Help - need to repair an irreplaceable siddur

SRB

Thu, Dec 22 2016, 10:23 pm

My almost 3 year old DS ripped several (aprox 15) pages out of my 17 year old step-daughter's siddur. Some pages are ripped in half or several pieces. The siddur is irreplaceable - her mother who is nifter gave it to her and wrote a special note in it to my step-DD in it before she passed of cancer 6 years ago. She also had it personalized with her name on the cover. Step-DD uses this siddur every day to davin - it's precious to her and she's heartbroken (so am I). We both cried Crying

. I feel awful!! We called the local (in Los Angeles) Jewish bookstore to see if it can be repaired - they told us they can't but to try a book binding company... We called a local book binding store who said they will look at it and see if they can fix it but it could cost a few hundred dollars. shock

(we don't really have disposable income like this). But my step-DD is a good girl and I can only imagine how special this siddur is to her. I'm posting here to see if anyone has any advise, tips or experience with fixing a book?

mummiedearest

Thu, Dec 22 2016, 10:43 pm

SRB wrote:

I have rebound books by hand, but I will say this: in order to repair the ripped pages AND keep the original cover with the personalization and note, you really should take it to a bookbinding company. they should be able to repair the paper. when I rebound books, I made completely new covers and wasn't able to repair paper. if you feel you can't pay the fee, set all the pieces aside in a safe spot and google hand book binding. I suggest you do this with your stepdaughter. you will have to buy some supplies, so it will cost you something anyway. the process takes a few weeks, so don't expect a quick fix. it can be done at home with patience and the right equipment. do NOT go to a local yeshiva guy, he will drill holes in the cover and won't be able to repair the paper.

one tip to save money: don't buy a book press, just pile a bunch of heavy books on the top of the book for a week at a time.

greenfire

Thu, Dec 22 2016, 10:53 pm

how badly are the pages torn ? can they be ever so carefully taped back together & then back into the siddur ? I am meticulous in this area but not sure how I could do this from the distance ... are you sure it's in the binding ?

my son used to do bookbinding in telshe yeshiva with old ancient sefarim ... but I would have to ask him what that entails - I believe old books were made string the binding ... I wonder if it's a method still used today

mummiedearest

Thu, Dec 22 2016, 10:55 pm

greenfire wrote:

nice siddurim are still bound with string. the difficulty would be repairing the paper and preserving the cover and the endpaper with the note.

seeker

Thu, Dec 22 2016, 11:03 pm

I wouldn't trust this to a teenage boy. There are many who think they are in the bookbinding business but their skill varies and you never know what quality you're going to get. And they all seem to use the same basic methods, involving strings and black tape, which I assume is not what you're looking for.

Maybe you can find a more serious hobbyist. Do you know anyone who knows anyone who collects and possibly restores old or rare books? Do you have a local area forum where you can try to connect with one?

Amalia

Fri, Dec 23 2016, 12:27 pm

Dear OP,

I saw your post and asked my husband about it, because he is in book publishing business. He said that he thinks you need a hand binder who is also a paper conservationalist. I told him your location, and he found this place in LA that he says looks about right. Maybe you can check them out? He said he thinks it should not cost more than a hundred dollars. (He also said that he never worked with that particular place.) Here is the link:

http://www.gibbsbookbinding.com/

You can pm me if you have more specific questions, and I'll ask my husband.
Hatzlacha and may we know no more sorrow

SRB

Fri, Dec 23 2016, 5:47 pm

Thank you again! My DH took it to a local book binding company who said they could probably do it (takes 3 weeks) and will try to keep the cost below $200. I'm sorry I just saw your replies now as I would have probably looked into other (less expensive) options... But I was cooking all morning for shabbos... Well at least I accomplished making some of my favorite Israeli dips & salads for the first time. Good shabbos and Chag Sameach!