– How old is the oldest book you own?
– What exactly is “acid paper” supposed to do? How soon will it do it?
The oldest book I own, well, two books, is a two-book Alice set published in 1946. Previous to that, I had a large medical reference book published in the late 1800’s, but it literally fell apart (half the pages lost half their size, and the rest weren’t bound too well). Since it had been found in a place where it was exposed to humidity and warmth (an outdoor shed in Florida,) I couldn’t tell if its condition was due to the materials or the location.
My Alice books, however, are in good condition. However, with those, and my 25-year-old d+d books, I am worried about “acid paper”. Neither of the books seem discolored, but do seem a bit stiff. I can’t tell if it’s due to age or the materials, since I don’t know exactly what “acid paper” will do that acid-free paper will not.
[hijack]my brother is a librarian and one time he showed me a section of books he had charge over, he opened up one that was published in the early 1600’s or late 1500’s! :eek: [/hijack]
I have owned and sold books ranging in age from the middle to late sixteenth century until (obviously) the present. Paper with a high acid content leads to foxing, the bane of book lovers everywhere. Foxing is light to very dark brown spots, it especially invades plates with photos or pictures, but it also invades the text. Acid free paper avoids this, as does keeping your books in a cool and low humidity environment. Bindings also tend to come apart. If you treat them gently they will last much longer.
Most people consider old books to be intrinsically valuable, and they are if they are old enough. You can easily find though early eighteenth century texts or late seventeenth century ones for realtively cheap. There seems to be no end to the ecclesiastical texts they could churn out, and there are a number of topics for which there are few collectors.
My library is composed mostly of books from the teens through '30s, but the oldest books I have are from the 1860s. Maybe 200 or so pre-1900. Without looking, I can’t name any other than Little Women–I know I’ve got a 1st edition copy of that. I got it free from a box dumped in the back of a pharmacy, along with a few dozen other books of the same age. Fair condition; the binding’s seen better days, but it’s holding together and isn’t faded or discolored. 90% of my library was thrown away.
I have a bunch from the late 1800s, which is apparently when my husband’s family stopped throwing ANYthing away. Lots of old Shakespeare - I’ve got a copy of Othello with the date 1878 in it, and a first-edition Mark Twain dated 1896.
I have a family bible that was published some time in the 1750s. It’s not my family’s bible, by the way. I just picked it up at deceased estate auction in a box of books that I was bidding on.