Rare Book Box

[Bill Orr]

I recently completed a box that will contain a rare book. Many rare books are very fragile (and very valuable) so therefore need special care such as the box I built. It is made of walnut, felt lined interior and a hand painted oil on canvas on the top. See picture at:

alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking

Bill

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Nice box, Bill.

Do you have to take any special precautions in the finish or wood type to avoid contamination from outgassing? Ed

[Bill Orr]

[Tim Douglass]

I would seal the inside of the box with shellac, that seeming to be the most neutral of any of the finishes. You certainly *don't* want the box airtight or the book sealed in plastic. Airtight archival storage requires considerably more work and knowledge than I suspect any of us here have.

Tim Douglass

[Bill Orr]

[J.B. Bobbitt]

I've known people who seal newspapers &tc. in plastic bags with the atmosphere displaced with argon. I bet a careful google search would yield abundant hits.

-JBB

[Dave Mundt]

Hum...I am not an expert, but, have dabbled in the area a bit. If you REALLY want to preserve the book, I would suggest that you read this article...and seriously consider contacting these folks:

The fact of the matter is that the acids in the paper are like a slow fire and WILL consume the entire book in time. The folks that neutralize the acids use processes that stop the problem without altering the book. The good news is that if the box is fairly air-tight, it will go a long way towards keeping the oxygen that helps the burning away from the book. The bad news is that it is my understanding that wood is not one of the preferred methods of storage, because of the complex compounds it outgasses. I would agree with the other poster that suggested shellac as a sealer on the inside. However, if you could wrap the book tightly in aluminum foil, that would go a LONG way towards keeping the bad things away from it. However, the most important thing to do is get those acids neutralized. considering that last year a 1930 edition of this book sold for slightly over $8000 at auction, it would probably be worth the few hundred dollars that the neutralization might cost (I have not checked prices...just guessing...) Dave Mundt

[JLucas ILS]

I am not sure about argon, but I do know that archives use nitrogen to purge atmospherer from rooms, vaults and plastic bags. It is totally inert.

[MrAoD]

Another poster pointed to a Library of Congress page containing preservation information.

As a former archivist, if not a preservationish, unsealed wood is the worst possible choice.

Your book is printed on wartime paper, aka pulp paper, which contains a high percentage of lignin (wood fibers), which is causes the chemical reaction breaking down the wood. Lignin contains acids which are the root cause of decomposition. Exposure to wood accelerates the process.

All paper, except cotton/linen bonds, contains lignins in varying proportions. For wood pulp based paper good preservation practice dictates, at a minimum, storage in a ph buffered paper. Try a craft store such as Michaels or AC Moore.

Repair of lignin damage is, short of heroic measures involving replacement of missing material with polymers, impossible, but it is possible to completely halt further decomposition by de-acidification.

De-acidification for single pages is possible at home using a buffered solution. For books, especially those with market value, try a professional de-acidification/archival preservation firm. If you can find one in your area that does batch-work you're probably looking at $10-20.

HTH,

Marc (a now-thankfully-retired archivist) Archival storage recommend

[Andy Dingley]

Main thing to avoid is felt, especially genuine woolen felt !

tell you a lot.

[Bill Orr]

Thank you all for your most kind information.

Bill