Saved a water damaged 1890s ledger with unflavored gelatin from the grocery store

Nora Barnes · 2026-09-25T14:05:05.944036+00:00

A customer brought in her great grandfather's ledger from a flood in Davenport, Iowa, and the pages were fused into a solid block. I read about gelatin sizing on an old conservation forum and mixed one packet of Knox with a cup of warm water, then brushed it on the block edges with a fan brush. After two days under weights the pages peeled apart one by one with a dull knife, and I only tore three out of about 200. Anyone else use food grade gelatin for this, or do you go with the premixed stuff from the supplier?

🐿️Pinecone Attack

Loading…

Saved a water damaged 1890s ledger with unflavored gelatin from the grocery store | Bookbinders - Pinecone Attack