When We Were Very Young 

Identification and bibliographical details

Number of components: 2 (book, slipcase)

Title/descriptive signifier: When We Were Very Young 

Dimensions (mm): 250 x 154 x 49

Collection/client details: Dr Mathew J Eve

Date: 21.10.2022

Provenance: The object has been stored at Marchpane in Soho.

Historical context and details of research:

When We Were Very Young is one of the best-selling books of poetry by A. A. Milne. It was first published in 1924, and it features E. H. Shepard’s original illustrations. Published by Methuen & Co. LTD. Published two years before Winnie-the-Pooh, the first appearance of the famous character Winnie-the-Pooh appears as “Teddy Bear” in the 38th poem in the book. Also, many of the poems contain Christoper Robin, one of Winnie-the-Pooh’s friends and the owner of the Pooh series. Pooh is featured much more heavily in this book’s sequel, Now We Are Six.

Condition

Poor (Highly unstable) - the spine leather is constantly falling off, and the text block is gapping, which will lead to the spine breaking. 

• The right cover of the book is broken but still held by the 10% of the remaining spine leather on the head.

• The spine leather is severely discoloured from direct sunlight.

• Only 30% of the spine leather is remaining, and 30% of the gold-tooled title parts are missing. 

• As there is barely any lining material left on the spine, it gives much stress when opened and has caused the textblock to be loosened. 

• The corners of the boards are abraded/ frayed. 

• There are several loosened parts (gapping), for example, between pages 36 and 37, and pages 68 and 69. 

• There are no endbands present. 

• There are a few fingerprints found on the text block. 

• The slipcase has been extensively damaged by insects.

• A great number of booklice have been found inside the bookcase and all along the edges of two books. 

• A woolly bear and several insect holes were found, especially on the spine of the book.

Treatment description

1. Dry surface cleaning 

Initially, it was carried out using a soft Japanese brush to remove loose particles on the text block, especially along the joints. Then, a smoke sponge was used to remove any further surface dirt. This was done throughout the whole text block.

2. Removing the original spine 

The original spine was lifted using a spatula. In most cases, the spine was already missing and loosely hanging, so the process was done easily. 

3. Cleaning the spine lining with a wheat starch paste poultice

A wheat starch paste poultice was applied to the spine, allowed to sit, and then scraped off the old adhesives and the old lining with a blunt spatula (figure 1, 2).  

4. Leather consolidation

The covering leather has been consolidated by brushing the mixture of Klucel G and IMS directly onto the leather.

5. Spine reinforcement/ Board re-attachment

The spine was lined with Japanese paper (figure 3) and aero linen using wheat starch paste - by inserting the linen inside the board, both boards will be reinforced. This gives strength and flexibility to the spine and holds the boards in place. Then the first and the last gathering of the text block was sewn again with linen thread to hold the lining materials and the text block together (figure 4).  

6. Hollow insertion

A hollow was constructed from Archival Manila and inserted between the spine of a book and its cover to strengthen the spine and allow the book to open smoothly without putting stress on the covering material (figure 5). More importantly, it holds the gold-blocked title safely and smoothly.

7.  Leather dying & Paring

The archival leather that has a similar surface texture to the original covering leather was dyed with water-based leather dyes (dark brown, green, blue) to match the original colour of the leather (figure 6). Next, the leather was pared with a paring knife to make it thinner on the inside of the boards and the spine, especially around the headcaps.  

8. Re-backing the spine

Make a slit to accommodate turn-ins on the left and the right boards and the pastedowns. Then, the spine was covered with dyed archival leather, and the extra width of the leather was inserted between the board and the leather. The extra length and width of the leather were turned over the outer edges of the boards from the outside to the inside. The slits on the cover were pasted back and the pastedowns were repaired with toned Japanese paper patches (figure 7). 

9. Re-attaching the broken pieces of the spine leather

The broken pieces of the original spine leather were put back together onto the Japanese tissue (figure 8), and the extra margins of the tissue were trimmed. The title was then gently adhered back onto the spine using wheat starch paste. 

10. Gold blocking

Originally the head and tail of the spine were double-line gold blocked. The missing parts were gold blocked again using the heated double-line palette and gold foil (figure 9). 

After photodocumentation

Requirements/future recommendations

The books should be stored in an archival box for safe storage and display. The books should be kept away from direct sunlight to prevent fading or discolouration. The environment should be around 45- 55% to prevent mould growth.