Vaseline for leather spines

Query ... Any have good advice about using Vaseline to soften the leather binding/spines of old books . or dubbin? any one with any experience ... I found the vaseline tip in a book about book collectors and their libraries . I have used Dubbin and it does have a softening effect.

For leather bindings I've had best experiences with a kind of wax usually used for saddles and such. (Sorry, this time I really don't have an English word for it, but I do know it's at least partially bees wax - the real stuff, not the synthetic).

P.s.: If it's an antique book I would be careful with vaseline - that's a petrochemic product and might harm your book. (Stress might, but would you want to risk it?)

Yes, Vaseline is not going to be good for paper. You must mean saddler's wax, BarkingMatt. What's that in Dutch?

I use Lexol for leather, a non-oily liquid that soaks in without residue.

I think you're talking about Saddle Soap (US).

> 3: "Zadelwas" - it translates as saddle wax.

Thanks .... For this advice , I shall stick with dubbin, and not use VSeline. dubbin is used for horse saddles --and must be the same as Saddle Soap. the brand. I bought years ago was Properts ... Name stuck in my memory.

I use "Fredelka Formula Leather Preservative/Restorer" and I'm very happy with it.

Ah, this is interesting (from the Preservation Advisory Centre at the British Library):

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use leather dressings on books ?

Leather dressings were at one time thought to be useful in extending the life of leather bindings, but experience has shown it only to be cosmetic. Leather dressing should only really be applied by someone with professional expertise on new and non-decayed leathers, in good condition, otherwise it is likely to cause more harm than good.

Research has shown that leather dressings can cause leather to dry out over time, leading to stiffness and darkening or staining of the surface.

If too much is applied too frequently, the surface becomes sticky, attracting dust. It can migrate to the text block, staining and deteriorating the paper. One of the biggest problems is that in the past leather dressings have been used too much.

If a leather book has become stiffened through the use of leather dressing, proper handling techniques and support of the book structure will help to ameliorate the problem.
If you want to use a leather dressing try to avoid those containing a solvent.

For protective handling purposes polyester film dust jackets* can be made to help prevent dry rotted leather from offsetting onto adjacent books and from further deterioration.

Consolidants can be applied by a professional conservator to bind dry rotted leather.

Red rot is not contagious. It it not a fungus but a chemical breakdown of the proteins in the leather so that they eventually crumble.

Fascinating. Thanks.

I'm no expert though, so all I can do is my best ;-)

I was quite surprised myself, as I was looking for the BL's famous dressing for leather bindings.

Has anyone had experience using Mink Oil or is it about the same as those mentioned above?

I know nothing about this save for the memory of polishing the leather covers of a two volune pocket edition of Milton's verse published in 1800 with furniture cream. The cream claimed to be OK for leather furniture, but I was very young ;-) After some time pressed together in a bookshelf the adjacent covers became firmly stuck together so that separating them caused significant damage.

My instinct says to do as little as possible apart from gentle dusting to old books and, if they are valuable, get a trained conservator to oversee anything more drastic.

Mink oil and saddle soap are thick paste wax, probably not a good idea.

I'm not sure whether lanolin and neatsfoot oil, both found in saddle soap, are ideal. I use neatsfoot oil on my walking boots; it's wonderful for softening the leather, but gets everywhere.

>14 shikari:
Perhaps, but I'd be sure that the neatsfoot oil is pure, natural neatsfoot oil, and not "Prime neatsfoot oil" or "neatsfoot oil compound" or some other blend. These blends usually have a petroleum based oil in them.

I know by baseball glove I had as a kid stayed wonderfully supple from regular neatsfoot oil application and use. However, I have no idea how it would have fared if I had simply applied the oil and left it on the shelf for years. I never left it alone long enough, or went long enough without another application to find out.

Os.

It seems to me that, unless you have the ancient sort of manuscript books mostly chained up in ecclesiastical libraries, the leather used to bind later printed books is relatively thin and applied to some sort of board: not at all like the thick leather of saddles, boots and gloves and so, perhaps, needing rather more delicate handling.

>16 abbottthomas:
I would think you'd want to avoid applying enough to saturate the leather and end up being absorbed by the board, which is typically a very thick and stiff cardboard.

Os.

>15 Osbaldistone:
I think you misread me, Osbaldistone. I meant 'I don't think neatsfoot oil would be at all good for your leather bindings'.

>18 shikari:
Yep. I guess I forgot the "I'm not sure" part after reading the "wonderful for softening the leather" part. Ooops.

Os.

Despite what I said, Osbaldistone, looking at Arthur W. Johnson's Book Repair and Conservation (London: Thames & Hudson, 1988) which I'd forgotten I had on the shelf, he specifically recommended a dressing of 60% neatsfoot oil and 40% anhydrous lanoline (p.30). I imagine that should be pure neatsfoot oil, as you say: the neatsfoot I have here for my boots is a blend. Elsewhere he says that dressing should only be applied after a book has been cleaned as the dressing seals in dirt. The British Museum formula including cedar-wood oil he says has proved harmful, cedar-wood degenerating in time producing acids.

But I suppose we must bear in mind the advice above from the British Museum that dressing is probably unnecessary and perhaps harmful.

I'm new around here, but I thought i would jump in...

Please read this article, as it has a lot of really good information in it:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tips/preservingbooks.html

From the article:

'The New York Public Library gave up oiling books in the 1960s and Reeves and other conservators recommend that private book owners do the same.'

...

'What ultimately determines the life span of leather is not whether it's oiled, but how well it was made. Leather made before the beginning of the 19th century usually lasts longer than leather made afterwards, because the earlier leather was manufactured with more care and more time.

"Sometimes you'll find a 10th-century leather binding in tremendous condition," Reeves says. "Then you see a leather binding made 20 years ago that's already deteriorating. In some ways, what you start with is what you end up with."'

--------

There are a lot of historical sources for strange, wondrous, and quaint remedies and formulations for "dressing" leather bindings (even some from illustrious sources like the British Museum or the British Library), but that does not mean that they are safe for your books. Even texts from 10-20 years ago (such as the one shikari has just mentioned by Arthur W. Johnson) can be - and likely are - outdated when it comes to current knowledge of the long term effects of such dressings or oils.

In short, when in doubt, ask a conservator. The NEDCC (Northeast Document Conservation Center) is really big on public outreach and has a free, basic preservation question email service also: http://www.nedcc.org/ask/email.php

I hope this helps.