If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Reddish stains along the upper border of books
Hi,
a few books in my personal library have some strange reddish stains along the upper border. I've just posted on Flickr some photos about this issue: see http://www.flickr.com/photos/7780863@N06/ The books are 5-6 years old. What could be the cause? Mould, moisture, bad quality paper? Must I isolate the stained books? Are they contagious for other books? Thanks Pereira |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Reddish stains along the upper border of books
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=foxing
"Pereira de Lisboa" wrote in message oups.com... Hi, a few books in my personal library have some strange reddish stains along the upper border. I've just posted on Flickr some photos about this issue: see http://www.flickr.com/photos/7780863@N06/ The books are 5-6 years old. What could be the cause? Mould, moisture, bad quality paper? Must I isolate the stained books? Are they contagious for other books? Thanks Pereira |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Reddish stains along the upper border of books
On Apr 11, 10:01 am, "Pereira de Lisboa"
wrote: Hi, a few books in my personal library have some strange reddish stains along the upper border. I've just posted on Flickr some photos about this issue: seehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/7780863@N06/The books are 5-6 years old. What could be the cause? Mould, moisture, bad quality paper? Must I isolate the stained books? Are they contagious for other books? Thanks Pereira Sounds like foxing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxing |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Reddish stains along the upper border of books
OK, that's foxing.
Unfortunately, as you can read on Wikipedia, the causes of foxing are not well understood (fungi, oxidation, umidity). In fact I don't know where to place the books affected by foxing. Can I safely place these books along with other books? Or must I isolate them to avoid the issue spreading? Thanks |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Reddish stains along the upper border of books
Pereira de Lisboa wrote:
Can I safely place these books along with other books? Or must I isolate them to avoid the issue spreading? There are several processes that result in something that people generally call foxing. Some of it is probably chemical (and will not normally spread), but quite often it is fungal (and will spread given the right conditions). Fungal spores are notoriously difficult to kill. The smell of the spores can be neutralised by kitty litter, and a spell in the freezer (well wrapped in Ziploc bags) may help to render the spores inactive (as will a spell in the sunlight), but actually killing them is very difficult. They can remain dormant for years and years, just waiting for the right conditions. I have a large number of books from the 16th and 17th centuries. I avoid anything that's really foxed to hell, but sometimes they are a bit gunky when I first get them. Weather permitting, I put anything iffy in the sunshine for a while (my balcony's a good place for letting the breeze flip over the pages and give the whole book a good airing). If not, I'll go for the freezer option. Then I'll put them in kitty litter for quite a long time (weeks or months, though some people say that after a few days it doesn't make any difference). After all that I store them in humidity-controlled conditions, where the spores will not be able to spread. I haven't had any problems with fungus spreading once I've been through all that, but even then I'll try to keep affected books away from unaffected ones. If you have any leather bindings, check for something called red rot; it spreads and can wreak havoc. John |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Reddish stains along the upper border of books
On Apr 12, 9:31 am, "John R. Yamamoto-Wilson"
wrote: Pereira de Lisboa wrote: Can I safely place these books along with other books? Or must I isolate them to avoid the issue spreading? There are several processes that result in something that people generally call foxing. Some of it is probably chemical (and will not normally spread), but quite often it is fungal (and will spread given the right conditions). Since he said the books weren't that old, it would seem that the cause is more likely fungal than chemical. Just my $.02 |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Reddish stains along the upper border of books
RF wrote:
Since he said the books weren't that old, it would seem that the cause is more likely fungal than chemical. Just my $.02 True 'nuff. These days paper is pretty much universally acid-free, and the reactions between ink and paper that used to happen (particularly on pages facing illustrations) don't generally occur. John http://rarebooksinjapan.org |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Reddish stains along the upper border of books
a few books in my personal library have some strange reddish stains
along the upper border. I've just posted on Flickr some photos about this issue: see http://www.flickr.com/photos/7780863@N06/ The books are 5-6 years old. What could be the cause? Mould, moisture, bad quality paper? Must I isolate the stained books? Are they contagious for other books? I think you should lock all the doors of your castle, hang it with red drapes and hold a masked ball. ============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ============== Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760 http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975 stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557 |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Reddish stains along the upper border of books
On Apr 12, 11:24 pm, "John R. Yamamoto-Wilson"
wrote: RF wrote: Since he said the books weren't that old, it would seem that the cause is more likely fungal than chemical. Just my $.02 True 'nuff. These days paper is pretty much universally acid-free, and the reactions between ink and paper that used to happen (particularly on pages facing illustrations) don't generally occur. If they were my books I separate them from my non-foxed books. |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Reddish stains along the upper border of books
On Apr 13, 4:59 am, Jack Campin - bogus address
wrote: a few books in my personal library have some strange reddish stains along the upper border. I've just posted on Flickr some photos about this issue: seehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/7780863@N06/The books are 5-6 years old. What could be the cause? Mould, moisture, bad quality paper? Must I isolate the stained books? Are they contagious for other books? I think you should lock all the doors of your castle, hang it with red drapes and hold a masked ball. Then get a hold of Roger Corman and Vincent Price! |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
How to remove blood stains from pencils??? | Eliot Coweye | Pens & Pencils | 3 | November 29th 05 12:21 AM |
Parker 51 - Ink Stains on Fingers | mcgheep7 | Pens & Pencils | 4 | November 9th 05 06:33 PM |
Remove smoke stains with rubbing alcohol? | [email protected] | Books | 2 | June 7th 05 06:18 AM |
old books, rare books, valuable books and bargain price books | Studio Bibliografico Iavarone | Books | 0 | November 25th 03 01:11 PM |
Removing Coffee Stains | Htn963 | Books | 3 | July 30th 03 06:32 AM |