proust Screenplay: À La Recherche Du Temps Perdu. These collaborations make Pinter’s work relevant to a diverse group of enthusiasts.
Pinter’s relationship with his second wife, Lady Antonia Fraser, inspired sweet, gentle poetry. The books he gave her also make for lovely association copies.
Karnac issued wonderful limited first editions of many of Pinter’s works. The red and black cloth editions feature gold embossed lettering
Last week Frida Kahlo’s copy of Edgar Allan Poe sold at auction for $24,000. Why was the rather tattered copy so valuable? Kahlo filled the book with artistic marginalia. The price of this book reflects the value of association copies, that is, books that are affiliated with a famous person or someone close to the author.
Frida Kahlo's doodles vastly increased the value of her copy of The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe.
So why all this fuss over association copies? Collectors value association copies for a variety of reasons. Association copies are more personal than signed or anonymously inscribed copies, providing a glimpse into the author or owner’s life and environment. They can also illustrate relationships between the author and the author’s family, friends, and colleagues. Here’s a look at some of the notable association copies from our collection:
Umberto Eco inscribed a limited edition of Filosofi In LibertĂ for his bibliographer, James Contursi. Â This is one of many different books Eco inscribed for Contursi.
Both Cornelia Funke and her translator Anthea Bell inscribed an advance reader’s edition of Inkspell for award-winning author Shar Levine.
Budd Schulberg inscribed a first edition of What Makes Sammy Run? “to two of his dearest friends in all this world,” Joaquin and Karin Godoy.
Thomas Harris inscribed first editions of both Black Sunday and Red Dragon for the mother of a childhood friend.
During my tenure at the Harry Ransom Humanities Center (HRHC), I encountered countless texts from all over the world. Despite the variety of printed texts, most books are built with relatively standard techniques. That’s why I was surprised to uncover an unusual technique when I restored a two-volume set of Speculum Naturale, by Vincent de Beauvaise.
Printed around 1481 and bound in approximately 1493, these two volumes came from an anonymous bindery, which has been designated K-118. Books are matched to the bindery based on the particular tools used. In this case, the structure of the books was just as unique as the tools used to make them.
A cutaway model illustrates the structure of a book with a K-118 binding
Even though the covers of the books were very deteriorated, the book’s binding remained relatively sound. The books opened all the way to the spine, from the first to the last pages. They were rounded, unbacked, and swell-less. The binding style struck me as an excellent choice for both conservation rebinding and restoration of original bindings.
In these books, the vellum spine lining was extended and flaps attached to the board to strengthen the board-to-text attachment. The flaps were cut into three tabs. The outer two attached to the outside of the board, but the middle one passed inside and attached to the inner board surface.
Meanwhile, the books had no shoulder or any of the usual page flexion you’d find with a traditional rounded and backed structure, or even with the minimally shouldered hard board structure.
So what does all this mean for a collector of rare books? You may want to consider a K-118 style binding, rather than a traditional binding structure under certain cicumstances. I built a few book models with K-118 bindings, and found them particularly advantageous for a few different kinds of books:
A volume, that due to large size and weight, puts undue stress on the text block and binding upon opening
Illuminated and decorated manuscripts (particularly on vellum/parchment)
Modern fine press books that require visualization of the entire spread of pages, down to the gutter edges.
Volumes with stiff or brittle pages, like those made of card stock
Older books that are frequently used, such as reference books
Books of photographs that, due to original intent, should remain in bound format
Even modern fine bindings can be done using the K-118 technique. To learn more about the structure, read the entire article from the HRHC or contact me at levybooks@gmail.com
Bruce Levy, owner of Levy Books, has been a book conservator since 1980. He joins us as a guest blogger every few months.
We’ve recently been lucky enough to acquire a beautiful collection of Edgar Rice Burroughs books. Best known for his Tarzan novels, Burroughs was one of the most prolific authors of the early 20th century. His sci-fi and fantasy novels inspired a generation of writers, artists, producers, and even scientists.
A Bit about Burroughs
After graduating from the Michigan Military Academy, Burroughs enlisted in the Army. He was discharged due to a heart condition and found himself working a string of low-level jobs. Burroughs eventually took a job with his father’s firm, but after seven years of earning low wages, it was time to move on.
Burroughs took a job as a pencil sharpener wholesaler, where he found himself with plenty of time on his hands. That’s when he began reading pulp fiction magazines. Burroughs quickly realized that “…if people were paid for writing rot such as I read in some of those magazines, that I could write stories just as rotten. As a matter of fact, although I had never written a story, I knew absolutely that I could write stories just as entertaining and probably a whole lot more so than any I chanced to read in those magazines.”
What soon followed was Burroughs’ first work, Under the Moons of Mars, which was serialized. He later published it as a novel, with the title A Princess on Mars. Over the next 40 years, Burroughs went on to write over 70 novels, including the following series:
Barsoom series: The setting of this series is the planet Barsoom, a romanticized version of Mars. The series earned Burroughs the honor of a crater named after him on the red planet.
Tarzan series: After the Tarzan series gained popularity, Burroughs defied popular wisdom and used the character in comic books and other spin-offs. Burroughs even named his California ranch “Tarzana,” and it later grew into a town of the same name.
Pellucider series: Set at the core of Earth, the Pellucider series Burroughs envisions the earth as a hollow shell, with the world of Pellucider at its center. Its continents mirror the world’s oceans, and its bodies of water mirror the seven continents.
Venus series: The protagonist of the Venus series sets out for Mars, only to land on Venus. The planet turns out to be a water world whose human-like inhabitants call the planet Amtor.
Caspak series: After a series of unfortunate events, the hero Bowen Tyler finds himself in the land of Caprona, where dinosaurs still roam and the inhabitants are still in various stage of hominid development.
Burroughs also wrote multiple historical and Western novels, along with other jungle adventures not featuring Tarzan. Many of his books were first published in serial form, including the works in the Moon series. The definitive bibliography of Burroughs’ works, by Robert B. Zeuschner, is an indispensible tool for anyone who plans to assemble an outstanding Burroughs collection.
Our Edgar Rice Burroughs collection includes wonderful first editions of many of Burroughs works. If you’d like to see some of his well-known works or discover new favorites, we invite you to peruse the collection.
