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I have known acid to be a problem with adhesives and paper mounting for photographs and that you should always try to use acid free paper for artwork, but I've not known that it was a problem for books before, and for it to be so dramatic that it makes a book fall apart. Is the brittleness of paper a natural aging process that happens to all paper, regardless of the pH or is it just a problem with acidic papers? Do

all paper types yellow, or is it just those that are treated with acid during manufacture?

A lot of paper is supposed to be acid free now, especially like the Easton Press books I describe which use archive quality paper. But a lot of paperbacks still have this problem. My copy of The Oresteia was particularly bad. Books can yellow and degrade after only a few decades. In my case, I opened the cover and it snapped off like a biscuit cracker.

Treatments off the shelf like sprays to balance the PH of the paper are meant to slow the process down substantially. Some advertising says it will make books last three to four times longer. I’m not sure how much more effective professional treatments used by institutions would be, but I imagine they would have to be better for the cost involved.

I felt a twinge of nostalgia seeing your copy of The Oresteia -- that's how many of the books I read growing up looked, as they'd been passed down to me from my grandparents. I remember as a kid that it seemed completely normal to me for the book to fall to pieces as I read it.

My mother came from a large family who mostly despised reading. She was the odd one out. Even though she didn't have much money she still bought me a book when she could. I still have them, and I still have the few books she owned, too, when young. They're all a bit coloured now, but are mostly in good condition. Physical books have that advantage over the digital. They become a part of our lives!

Aw, that reminds me of the books that I had inherited from my late mother and grandparents. I don't have most of them now, but books really can be treasures that one hands down within their family. It is especially nice when you get their personal notes in the margins, or if they made the book themselves. 😊