I just want to preface this by saying this is probably a silly question, but I do tend to be overly worried to a fault.
I have a hobby of collecting old books ranging from 1930s to 1980s. Most of them are around the 30s to 70s. I heard not too long ago that old books contain above safe levels of lead because of the covers and paint. I know this is a more prevalent issue in children’s books (which I do not own), however there is still some concern over this. With some of my older books, I handle them with gloves (for preservation reasons), and I do read them carefully. Now, I understand that handling older books to read may be a controversial issue in preserving them, however some don’t have any newer print and they are pretty obscure and rare to come across. I do often read them and they are kept in my bedroom as a part of my study, which I spend most of my time in.
I’m just concerned about the potential danger it could pose, if any.
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by Dykes_On_Trykes
11 Comments
Are you eating any of these books?
If you’re an adult and not ingesting the lead you will never suffer a consequence from handling these books.
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And yes, it’s a pretty silly question.
This has been asked here before actually.
No one in that thread said it was dangerous.
Lead poisoning takes ingestion or long exposure. Entire waterlines used to be made of lead. People drank water that sat in lead their entire lives.
You are fine.
Don’t use the books as plates and you’ll be fine.
(“Who would use a book as a plate?” Having worked in libraries for 9 years, I can tell you that the answer to that is “very many people, including people with multiple doctorates”).
The one concern I would have is with old dyes and paints as lead, cadmium, arsenic and other poisonous substances were used in the past so you might need to be careful with any coloured plates.
Unless you live in a historical library and you like to occasionally lick the pages, you’re good.
Yes, lead levels in inks were *insanely* higher than modern standards in previous centuries, but in the twentieth they steadily decreased up until 1985, when we reached contemporary safe levels. It’s still quite safe in terms of breathing in lead atoms, you’d need thousands of books in your bedroom for years on end, and the risk would still be low. Handling those books with gloves is all the precaution you ought to take if you want to minimize contact for your peace of mind.
They should be fine unless your’re licking them.
Don’t put them in your mouth and you’ll be good lmao. The reason it’s more of a risk with children’s books is that children touch the books and put their hands in their mouths, or try to eat the books.
When I moved into my current apartment, I got a fat stack of papers from the EPA warning about the dangers of lead paint. My dad just looked at me and said “don’t lick the walls and you’ll be fine.” I would imagine the same applies here.
Don’t lead that keep you from reading…
I did run into a 1765 version of Shakespeare once, when it was touched particles would started floating away. Sold it to someone. I’d worry more about the dust.