gr wrote in message ...
As a newcomer to this group, I read with some interest a recent
discussion about the use of bleach (chlorine assumed) to clean the edges
of a book.
I noted a number of outraged responses, and this is reasonable for rare
books, but the individual was working with what he considered an
expendable book.

While I appreciate your informative response,
I wish to correct the mistaken notion that I
considered the seventy year old Scribner classic
in question "an expendable book." Rather, my
point was that it was a defaced book when I
obtained it, and my goal was simply to improve
the looks of the book. My experiment was
successful in doing that. The page edges
look great now.

Further, what I found significant was the
fact that those few who were attacking me and
making the dire predictions for the book ignored
the fact that once bleach is successfully removed,
the oxidation process is halted. As I stated
earlier, were that not the case, one could never
remove a coffee or tea stain from a white cotten
T-shirt though the direct application of bleach,
followed by a thorough rinsing with water as soon
as the spot disappears. Yet, people use bleach
for such mundane stain removal chores all the time.
Further, were it not possible to halt the effects
of bleach by washing, getting any bleach on one's
hands would mean a trip to the hospital and
possible amputation!

Of course, regarding bleach applied to many
substances, the effects of bleach can be halted
by rinsing. That includes paper, at least the
sort of paper surface you get when page edges
are pressed tightly together.

I cleaned the page edges very carefully using
q-tips and bleach, and then I rinsed the page
edges very lightly with a damp piece of terry
cloth. After that, I opened the book and set
it by a window to let both any remaining bleach
evaporate along with the moisture.

Right now, the page edges are as white as
one might expect of a brand new book. Further,
I see no reason at all to expect that the
book will deteriorate more rapidly in the
future as the result of my experiment, because
there just isn't enough bleach residue in the
page edges to cause that.

So you see, I did not consider the book
expendable, except in the sense that often
when you experiment, you have to allow for
a downside, for things going awry. I guess
you could say that I gambled that if I were
extremely careful, I could improve the looks
of a defaced book. I won the gamble.
Of course, I was acting as book owner here,
rather than a book investor or book seller.
I simply do not wish to have books around
my home that defaced with a lot of library
discard junk.

Anyway, thanks again for sharing your
thoughts.



Mr. Palmer
Room 314 in the upstairs office

I tend to want to preserve artifacts for future
generations, so cautions are advised for all in the use of various
chemicals. The responses overall ranged from useful, to distressed, to
explanatory. Mostly this newsgroup seems quite civil and informative and
I am glad it is available.
BTW; a comment of my own about bleach/chemicals. There is a parallel in
the photographic world for fiber based photo papers, and the long term
effects that fixer has on the photo image, because it clings tenaciously
to the paper fibers (unless washed for 15-60 minutes in continuously
running water) and then can attack the photo emulsion, discoloring both
the paper and the image.
gr