CONSERVATION & RESTORATION

Conservation looks to preserve dying books in their present state, preventing any further deterioration. Restoration looks to bring books back from the dead to be as they once were. These labours are the heart of our work at Bizzell's.

It is often the case that a project will require both elements of conservation and restoration to achieve the best result. The methods we use are informed by both your vision and our experience. We will always be, and quickly, upfront and honest about what can be done with a book.

We have experience on a wide range of books published over centuries. We are able to complete most kinds of conservation work, all to the highest standard, looking to preserve as much of the original work as possible, while bringing it to a stable, strong and usable condition. Conservation is most useful when what remains of a book is valuable, usually historically, emotionally or financially, and it needs to be protected. How we do that depends on the use case, which often includes:

If prostitution is the oldest profession, book binding isn't far behind. As such, there are more methods, materials and maladies to consider than can possibly be listed here. As always, we couldn't be happier to speak to you quickly and directly; we hope you'll contact us about anything at all.

Sometimes, conservation is not about working on a book itself, but rather keeping it protected from damaged caused by both external factors and the books own weight. Sometimes a book just needs something to gently keep it closed on the shelf and shielded from abrasion against other books. If this sounds like something right for you, we make bespoke conservation cases and boxes made precisely to measure and support.

Restoration often goes a few steps further than conservation in bringing to book to working order. Some of our most frequent tasks include: