Hi! I’m not entirely sure if this is the place to be asking this question, but I’m also not sure where else to ask. On mobile, so I apologize for any formatting issues.
I recently purchased a first edition of a book, published in 1913. It’s a great book and I love collecting old/used stuff so it’s extra special to me that it’s not new off the shelf.
Anyway, as happens with old stuff, it’s not in the greatest condition. There are definitely better kept copies of it I could’ve found online, but I bought it in an antique shop for a good price. Today the pages of the book broke away from the cover. I’m not superrr great with book anatomy and stuff, so I’ll try to describe it the best i can. All of the pages are still bound together, but they’ve partially detached from the spine part of the cover. There is still what looks like to me, fabric and/or thread that is holding on some of the back of it still, but the front is entirely off.
Is there a way to fix this without messing up the book more or damaging its integrity? It’s old and weary, so I’m afraid of trying to bind it again with some modern online fix and ruining it. Should I just leave it as is and be extra careful reading it?
Help is appreciated, thank you!!
by Pretend-Ebb2024