posted on May 3, 2001 07:17:47 AM
I know that there are quite a few very qualified and experienced booksellers here on AW that might provide some input and help to my question.
Have you had any luck or know of an approved method to repair a "cocked" book? I know that this condition is usually considered fatal to a book collector.
I usually only perform minor cleaning and repair of the books that I sell and try instead to detail their condition as best as possible. I do however have several books of some value ($150+) that I have held back from selling because of this obvious defect.
posted on May 3, 2001 07:42:47 AM
I learned through a book rebinder person that the reason books do that is from being bound incorrectly in the first place. To correct it would require taking it completely apart and re-doing it.
posted on May 3, 2001 09:16:22 AM
Depending on the reason for the cocking, you can minimize it by forcing the binding the other way, clamping the book into that position, and leaving it for quite a while.
This leaves you with a "loose" binding, but at least it's not cocked.
posted on May 3, 2001 10:00:10 AM
Thanks for the suggestion Abacaxi.
A few of these books are only 5-6 yrs old and I'm not sure how they got this way. The pages and DJ's are in great shape so I don't think they were carelessly abused.
posted on May 3, 2001 02:51:33 PM
Just storing a book upright in a bookshelf will "shelf cock" the signatures. You can turn the book upside down for a time to relieve it. That's why I store the valuable books flat on their boards on the shelf. I think storing books upright on the edge of the boards is a modern concept, as some very old illustrations show books on shelves laying flat on their boards, storing upright stresses the binding.
posted on May 3, 2001 03:19:06 PM
Wow, abacaxi and reamond, another great tip about books. I really appreciate the information you both share with us here.
posted on May 3, 2001 03:46:48 PM
I was always told that books should not be stack on each other and should be upright in bookcases. Is this info incorrect? For long term storeage of books not often use, it is better to lay them flat on top of each other?
posted on May 3, 2001 05:19:57 PM
Commentary -
I have all my fragile, old, or valuable books stored flat on their sides.
If a heavy book is resting on the ends of the boards (like they usually are on book shemves), the weight of the pages will pull on the binding and eventually break it.
posted on May 3, 2001 05:31:27 PM
Thanks for the info - I guess I will start stacking some of my books. Does it matter how many books are stack on top of each other?
posted on May 3, 2001 11:03:29 PM
I am a bookdealer and have this opinion about
"cocking":
If the book is extremely valuable: (1) gently push on it so as to take the "cock" out, and maybe a little more, (2) place it lying down (i.e., not standing up) and put a few heavy books on it to hold it in place (i.e., "uncocked" ) . Make sure it is not twisted. (3) Wait three months. This might have to be repeated. Didn't anyone tell you you have to be patient in the used book business ?
The reason a book becomes cocked is because when someone reads it they have it lying open on a table and they unconsciously push on the bottom gutter as they read. Like this: turn a page, push on the gutter, turn a page, push on the gutter.
If you're not patient, and for less valuable books: (1) lay the book down on the table face down, so you see the back of the book, (2) turn the book up-side-down, (3) open the book about twenty pages, (4) in a sliding motion, push down hard along the gutter, from top to bottom (actually, from bottom to top, but remember, the book is up-side-down), (5) turn twenty more pages, (6) repeat #4, #5, #4 until you get to the front of the book. The cock should be gone. If it isn't, repeat this process again.
What you are doing, of course, is the opposite of what was done to put the cock in the book in the first place. We make a distinction between cheap and valuable books because you are loosening the binding in the
second method. But not that much. And it works !
Warning: this second process is for normally handled books. Sometimes people make giant piles of books, and leave them that way for months, years. The bottom book in the pile may have a twist or a cock induced from the weight of books over time. And that cock might be the opposite direction from that induced during regular reading. So, when you do method number two, the cock might become worse ! So do method two again, but right-side-up and front to back, rather than back to front.
As for storing books, they are designed to be
placed upright on shelves, just as people normally do. If you must lay books down in a pile, do so only temporarily, as this hurts the books.
posted on May 4, 2001 04:59:17 AM
grovbook -
I remember taking a new textbook (because the teacher said to), and doing the opening a few pages and sliding my fionger down the gutter then repeating on the other side of the book. It supposedly made them stay open better.
What is your source for your statement that leaving books in piles hurts them? I seldom have a stack more than a few books high, and was told by a very experienced dealer that storing my old stock on their sides would prevent splitting at the junction of endpapers and covers better than any other position. (provided I don't have the big heavy ones plopped on top of the small ones).
posted on May 4, 2001 07:29:36 AM
One reason why you do NOT want to store a book flat is warping. I know this sounds bizarre, but old LP records have been known to warp if stored flat.
If you think I am being a finicky perfectionist, I'm not. Books will not warp in the time they sit on a dealer's shelf before being sold. However, the warping problem related to LPs has a much more solid example...tombstones that are much thicker and more solid that were seriously warped when found lying flat on the ground. (Talk about your dead inventory
posted on May 4, 2001 02:14:56 PM
The signatures shelf cock when a book is stored upright due to the weight of the pages pulling away at the top of the binding and compressing at the bottom of the binding. This produces what looks like a smile at the bottom of the pages of the closed book.
While the size [weight] of the pages determine how quickly the signatures will cock, even a small book may do it over time.
Regarding warping of books, there is the 70/50 rule. Keep the book room at 70F and 50% humidity. Warping may occur to a book regardless due to the moisture content of the book when environment is changed. Keeping the moisture content constant avoids warping.
