Ripped the spine on a 1920s poetry book yesterday

I was in my shop in Portland rebacking this old collection of Edna St. Vincent Millay poems, and I got a little too aggressive with the hinge repair. Tore the original spine clean off the text block, about 3 inches down the fold. Had to stop, put down my tools, and piece it back together with Japanese tissue and wheat paste, which actually ended up looking cleaner than my first plan. Anyone else ever have a moment where messing something up taught you a better technique?

3 comments

3 Comments

ninah102d ago

Wait, you actually ripped the spine off a 1920s book?

mark6112d ago

Guilty as charged, @ninah10. My hands are still shaking a little from the adrenaline, but at least the spine came off clean. Figured a book that survived the Roaring Twenties deserves to die for my art.

kelly.keith2d ago

Wait, you actually did it too? I did the same thing last month with an old 1920s cookbook, felt like a total monster but man the pages were perfect for what I was making lol. The adrenaline rush is real though, you're not alone.