Hard choice between leather and buckram for a restoration job

Had to pick between a nice calfskin leather or a standard buckram for rebinding this 1920s novel last week. I went with the leather because the original cover was leather, but $45 later I'm worried I overdid it for a book that barely holds together. Anyone else struggle with matching materials vs. practicality on old books?

2 comments

2 Comments

thea85726d ago

$45?! Holy cow, I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that. I mean, I get wanting to match the original material but that's a lot of cash for a book that's barely hanging on. I've been in that same boat though, you pick the nice stuff because it feels right, and then the total hits you like a ton of bricks. For a 1920s book, the leather probably looks gorgeous but I'd be kicking myself every time I saw it if the text block is all crumbly.

paigem4526d ago

@thea857 sounds like you're one bad binding decision away from a full-on leather-induced financial crisis. At least if the text block crumbles you can use the cover as a very expensive coaster. Cheaper to just buy the book a decent funeral and move on.