How to treat yellowed pages in a book

What to do about yellowed pages in a book?

The first instinct when you hold a book with yellowed pages in your hands is to wonder what you can do to restore it to its original state, especially when memories and thoughts are attached to it.

The yellowed pages, the result of a physicochemical reaction

Yes, but as with the aging of the body, there is nothing we can do about it. Yellowed pages are simply the result of the degradation of one of the components of paper, lignin, under the effect of oxygen. Let us recall that paper is, for the most part, made from cellulose fibers contained in wood. Now these fibers naturally combine with lignin, which is very useful for protecting trees against humidity, but very embarrassing when we want to make paper from them. Since we cannot completely separate the cellulose fibers from the lignin, there is more or less of it left in the pages of books, depending on the quality of the paper. Now, this lignin, which is a compound of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon, oxidizes when it absorbs excess oxygen.

How to prevent book pages from turning yellow?

It is this phenomenon of oxidation that "yellows" the pages of a book over time. But, if we cannot correct it, we can nevertheless prevent it. For specialists, the matter is settled. According to Susan Richardson: "Oxygen is the enemy. Keep the book in a perfectly sealed box and replace the oxygen with nitrogen, argon, or another inert gas and the pages of your books will no longer yellow." For very rare books, perhaps. But, for books that we like to leaf through, see lined up on the shelves of our library, or that we draw inspiration from daily, the solution seems quite radical.

How to maintain the books in your library?

That said, yellowing pages are not the most dangerous thing for a book. And, let's repeat, yellowing can have a certain charm and even make reading more comfortable by reducing the glare of pages that are too white. However, a book that is neglected can be subject to stains, mold, dampness, acrid odors, and discoloration.

How to deal with stains, foxing, and bad smells on book pages?

Stains, foxing, or pinholes can unpleasantly dot the pages of a book, especially the first and last ones.

Foxing, foxing, and pitting

Foxing, also known as foxing, runs through the pages. It is visible on both the front and back and is typical of books dating from the 18th ^and 19th ^centuries. When it only appears on one side, it is called pitting. It is produced by the oxidation of residual iron particles left by the mallets used to make rag paper. If it is found on the first or last pages, this is largely due to its proximity to the acid composition of the cover cardboard, which accelerates the oxidation process. In other words, to avoid them, you just have to make sure that the books are not stored, obviously, in a damp place. Once they have appeared, it is too late.

Mold, dampness, and bad odors

Mold, dampness, and bad smells are other enemies of books. Even today, we do not know where mold and the black or purple stains that accompany it come from. It's a bit like the chicken and egg story all over again. For some specialists, mold is caused by microscopic fungi, for others, it is the phenomenon of oxidation that causes mold by constituting food for the fungi. As for dampness, with its very unsightly halo, it is the result of unfortunate exposure to water damage, impossible to repair. There are still bad smells that can be reduced or made to disappear by spraying a well-chosen deodorant, based on essential oils, on the book and its pages, for example, or by putting it in a box with baking soda for a while, or by exposing it, carefully, to the sun.

How to fix, or prevent, fading of book covers?

The question only arises for certain books depending on the material of the cover. The point here is to prevent it from taking on a sun-beaten appearance, in other words, discolored. The first thing to do is to ensure that the storage location complies with the conditions for good book conservation. If humidity is the enemy of books, excess light is another. A bookcase, turned, facing south, or placed in the dampest corner of a home, is a real "death trap" for books. That said, we can still limit the damage caused by excess light on the leather covers of books by nourishing them and removing stains with special library waxes such as wax 213 from the National Library of France.

Why are old or second-hand books still attractive?

When we see the deterioration that books can undergo, we can say that, after all, nothing beats new, or better yet, digital versions of books. But things are not that simple. First, a book is expensive to manufacture and distribute. Hence the rise of new methods of manufacturing, distribution, and repackaging. And then, if we stop for a moment to consider what a book represents, strictly economic reasoning fades before what the book represents, a vector of imagination, a historical witness, or an object of art, which makes it irreplaceable in its paper form.

Old book or used book, is it the same thing?

This is the first question to ask when we wonder about the value of a book that was published several years ago, or even several decades ago, and we are confronted with the many outrages that time has inflicted on it. And the answer is no.

The second-hand book market

A second-hand book is a second-hand book that feeds the second-hand market. This is booming because being able to buy a quality book, at a low price, or a very low price, is unstoppable. And this is what is offered, for example, by platforms like Momox or Recyclivre. Hence the interest for book owners to take good care of them if they want to be able to recover part of the price by reselling them. After having broken "the bone and sucked the substantial marrow", as Rabelais invites us to do in Gargantua.

The old book market

This is the domain of bibliophiles, bibliomaniacs, and other bibliolaters. These different categories are the catechumens and the high priests of the religion of letters. Quoting Albert Collignon, Albert Cim, who wrote at the beginning of the 20th ^century, in the masterwork entitled "The Book", says: "The religion of Letters has as its cult the reading of books. It is books that enlighten us and give us the best pleasures. By making us wise, they make us happy; they moralize us and perfect us, they console us for men and teach us to support them, to love them, to never harm them, and to do them good." Here we see everything that makes up the quintessence of a library and the devotion it can inspire. Devotion that can only, at one time or another, be translated into writing. Because good reading can only be done with a pencil in hand. Especially when it is one of these so-called "immortal" works. Bound and illustrated with art. Moving from taking notes to writing something more structured is then child's play. All that remains is to do what is necessary to keep a worthy record of it and why not, share it with other readers, loved ones, children, and grandchildren, thanks to quality self-publishing.

The True Meaning of Yellowed Pages in a Book

The yellowed pages of a book are, of course, first and foremost an expression of the passing of time. In many ways, they are of the same nature as Marcel Proust's famous madeleines in In Search of Lost Time. And modern pastry chefs are fighting over the best recipe! From a technical point of view, it is easy to understand where the yellowed pages come from and why they are what they are. This is not without importance, because even today, a book remains a rare and precious object that deserves for this reason to be cared for. This care given to the book is like a prayer for the book devotees who are bibliophiles and other bibliomaniacs or bibliolaters. In fact, it is like an open door for inspiration to come and the promise of a new work.