Found out most bookcloth is just starch-filled cotton, not leather at all

I was digging into a restoration guide from the 1920s last night and realized modern bookcloth has basically nothing in common with historical materials. Anyone else feel a little duped after learning that?

2 comments

2 Comments

anna_fox73d ago

Figured out the starch thing is actually way better for rebinding old books since it doesn't eat away at the paper like leather can. Kinda makes sense if you think about it.

jade_singh3d ago

Oh man, yeah I felt the same way when I first found out... it's like finding out the magic trick isn't real. But @anna_fox7 is spot on about the starch thing. I rebinded a 1920s poetry collection last year and the starch-filled cloth held up way better than the leather I tried on another project. The leather started crumbling after a couple months, but the starch cloth is still solid.