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Vent: A client asked me to bind a book with pages from a 1920s newspaper
She brought in a stack of old Chicago Tribune pages she found in her attic, wanting them bound as a gift for her dad. I had to explain how the acid in the paper would eat itself apart in a few years, no matter what I did. Has anyone else found a way to handle requests like this without just saying no?
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walker.julia5mo ago
Heard about a binder who scanned and printed them on archival paper.
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ryant505mo ago
Walker.julia's idea about scanning is a common fix, but it loses the whole point for me. You're handing over a copy, not the actual history. The feel and smell of that old paper is the gift. I've had luck showing clients a crumbling page from a similar era next to a stable one. Seeing is believing. Sometimes they go for a protective slipcase instead, so the original stays intact even if it falls apart inside.
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rileyprice5mo ago
Totally get that. A scan just kills the soul of the thing. My grandpa's old field notes are falling apart, but holding that paper he actually touched is everything. @walker.julia's archival paper trick is clever for reading, but it's a ghost of the real deal. Showing the contrast like you did is perfect. Makes people want to save the original object, not just the info.
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