Pattison Rebacking Method
Completed during a six month internship at the MIT Library's Wunsch Conservation Lab. This book was repaired during a two-day workshop taught by Bexx Caswell, Vail Conservation Technician.
This copy of George Tillotson's Thackeray the Novelist had a nearly-detached spine piece, and insufficient spine lining, which caused the text block to open at a very sharp angle. The corners of the case boards had become soft over time, and were becoming delaminated.
The spine piece was removed, and the brown paper lining stripped away from the cloth. The text block was cleaned with 3% methyl cellulose, and re-rounded. The spine was re-lined with a layer of thin Japanese tissue (Uda), plus two layers of thick Japanese tissue (Okawara) surrounding a new hollow tube. The spine-piece was reattached with PVA glue, and any visible white tissue from the spine-linings was painted to match the book cloth, with Golden Fluid Acrylic paints. Using wheat starch paste, the soft corners of the case-boards were re-laminated, and the cloth re-adhered.
FRONT COVER, JOINT - Before and After Treatment
BACK COVER, JOINT - Before and After Treatment
SPINE - Before and After Treatment
TEXT BLOCK - Before and After Treatment
PROCESS - During Treatment
In the first image, you can see the first spine lining, with Uda tissue, applied with wheat starch paste, to ensure the reversability of these repairs.
In the second image, you can see the final layer of Okawara tissue, applied on top of a new hollow tube.
