Hello! So here is my current book repair and restoration project. This time, it isn’t one of my own books, hence the change of subject. But there is still a horse connection – and I’ll tell you all about that at a later date! 🙂
This revised edition of The Triumph of Steam by Henry Frith was published in 1892 by Griffith Farran & Co. Limited, London. In 1898 it was awarded to Philip H.G. Lord by his school, The Grammar School at Newchurch, as a 2nd prize for drawing. I think I’ve mentioned this in my Blogs before, but I love the oddments, inscriptions, annotations and other interesting things that are sometimes to be found in old books. They give a sense of its story and the people to whom it once belonged. I wonder what became of Philip Lord?
The copy I have been working on has had a hard life, but it is easy to see this would have been quite an expensive book at the time. It is bound in an extremely fine calf skin leather, is nicely constructed and is illustrated throughout. Working with leather has of itself been a new and exciting venture. I have learned how to pare leather. You (as I was) may not be aware that the construction of the spine is entirely different from the process used when working with cloth bound books. Older books also tend to be bound using cord rather than tape. In this repair we have replicated the appearance of the cords while making the actual repair using tapes.
I am looking forward to returning it to its rightful owner fully restored! 🙂
Soldiers and their Horses 
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