minor brag, and advice on cutting pages
 

I recently won an auction for a treat involving two of my favorite
artists, Charles Baudelaire and Auguste Rodin. the latter was
commissioned to do some pen and ink drawings on some of the pages of
former's Fleurs du Mal,, and also did some watercolors about some
poems. Interesting in that a lot of the poems are about paintings
themselves. the Limited Editions Club did a reprint for the members
in 1940, with the watercolor reproductions tipped in. and that is the
book I got. at quite a bit less than the cheapest copy listed on
ABE. thus the minor brag.

anyway, it was bound in the old style, with deckled edges, and some
of the pages haven't been cut. so I am wondering what the proper way
to go about cutting the pages is. Is there a tool that any of you
have used that has worked well? This is a treasure for me, and I
would hate to mess it up with less than the best tool.

Also, some of the watercolor reproductions have glassine inserts. but
not all. the ones that are still there seem to have yellowed., at
least compared to the glassine that wraps the "wraps". that does not
seem to have affected the pages on either side of the inserts, but I
wonder if it would be wise to remove them? Again, the book was first
published in 1940, printed and bound in France.

any advice would be much appreciated.

Gary Pfeifer

minor brag, and advice on cutting pages
 

"garyjbp" wrote in message
ups.com...

. . . it was bound in the old style, with deckled edges, and some
of the pages haven't been cut. so I am wondering what the proper way
to go about cutting the pages is. Is there a tool that any of you
have used that has worked well? This is a treasure for me, and I
would hate to mess it up with less than the best tool.

One paper knife works about as well as another.
The user's care is what counts most.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

minor brag, and advice on cutting pages
 

Don Phillipson wrote:
"garyjbp" wrote in message
ups.com...


. . . it was bound in the old style, with deckled edges, and some
of the pages haven't been cut. so I am wondering what the proper way
to go about cutting the pages is. Is there a tool that any of you
have used that has worked well? This is a treasure for me, and I
would hate to mess it up with less than the best tool.


One paper knife works about as well as another.
The user's care is what counts most.


Sharpness counts.


Francis A. Miniter

minor brag, and advice on cutting pages
 

Francis A. Miniter wrote:

Sharpness counts.

Something *too* sharp is likely to slip and cut in the wrong place. Too
blunt and it may tear the paper roughly. I've found that a credit card
is about right.

John

minor brag, and advice on cutting pages
 

On Sep 6, 4:27 pm, "John R. Yamamoto-Wilson"
wrote:
Francis A. Miniter wrote:
Sharpness counts.

Something *too* sharp is likely to slip and cut in the wrong place. Too
blunt and it may tear the paper roughly. I've found that a credit card
is about right.

John

thanks to all of you, Don and Francis and John. after Don's and
Francis's replies, I tried two different methods: my stanley utility
knife, and a razor blade. the utility knife was not extremely new,
and cut somewhat roughly. the razor blade cut less roughly, but was
not as clean as I had hoped. and as John said, yes, was more
difficult to guide properly. but I know how to be patient with these
things.

It did lead me to realize that it wasn't so much that the pages had
been left uncut, but that the process at the bindery was imperfect.
it was only the top edges in the rear section of the text block that
had been uncut, which I discovered by carefully examining those in the
front. they were perfect. which seems to indicate that the quires
were a little misaligned when they were bound.

anyway, since the other two edges are deckled, it wont make much
difference if some of the top edges look deckled. thanks again for
your replies.

Gary Pfeifer

minor brag, and advice on cutting pages
 

garyjbp wrote:

it was only the top edges in the rear section of the text block that
had been uncut

Strictly speaking, the term is unopened, since uncut refers to
rough-edged pages. The downside is that most people won't know what you
mean if you say unopened!

John

minor brag, and advice on cutting pages
 

On Sep 6, 9:49 pm, "John R. Yamamoto-Wilson"
wrote:
garyjbp wrote:
it was only the top edges in the rear section of the text block that
had been uncut

Strictly speaking, the term is unopened, since uncut refers to
rough-edged pages. The downside is that most people won't know what you
mean if you say unopened!

John

thanks for that too, John. I guess I had never even heard of the term
"unopened". but now that you have mentioned it, and I have consulted
my copy of the ABC for Book Collectors, I stand not only corrected,
but also chastised, since Carter adds this : "It must not be confused,
as it often is by philistines, with uncut."

touché.

gary

minor brag, and advice on cutting pages
 

"garyjbp" wrote in message
ups.com...

, I tried two different methods: my stanley utility
knife, and a razor blade.

So now you know why paper knives have blades
much longer than an inch or so . . .

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

minor brag, and advice on cutting pages
 

On Sep 6, 11:49 pm, "John R. Yamamoto-Wilson"
wrote:
garyjbp wrote:
it was only the top edges in the rear section of the text block that
had been uncut

Strictly speaking, the term is unopened, since uncut refers to
rough-edged pages. The downside is that most people won't know what you
mean if you say unopened!

John

Gary,

It is best to use a dull object such as a credit card to separate
unopened pages. Slowly move the credit card along the crease, and
you'll have less of a chance of making jagged edges than if you used a
utility knife or a razor blade.

best,
Jerry Morris
http:/displacedbookcollector.blogspot.com