Restoration of Large Victorian Family Bible

One of the largest I’ve seen, this battered beauty survived the past century only to be caught in a house fire. Unlike its companion whose cover was charred beyond redemption, this one merely lost its spine and sustained some soot and smoke damage. Some of the pages were torn and tattered, and the sewing had begun to fail in the first third of the book. I stripped it down, repaired the paper as needed and reattached the loose signatures, strengthening the spine in the process. The spine was lined with muslin for additional stability and to form a strong hinge. After consolidating the cover leather where it was suffering from red rot and cleaning it to remove the soot, I reassembled it with a new spine and cased the book back in. A few more cover repairs and some leather toning and treatment, and this grandiose old Bible shines with all its former splendor.