Відео

Precisely the opposite, when doing museum grade restoration the original from the repaired should be immediatly visible... the other two rules are rerversability and inocuity... Only ignorant book collectors try to make the repairs invisible

@@davidrgee That's very interesting. How do you know that? Have worked as a restorer/preserver of books?

At a guess the microcrystalline wax might be Renaissance Wax (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Wax) which is used by many conservators, although I am not sure that it would feed dry leather; it seemed to be used more as a surface coatings for some of the paper repairs.

Hi David. Many thanks for this suggestion. For years I used Hewits leather restorer, a liquid, which did the job well but as a liquid I had to be careful with thin leather especially some Scivers. I know of but have never used British Museum Dressing with beeswax, I have a vague idea that it had a problem with stickiness but that is probably no longer the case, it’s expensive at £67.80 a half litre. I discovered SC6000 about 10 years ago, reasonably priced, like a soft polish easy to apply after testing on the leather, although the instructions discourage use on old leather I have had no problems at all on all kinds of old leather bindings, not being liquid it can be used in many restoration situations. If I were a ‘power that be’ I would unhesitatingly use it to save old bindings.

Master Bookbinder Peter Goodwin 64 years in The Trade used boot polish on covers and brass polish on the metal bindings when they were off the book but all leather will fail eventually and the answer in the old days was to rebind which is what Goodwin did. Today regretfully journeymen bookbinders are obsolete and our books are falling to pieces thanks to acid paper and animal glue which is the worst destroyer of books going.

I enjoy this thread. I have a collection of vintage leather motorcycle jackets, and use Mink Oil --- sparing amounts, gently applied. Leather is hide.