Chapter 81 The Support and Trash of Books

Heli Aldis This is the last chapter of "The Printed Book" (The Printed Book) by Heli Aldis, which is the tenth chapter of the whole book.This small book is one of the science and literature pamphlets published by Cambridge University. The first edition was published in 1916. Although it is small in length, it has been loved by readers for more than 30 years because of the author's succinct description. Because he wrote for insiders, but also for laymen. The year before last, John Card and Krukley slightly revised the original book, deleted outdated parts, and added some new materials, which injected new life into the original work of Aldis.The original version on which my translation is based is the updated version published in 1947.

There is no greater crisis of destruction to which books can be drawn than fire, whether violent, as happened to the Strasbourg Library in 1870, or to the Leuven University Library in 1914, or It is accidental accidental fire that destructive power does not reduce.There are many examples of the latter, ranging from the massive destruction of books in the Great Fire of London in 1666, to the irreparable destruction of the Cotton Codex in 1731, to the Tulin Library in 1904. partial loss, and the burning of the New York State Library at Albalays in 1911.But books are a kind of material that Vulcan is not easy to clean up.The church and the courts understood this when they destroyed the writings of the heathens by public bonfires, and then, as John Hull Borton said, "they found that the burning of the heathens themselves was worse than It is easier and cheaper to burn their books."However, what fire has not done can often be done by its twin enemy, water, for this is not an unexperienced fact. itself bigger.

Water, when it comes in its thinner, cunningly damp form, can become a much more effective agent for book damage.In an ingenious manner, damp sooner or later rots a book to such an extent that it crumbles to dust; and mildew, though less damaging, can also ruin the bindings, and make the pages irreparably blotchy; And a slight dampness is enough to help silverfish destroy it. These pests, whose traces are easier to be found than themselves, are not commonly seen, except Not in books that suffer from damp air and infrequent turning.They are the larvae of a small beetle of the genus Anohium, shaped like white maggots, about one fifteen-sixth of an inch long, with brownish-black heads.In their silent travels, some bore holes in all directions through a book, others confine their movements to the boards of the book covers, and bite them to pieces.They show a discriminating power over paper, for their attention is largely fixed on the ancient books of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; they seldom risk their digestion by attacking what we now call paper.Once their existence is discovered, you can open the book and flip the pages at will to disturb them hiding in the cave, so as to kill their activities.The book was then smeared with naphtha or formalin, sealed in a small box for a few days, and then it was taken out to dry and put back on the shelf.

When the cover binding of a book is exposed to moisture and microspots occur, they should be carefully wiped with a soft brush-not to forget to open the book, wipe the outside, inside and edge of the writing-and put it away. In a ventilated place, after being thoroughly blown by the wind, then put it back to the original place.Shelves should also be cleaned with carbolic acid or other disinfectants.Air circulation is the best way to prevent moisture. In order to facilitate the air to have sufficient space to flow, it is best to leave half an inch of space inside each plank of the bookshelf and at the back of the bookshelf.As for the bookshelf itself, the edges of the books are most likely to be damaged by the sharp angles, and the edges and corners of the boards-these sharp and flat edges are the skill of every carpenter's pride-should be planed mercilessly in front. round.As for the use of side-by-side glass doors for bookshelves, it depends on personal taste, but the most important thing is to look at the environment.

There are really few places where glass doors can be used in the country, if they are pulled side to side they will jam from time to time, if they are opened outwards they will be a long term annoyance if not a practical one Danger.In cities, dusty and sooty, it may be said that ventilation and convenience are exposed to constant dust and the inevitable damage of daily mopping. too big.What's more, the books should not be crowded too tightly on the shelf, so as not to be difficult to take out and damage its binding; but it should not be too loose, so that they are spread out, allowing dust to fall between the pages.

There are other enemies to the protection of books. The first is gas. The most obvious one is the floor near the ceiling of the bookshelf. Over time, it can turn the leather binding into dust; the second is the hot water pipe. The natural moisturizing ingredients in the air are taken away; there is also strong sunlight, which not only makes the writing dry, but also ravages its color.Finally, there is the spring cleaning, which does a lot of damage. They deliberately slap the books so hard that the spines of the books are broken and the books are separated, so that the sensible dust can automatically fly out to the open windows (they really believe so); And they also assured the book lovers afterwards that these books had been returned to their original places "without any damage".

The leather covers of a frequently used leather-bound book retain their beauty better than those left unoccupied on a shelf.This is due to air circulation, frequent fondling, and the thin layer of oil that is given when fondling.If the leather surface is allowed to dry, it will lose its toughness, become fragile, and easily crack, especially at the joints, and the leather surface will peel off.To keep the skins in good condition, they should be oiled occasionally. The best mixture for this purpose is two parts castor oil and one part naphtha or naphtha ointment.Saddle soap, lanolin, petroleum jelly, and general furniture-rubbing ointments can be used for this purpose.The first three are quite satisfactory to use, but the pungent smell of the latter makes people think that there must be some improper raw materials in them, so it is best to avoid them.

To take a book from the shelf, it is most inadvisable to lift it with the index finger on the top of the book, because by repeated actions like this, the top strap will break and the upper part of the volume will be torn, and the thing will not be long. It just let go, fell down, and finally disappeared.In the olden days, books did not fare well when they were placed with their mouths out; book buttons and ribbons, which were often the handiest tags when it came to pulling out a book, resulted in many books falling apart. This appendage, which is in fact cumbersome, is lost.A better method is to tightly hold the top of the book nearly an inch away with the index finger, and then push it forward so that the book can be taken out with the thumb and the rest of the fingers.Or, between the left and right books of the book, push your thumb and fingers firmly in so that a book can be removed without touching the top of the book.

Due to the widespread use of machinery, although the book cutter has long been a common tool for binding, some publishers still like to keep the habit of not cutting the edge of the book.For those readers who are destined to correct this omission (often not less, but at an extra cost for such books), the most recommended tool is an ivory knife; Even hair pins are not a suitable replacement tool.When cutting a book by hand, the knife should be pushed downward rather than pushed forward, otherwise the edge of the book will be cut very rough; and, before cutting, brush the knife on the hair two or three times to make it If it is slightly oily, it must be smoother to use.When cutting the top pages of a book, special care should be taken to cut all the way to the spine; it is all too common to leave a quarter inch uncut and then torn when the book is spread out.

Another point, which deserves greater attention than usual, concerns the method of opening a new book.If a book is to be opened comfortably and the pages can be turned freely, the spine part of the book, which is round when the book is closed, should maintain a concave shape when it is opened.However, the spine of the new book is hardened with glue. If any part of the book is peeled off forcefully, and the pages are squeezed tightly by the thumb and fingers, this part of the spine may split and form an ugly angle. Also, Since the spine no longer regains its original soft and natural semicircle afterwards, the book will always be prone to opening in this part.To avoid this, a new book should be carefully turned back and forth before it is read.The best way is to turn from the front and back ends to the center in turn, each time turning from the middle of the pages of each paragraph when the book is printed.This location is easily obtained by half-numbering each number or logo (this is in the lower corner of the first page of each section when the book is printed), or more simply by looking at the binding at the corner of the book.For example, if it is an ordinary octavo book, this position must be on the eighth page, the twenty-fourth page, the fortieth page and so on.

Book wrappings, which are easily stained and tattered, should be removed immediately.This is for the protection of books before they reach the reader, and for display in the bookstore windows; it is only the preoccupation of the greedy librarian and the bibliophile who collects the first modern editions. Just good deeds. After a book has been carefully cut, properly opened, and its temporary coat removed, there are still some things that should be paid attention to.When reading, one should not stand too close to a fire, or the cover will bow; nor should one place it in the sun for the same reason.In addition, there is the problem of marking the pages of a book in various ways when reading a book.Someone left it open and overturned on the table--the most common omission--or folded a corner of the page, or, as one schoolboy did, scratched the corner with his finger after each page was turned. a trace.Some even tore it out and threw it out the window after reading a page.In fact, a scrap of paper is the simplest and cheapest substitute for all this barbarism.