In other news, From the Bench I have this amazing example of a late 1800’s family Bible.

There was quite a bit lost to time on this piece. Mainly the entire original spine and whole pieces of  hardware, along with very brittle, torn, and loose pages. Unfortunately there is not much that can be done about the hardware; but with the help of some digital imaging colleagues of mine I was able to remedy the spine. It was a really fun challenge! 

I hope you enjoy this latest view From the Bench! Check out the rest of the series!

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This Bible is a prime example of what makes book preservationists groan and cringe. Tape. So much tape. Duct tape, packing tape, scotch tape, tape is really bad. Especially on books like Bibles that have such thin and delicate pages. So this one needed a lot of saving.

The Bible belonged to the client’s distant relative and he felt that it needed to be preserved for the future. Saving the damaged inscription pages was a bit tricky. They preferred a full re-casing to saving the original cover, so that made it a more straightforward repair, but the text block still needed a lot of love.

Please my friends, don’t put tape on your old books. It never ends well. Or rather it’s a nightmare to clean and fix later!

Without further ado, here is the saving of a severely damaged and taped Bible. 

Until next time, well wishes From the Bench! Check out the rest of the series!

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Every once in awhile I get the opportunity to service a book that is very meaningful. In this instance, it was fulfilling the last wish of a dying man. I know that sounds terribly dramatic, but I rather unbelievably, found myself in that situation! 

The client approached me with this project stating that Laura Haviland was a distant relative, a major figure in the abolitionist movement that the family was very proud to acknowledge, and that it was her personal account of her life and times  published in 1887. Apparently it was an item on his bucket list that turned into his dying request. The tricky bit was that her father was already in hospice with not much time left. Long story short, I did not have a lot of time to turn around a very brittle, very old, and very precious family heirloom. But I did, barely, hand delivering it to the client just hours before Dad passed. 

I think the message the client sent me that evening completes the tale well. “My Dad woke up and his lit up when he saw the book. Quality work and a real family heirloom! Thanks for making his day!

Until next time, I wish you well From the Bench! Check out the rest of the series!

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I am showcasing this bible mainly because it was the first of it’s kind for me. This style of cover is so fun, and such a departure from the more serious gothic bindings!

This one wasn’t too bad, a pretty straight forward hinge repair with a little touch up. 

I hope you enjoy this cover as much as I did, until next time , greetings From the Bench! Check out the rest of the series!

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Sometimes I get to rescue a book that is cherished just for being what it is. This cookbook belonged to the the client’s mother and was used all throughout his childhood. I think it’s fun because it captures that piece of history when more companies functioned as small communities. She was a phone company employee; and this was their, I’m assuming one off, cookbook of recipes provided by the employees. 

This one was fun because it allowed me to recycle a vintage library book with beige vinyl, and dust off my design skills to digitally recreate the damaged cover and spine. This family treasure is now more protected in a vinyl hardcover casing with water resistant canvas print graphics. I also got to play around with some of my foil stamp colors and type for the personalization on the back. I also trimmed down the original paper cover to slide into a pocket inside the new cover.

Enjoy this latest installment of From the Bench! Check out the rest of the series!

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Welcome to the first From the Bench!

My first offering is a look at the first of several late 1800’s family bibles. I find that many of these books are in much the same condition when they come in, but it is fascinating how many different varieties of covers are to be found! The variety makes preserving them and sharing the results great fun!

This commission also provided me the opportunity to create archival digital images of the Bible’s genealogy pages for the client to share.

Enjoy this series of before pictures provided by the client and after from the bench! Check out the rest of the series!

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