BPG Caoutchouc Bindings

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Caoutchouc binding (1860).

Book and Paper Group Wiki > Book Conservation Wiki > Caoutchouc Bindings

This page discusses bookbindings made using caoutchouc adhesive as the primary method of leaf attachment. Caoutchouc adhesive bindings were a common mid-nineteenth century British bookbinding technique, but fell out of favor after 1870 because of the poor aging qualities of the adhesive. This page is related to the pages on Sewing and Leaf Attachment and Leaf Attachment and Sewing Repair.

The term "gutta-percha binding" is sometimes erroneously used to refer to caoutchouc bindings.

Wiki Compiler: Katherine Kelly
Wiki Contributors: Sue Donovan, your name could be here

Copyright 2024. The AIC Wiki is a publication of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). It is published as a convenience for the members of AIC. Publication does not endorse nor recommend any treatments, methods, or techniques described herein. Information on researching with and citing the wiki can be found on the Reference and Bibliography Protocols page.

Cite this page:

American Institute for Conservation (AIC). "BPG Caoutchouc Bindings." AIC Wiki. December 21, 2024. https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/BPG_Caoutchouc_Bindings.

Introduction

Caoutchouc is a rubber-based adhesive. It was first suggested for use in bookbinding in 1836, was widely used in England in the 1850s and 1860s, and then fell out of favor after 1870. It was a popular choice for oversized books of plates and mass-market gift books. It can also be found in 1860-1870s American photograph albums.

The text block is formed from single leaves, which are adhesively bound to each other by the application of caoutchouc adhesive and sometimes a textile lining. The bindings sometimes included sawn-in grooves and cord supports. Heavy, calendared paper pages were frequently bound with caoutchouc because the thick pages could not be easily folded and sewn, and alternative binding methods like stab-sewing opened poorly.

Endpapers were generally tipped on. The consolidated text books were then bound, usually into case bindings of cloth or leather, sometimes with an overhanging textile spine lining and sometimes with a hollow tube.

Preservation Challenges

Caoutchouc deteriorates relatively quickly, and almost all caoutchouc bindings have either failed, or fail as soon as the book is opened, leaving the pages detached from each other and from the binding. Since the textblock is made of single sheets, it cannot be rebound using traditional methods, and some circulating libraries in the past have chosen to prioritize the intellectual content within, to the detriment of the evidentiary value of the binding itself.

Health and Safety Concerns

Lead was sometimes added to the rubber to improve its aging characteristics. The resulting "red lead" may be visible in the distinctive rusty color of old caoutchouc adhesive (Donovan 2023, 127-128). Conservators and curators should be aware of the possible presence of lead and use appropriate personal protection when handling and treating the books.

Notable Examples

• Ritchie, Leitch. 1839. Versailles. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1839.

First known caoutchouc binding.

• Jones, Owen. 1856. The Grammar of Ornament. London: Day and Son.

A seminal book in the world of design and architecture as well as an example of advances in printing and bookbinding technologies. Most known copies were originally caoutchouc bindings (Donovan 2023, 123)

• Jones, Owen. The Alhambra.
• Byron, Lord George Gordon. 1865. The Prisoner of Chillon. London: Day and Son.

Treatment described in Donovan (2023).

• Twining, Elizabeth. 1849. Illustrations of the Natural Orders of Plants with Groups and Descriptions. London.

Treatment described in Bruce and Craft (2016).

• Thomson, J. 1877. Street Life in London. London : S. Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington.

Treatment described in Hammeke (2016).

• Mid-nineteenth century British gift books (see Donovan 2023).
• Books published by Day & Son, London, between 1857-1865 (see Donovan 2023).
• Books bound by Leighton, Son & Hodge, London, mid-nineteenth century (see Donovan 2023).
• Books bound by Edmonds & Remnant, London, 1850s and 1860s (see Donovan 2023).

Conservation Treatment

There are a variety of options for preserving caoutchouc bindings. Minimal or no treatment may be the best way to avoid obscuring the original methods of manufacture and to avoid time-consuming major interventions. Minimal treatment can include removal of brittle friable adhesive and rehousing of the loose pages. Avoiding rebinding also allows individual pages to be displayed.

Single leaf bindings, including caoutchouc bindings, can be converted into sewn leaf structures with the addition of guards or by joining the individual leaves into gatherings. These structures allow one to customize the book's opening and board attachment method, but they significantly alter the structure of the book. The addition of sewing thread may also increase the thickness of the book and prevent the text block from fitting back into the original case.

Adhesive rebinding preserves the original thickness and opening characteristics of the book, but may require compromises between adhesive reversibility, strength, and flexibility. Adhesive rebinding with kozo flanges can mimic or slightly improve the opening characteristics of the book, but is is a time-consuming intervention.

Adhesive Binding (Former treatment)

Bernard Middleton, in The Restoration of Leather Bindings, describes a repair method for leather-bound caoutchouc case bindings. The text block is separated from the case, the old adhesive sanded off, and the pages reconsolidated with a new, flexible, adhesive like PVAc. For larger and heavier books, the adhesive is applied with the double fan method, although from our understanding of caoutchouc bindings today, it is not recommended trying to flex the stiff, chromolithographed pages typical of caoutchouc bindings. Additional methods of strengthening include sawing in cords, overcasting, and adding a cloth lining. Middleton also describes the challenges of reforming the sometimes pronounced rounding and backing (1998, 165-169). In Donovan's SM8 article, she compares treatment of two similar volumes with the Middleton technique and the Gary Frost technique (see below). The Middleton technique of adding PVAc directly to the spine edge of the stiff pages resulted in minor skinning of paper surface.

Adhesive Binding with Kozo Flanges

This method of rebinding was proposed by Gary Frost, and published and modified by a number of other conservators (Donovan 2023, Bruce and Craft 2016).

Rebinding Steps:

• Separate the text block from the binding.
• Remove any remaining spine adhesive and spine linings. See note above about possible lead contamination.
• Do any necessary surface cleaning and mending of the pages.
• Adhere a flange of thin long fiber paper along the spine edge of each page.
• Press pages to reduce unwanted swell due to the extra material.
• Align pages to each other and to match the original spine curvature. If backing is necessary, this can be done by individually folding the spine edge of each leaf, along with the flange.
• Starting from the back of the book, adhere each flange down to the spine over the previous flanges. A short, stiff laminate flange will be left at the back of the book.

A variety of adhesives have been used in this method. Reversible adhesives like wheat starch paste are generally chosen for attaching the flanges to the original plates. A wider selection of adhesives have been chosen for adhering the flanges to the spine, including wheat starch paste for reversibility or dilute PVAc for ease of working and flexibility.

The images below show a treatment of an 1860 atlas, where the caoutchouc adhesive on the spine had failed within an intact case binding. The repair method was as described above with the following specifics: the flanges were 15 gsm kozo paper, cut to the height of the book minus several millimeters to keep them away from the gilded page edges. Each flange had a feathered edge which was applied to the leaf with wheat starch paste. The text block was rounded by shaping the fore edge against a cylinder and backed by individually folding the pages over to match the original shoulder. The free edges of the kozo flanges, which had been needle torn, extended about 4 mm out from the spine edge. Starting from the back, these flanges were adhered to the spine of the book with dilute PVAc. This work was done in stages to allow the spine to dry completely. When the spine was dry, its fit was checked against the intact case and adjusted. For this book, the backing swell was reduced with a hammer. An overhanging aerocotton spine lining was adhered to the spine with PVAc, and then the spine was readhered to the intact case, and the overhanging cloth lining adhered under the lifted pastedowns. Although this book has a hollow back, the intact original hollow remains too stiff to open.

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  Caoutchouc binding, before treatment.

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  Individual kozo flanges adhered to each leaf. Before rounding.

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  Leaves being individually folded over at the spine edge to match the original backed shape.

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  Individual kozo flanges being adhered one by one to spine.

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  Completed spine consolidation.

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  After treatment.

Housing

Starting with Julia Miller in Books Will Speak Plain (2013) it is becoming more accepted to adopt a conservative approach to caoutchouc bindings. Cleaning loose, abrasive debris from pages and re-housing the book in a custom-made, well-fitting enclosure provides a non-invasive solution to failed adhesive bindings. Subsequent to this non-invasive approach, it is then possible to temporarily remove single pages for potential display, which may be desired for well-known volumes such as Owen Jones' Alhambra and Grammar of Ornament.

Bibliography

Sue Donovan. 2023. "Caoutchouc Bindings: The Origin and Application of a Rubber-Based Adhesive in Nineteenth-Century Gift Books." In Suave Mechanicals: Essays on the History of Bookbinding, Vol. 8. Ed. Julia Miller. Ann Arbor, Mich.: The Legacy Press.

Detailed article on the history, chemistry, degradation, and conservation options for caoutchouc bindings.

Erin Hammeke. 2016. "Street Life in London." Preservation Underground blog. Duke University Libraries Preservation and Conservation Departments.

Shows how the spine of the book can be rounded before the added kozo flanges are adhered to each other.

Alex Bruce and Angela Craft. 2016. "Conservation of a caoutchouc botany book." The Book & Paper Gathering blog.

Detailed description of treatment, including images of each step. Of particular interest is the dialogue in the comments about materials and methods.

Bernard G. Middleton. 1998. The Restoration of Leather Bindings. Oak Knoll Press and the British Library. Third edition.

Historical Treatment

Caoutchouc bindings frequently failed within their first decades of use. Historical rebinding methods included more modern adhesive bindings, oversewing, or converting to guarded plates structures or sewn structures (Donovan 2023, 132-141).

History of This Page

This page was created in 2024 by Katherine Kelly. Further updates and improvements are welcome.