Peabody Book Repair

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I send a book to you?

Click here: Send a book to us.

Why bother?

Because a typical book will deserve attention at several stages in its life in order to assure decades of good reading.

What services are most often provided?

Covers

Reattach
Replace
New spine
Strengthen corners

Text

Reattach pages or sections of pages
Repair torn pages
Strengthen binding

Can pages be cleaned? Should pages be cleaned?

Pages should be cleaned only if you are unable to read the text. It is possible to clean pages, however the process is labor intensive, therefore spendy.

Can family Bibles be restored?

Family bibles are one of the most restored and preserved books of all time.

Here is what we can do to preserve your family bible:

Items such as pictures and momento's are removed and stored in archival-safe envelopes
Clean fabric or leather covers and apply treatment to leather to stave off any decay
Retint leather to match original color after scuffs, tears and general wear have been repaired
Pages are repaired and re-attached if necessary.

What is the cost of book repair or restoration?

This varies with each book. We provide an initial review of the book and consult with you, providing a quote before any book is worked on. Most repairs/restoration jobs average between $80-$125.

Here is a link to more price information:
Price List

Can I get an estimate?

The quickest way to get an initial quote would be to send us an computer image/jpeg of the book(s). Provide images taken from at least the angles of front/back/spine/edge. Images of sample pages may also be useful.

You are welcome to visit us with your books or send them to us via mail. Books sent to us via mail will be reviewed and a quote emailed, phoned/faxed or regular mailed back to you.

"Before" pictures are posted to our website under the 'Customers' tab for you to refer to when reviewing the estimate for repair.

What is the difference between repair, restoration and conservation?

Repairs include those items that are necessary to return the book to readable condition. Things like torn page mending, reattaching covers, strengthening cover corners and reattaching sections of text are common repairs.

Restoration includes repair and adds choices such as cleaning leather covers and restoring their luster, applying dye to leather covers with scuff marks or scratches, creating new covers or spines and resewing bindings.

Conservation takes everything one step further and involves cleaning books to remove bad acids or mold to perhaps consulting on environmental aspects of maintaining a personal library or re-tooling gold on a leather cover, using authentic perios replacement endsheets. Other conservation efforts include new covers to exactly match period materials and typestyles of the original book title.

More Questions? Click here to email us.