Psalm 91

I mentioned in an earlier post that I enjoy repairing study Bibles whose value lies in their owner's personal history of interaction with Scripture. When the owner of this Bible learned he had a serious illness, he turned to Psalm 91 for comfort. Over time, the Bible broke open at this place.

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.' Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence...." The entire psalm offers hope that the Lord hears the cry for help and will answer: "With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation."

The top photos show how the repairs turned out. Now my work is part of this owner's history with his Bible. He continues to read this psalm and recall the faithfulness of God.

Note: The Austin Burnham photos may have been confusing. The top photo is the repaired book; the middle photo shows the mold-ravaged pages before repair. I forgot to photograph them afterward.

Reproduction endpapers

The original endpapers on this children's book (The Boys and Girls of Polly's Ring) had become too brittle to work with. I located a distributor of reproduction late-19th and early-20th-century endpapers and ordered them from England. They weren't an exact match but kept the look close enough, especially after I tea-dyed them to lead naturally to the aged paper of the text.

Samuel Wesley 1742 book continued

I followed the placement of the original cords to sew the pages after guarding the backs of the signatures with Japanese tissue tinted to match the sturdy old rag paper.

Joy of Cooking and Wizard of Oz Pop-Up Book

Pop-up books have always been fun and collectible. These days, "paper engineers" such as Robert Sabuda create amazing 3-D scenes that fascinate all ages. This photo shows his Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz, one of the books I repaired and gave as Christmas gifts.

I mentioned my neighbor's Joy of Cooking in a September 2009 post about Middletown's Heritage Day celebration. This was a perfect demonstration book. I removed the shiny tape from the spine, cleaned off the interior text-block, replaced the failed mull and lining, and attached new endpapers as curious folks stopped by the table throughout the day. (The repair went well but slowly due to interruptions, including a torrential downpour that shut down all the booths early.) Later at home, I reunited the two cover pieces with a bookcloth patch, cased in the book, and glued the original spine over the new material.

In an email, Barbara wrote that the repaired book resurrected fond memories: "It's all about childhood, mom in the kitchen, and the smells of something warm and yummy for dinner....... [The book] felt as I remembered it as a child--splattered but solid. I had no idea a repaired old cookbook could bring back such wonderful feelings."

Samuel Wesley's POEMS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS

This little gem recently appeared on our carts of books to be shelved at Wonder Book (http://www.wonderbk.com/), priced at $2.95. It's a second edition of Samuel Wesley's poems, published in 1742. Samuel, a minister and poet, was the father of John Wesley, who founded the Methodist denomination, and Charles Wesley, who wrote well-known hymns such as "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and "O For a Thousand Tongues." I love to see how literary talents are passed through generations. Perhaps Samuel Wesley's poems are not read by many people today, but his son's hymns continue to move hearts in worship.

The original boards were preserved by an anonymous 20th-century binder, who wrapped them in black fabric and painted the spine silver. I intend to protect and re-attach the boards and create a new spine.

Samuel's poetry is fun to read, actually. Here he gives advice to a friend whose demanding siblings are protesting their brother's upcoming marriage:

You dare not marry, Friend, you own,

For fear your Family should frown;

Why, Wedlock would your Freedom gain,

Which others uses to enchain:

Y' had better follow my Advice,

And marry once, than marry twice;

Betwixt your Sister, and your Brother,

Husband to one, and Wife to t'other.

As my young Wonder Book coworkers might say: "Ooooh, that's harsh!"

Austin Burnham Subscription Book

Here are close-ups of the Austin Burnham Civil War History subscription book I repaired for Harry's Christmas gift (see previous post about Christmas books).

The Princess Adventure Bible

A friend asked me to bind a Bible for her granddaughter, using this hot-pink spangled costume fabric. What to use for the spine? I visited my local Salvation Army store and found a hot-pink purse for $1.25. It's chrome-tanned leather, not vegetable tanned, but for my purposes it worked out just fine. This "Princess Adventure Bible" is one of my favorite projects.