The Big Bible Repair

This gigantic Bible recently appeared in my studio. As you can see, it is in three pieces. I do not do much book repair because I find it hard on my nerves; however, this belongs to a church and the people seeking its repair are friends of my family... so I agreed to tackle it. The actual publication date is unknown but it was likely purchased in 1927 based on an inscription on the inside.


When it arrived, I was very happy to see that the sewing was entirely sound. Phew. To resew this sort of thing, I would require direct word from God before I would even consider it. Reattaching the first few pages and the cover, I could probably handle.

The first few pages were easy to reattach. The pages were whipped-stitched together; they were loose sheets rather than a folded section, and I think it was originally just tipped in. So I tipped it in again. Then I cooked up some paste and started working on reattaching the cover. I couldn't find any material to really match the Bible's original cover. I picked up some strong black cloth and made myself a piece of bookcloth to use - not a great match but it worked. I lifted the cover material along the spine edge of the front cover, and along the edge of the spine and worked my book cloth under the original covering so only a narrow strip of the new material is actually visible.


I also used some linen repair tape on the inside and was able to cover it up with some of the original paper used in the Bible so the repair tape isn't visible at all. Now that it is finished, the Bible does seem to be better then when I started.


There was an interesting tidbit tucked inside this Bible. This small piece of paper was obviously included when the Bible was originally purchased and explains how to properly open a book. Quite right too, perhaps this instructional bit should be included with books more often.