Tried to repair a vintage spine and the glue just would not hold

I was working on an 1890s poetry book in my kitchen last Tuesday, using my usual PVA mix, but the spine cracked again after just 3 hours of drying. Turns out the leather was too dried out and needed a different adhesive altogether. Anyone have a go-to for really fragile old leather spines that won't just peel off again?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby83610d ago

Heard one bookbinder say you gotta use a gelatine based glue or something for leather that old. Something about pH levels and the hide being too brittle for modern acrylics. Might be worth looking into.

nathan_thompson629d ago

Gotta use a gelatine based glue or something" sounds like ancient wizard magic at this point. I can already picture the glue pot, the weird smell, and my grandma yelling at me for ruining her kitchen. Honestly, if the pH levels are that picky, I'm probably better off just leaving the old leather as a display piece and hoping it doesn't spontaneously turn to dust. At least with a new leather cover I can just use regular PVA and not worry about historical accuracy.