Leather bindings

Ganz-fabrikat, n. finished article, -form, /. pig mold, pig bed. -heit, /. entirety, totality, whole. -hoUander, rn. (Paper) beater, beating en ne. -holz, n. unhewn timber, round timber, -lederband, m. (full) leather binding, (full) calf. 

The restoration of leather bindings calls for much skill, experience, and a feeling for the past—without this last attribute the skill is largely wasted. Bad work often permanently ruins bindings and at best is likely to be costly to rectify so no structural restoration of important books should be attempted by untrained assistants or by professional restorers whose work is not known to be satisfactory. 

Leather Bindings. The purpose of furbishing is to extend the life of the binding by nonstructural means and to improve its appearance. When only basic resources and limited skills are available, even this has to be restricted to washing and dressing. 

Middleton, B. C., The Restoration of Leather Bindings, American Library... 

If a book is to be rebound or repaired, a sound block is not touched, that is, no resewing is done. Exceptions to this rule would be books that must be taken apart for chemical treatment, or books that must be repaired in a leaf caster because of extensive damage, for example, by insects. In such cases, if a leather binding of rare or historical value is salvageable, it is removed carefully for later use. Samples of the book s components are saved notations are made of details that will permit duplication of the original craftwork. Additional photographs are taken if necessary. 

Less recognized but also important is SO- damage to paper and leather. Paper products produced from about 1/50 on are embrittled by sulfur compounds converted to sulfuric acid which causes hydrolysis. Thus old books which are not stored in sealed cases undergo a gradual deterioration. Leather bindings are similarly affected. 

Albumen has the largest number of acid and basic groups. It is the most soluble of the proteins present in a hide. The albumen is not a fibrous material, however, and therefore has no value in the leather. Keratin is the protein of the hair and the outermost surface of the hide. Unless the hair is desired for the final product it is removed by chemical and/or physical means. The elastin has Htde acid- or base-binding capacity and is the least soluble of the proteins present. The lack of reactivity of the elastin is a detriment for most leather manufacture. The presence of elastin in the leather greatly limits the softness of the leather. 

Phthalocyanine Dyes. In addition to their use as pigments, the phthalocyanines have found widespread appHcation as dyestuffs, eg, direct and reactive dyes, water-soluble dyes with physical or chemical binding, solvent-soluble dyes with physical or chemical binding, a2o reactive dyes, a2o nonreactive dyes, sulfur dyes, and wet dyes. The first phthalocyanine dyes were used in the early 1930s to dye textiles like cotton (qv). The water-soluble forms Hke sodium salts of copper phthalocyanine disulfonic acid. Direct Blue 86 [1330-38-7] (Cl 74180), Direct Blue 87 [1330-39-8] (Cl 74200), Acid Blue 249 [36485-85-5] (Cl 74220), and their derivatives are used to dye natural and synthetic textiles (qv), paper, and leather (qv). The sodium salt of cobalt phthalocyanine, ie. Vat Blue 29 [1328-50-3] (Cl 74140) is mostly appHed to ceUulose fibers (qv). 

The treatment should not influence the properties of binding adhesives, leather and plasticized covers. 

Bindings covered with vegetable-tanned leather are washed with pure toilet soap, saddle soap, or mild, high quality surgical toilet soap and a 7-10% solution of potassium lactate. 0.25% of p-nitrophenol can be added as a fungicide, but this is not necessary if the temperature and relative humidity are constantly satisfactory (see p. 5). The lactate, when applied to new vegetable-tanned leather, is thought to protect the leather from the deleterious action of sulfuric acid which usually forms in leather when sulfur dioxide is absorbed. It is. probable that it has little efficacy once chemical deterioration has started, and for some years doubt has been cast on its effectiveness, even on new leather, despite favorable results in laboratory tests. However, it is used, and its use is advocated just in case it is beneficial. 

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