Been going Through some OLD books and Repro prints that we bought some

nearly or about 50 years ago when we went to Williamsburg.......but first one of the 'books'-- it's an old "Rip Van Winkle" A Legend of the Kaatskill Mountains, 1886, J.B. Lippincott Company.....condition is NOT good, but Biblio.com has one in similar condition for $100.00.......of course it's also still sitting there!!! My main question, at the moment is that there is no spine or binding....has 5 holes that I'm keeping in line with cut toothpicks at the moment. The one online has some old red 'string'? running through theirs it looks like........I have some thin nylon I can do similar with to keep it together, which I'd like to do just so it doesn't get any worse........pictures will be below......DOES that seem like a practical thing to do without harming the book???? My plan is to hopefully either donate or sell it.......thank you for ANY and ALL suggestions/input, as always!!!! FIRST IMAGE WILL BE THE ONE ON THE WEBSITE for comparison only!!! The TITLE on the FRONT appears to be the MAIN difference and the "alligatoring" of the "board" cover........

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Looks like it was never bound in the more conventional sense, but held together by cord in a loose leaf fashion.

 

@moreotherstuff, how so, if you don't mind.....just, like in the front to the back & then to the next hole in the back to the front & so forth on down???

 

Yes. I'd guess (and it is a guess): start in the center, weave in and out to one end, then weave in and out to the other end, then work back to the center and tie it off. That should show cord on both sides and a neat knot, or bow, in the center.

It's supposition on my part.

 

Thank you!!....Will try it.....was trying to figure out how to get cord on BOTH sides!!!!

 

I'm sitting here, tracing it through with my finger, and it looks like the center knot will tie across the "spine", but that will be the only spot where the cord (or ribbon) does.

 

You can avoid the cross spine thing by taking the cord one hole past the middle on the return to put both ends of the cord on the same side to tie off. The bow (I suggest) will be off center. I'd suggest you start in the center front work to the top of the book, then to the bottom, then return one hole past the center. I think that will put both ends of the cord on the same side, and the tie off will be off center towards the top.

Then you have to carefully test it to see if it's functional.

Don't do any of this if it seems to be stressing the paper. Each hole will end up with a double thickness of cord passing through it, and that final hole will have a triple thickness.

 

I found this online (but they don't show the actual spine):

 

Ribbon might be preferable because it can scrunch down to go through the holes but be spread to look more substantial on the surface.

 

Hmmmm, I DO like the ribbon, but I UMMM, went ahead and did the thin nylon I had on hand.....and I certainly could change it without too much difficulty, but it certainly made it so it could be handled at this point!!! It's NOT fancy and not proud of the tie-off on the back, but was able to at least open it comfortably.....it's all there, with a few bug holes at the top of a couple of pages.............Mos, if you could just tell me if I should go around the ENDS if/when I re-do it as it looked like there was wear there like that's how it might have been......THANK YOU!!!!

Washington Irving at the age of 27...



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It looks good on both sides. A bit of concern about looping over the outside end of the book: if those loops slip off, the whole structure will become loose. I poorly phrased earlier comments: when I said take it to the end, I meant the first and last holes.

It should be fine as it is, and it's good that you have a book that is now easier to handle.

Boring day today, so I fiddled with a diagram:

 

And Thank You again!!! The ribbon idea looks much nicer, so I may just change it.... if it doesn't get buried first!!

 

Seems you're more right than me. The binding is cord and does go over the outside ends.


But now the question is: what pattern will give those loops across the spine?

https://www.abebooks.com/RIP-WINKLE-LEGEND-KAATSKILL-MOUNTAINS-IRVING/863005025/bd

It looks like there's a knot on the spine at the center, so it's still a case of starting in the middle and working towards an end.

 

This is based on traditional Japanese binding methods, no doubt related to the interest in all things Japanese around the time. The original thread was probably silk, which does degrade over time, and there were (you can see remnants) cloth bits over the corners, shown as gray in the diagram below. I'm afraid I find your bright white nylon, as we would say, 'very unsympathetic'. But you could find some embroidery floss at the hobby shop of a similar red to the original. Here's the sewing pattern for a four-hole binding, which is traditional; 5-hole might work a bit different, so you'd have to do a little calculating, but this shows the principle. (From Kojiro Ikegami, Japanese Bookbinding, Weatherhill, 1986)

 

@2manycats, thank you as well! I was anxious to stabilize the book, and have no problem with carefully changing it to something more appropriate, like a silk or ribbon!!

 

Very cool book and binding!

 

Agree, very unusual book.