Inherited my father's bible...

[FOCAL P01NT]

...and it's 57 years old. According to the "This bible was given to..." page, he was nine when it was given to him. I have many fond memories of this bible. I remember thumbing through its pages and staring at the illustrations for hours on end when I was very young. But my parents divorced when I was three and my father and I grew very distant despite the many visits we (my sister and I) had with him those summers long ago. You see, my dad was much too busy fighting his memories of Vietnam. He was a sniper and worked with the CIA on many occasions, so I am sure you can understand that the majority of those memories were probably not very pleasant. I saw him intermittently through my preteen years, but he remarried and soon all my sister and I got from our father was an occasional phone call and gifts in the mail. Nice stuff; he was no cheap-o, but that stuff couldn't replace what should have been a great relationship with his kids. I don't blame him; in fact, I love(d) him dearly - as does(did) my sister. There is plenty in-between the lines here and I hope I haven't left so much out as to confuse or raise eyebrows.

Back on point - I saw my father twice since I enlisted in the Army in 1991. Once in 1994 and again in February 2011 when he was on his deathbed.

But that is another story.... perhaps later.... After the funeral, I was given his bible. And - rather unfortunately - for a 57-year-old bible, its pages are in splendid shape - from disuse, of course. (I think I may have even found some fingerprints from a much younger version of myself on a couple of the pages! How cool is that?) Dad wasn't much for religion; he had been baptized, but I can only imagine the damage of having to do the things he did and having to live with it all did to his faith. As a combat veteran myself I can tell you it's very easy to go down the road to self-loathing and festering guilt. Add the copious amounts of liquor he used to quell the thoughts.... well, there couldn't have been much room in there from much else, let alone God.

But, I keep derailing myself from the point of this posting! Which is this; the leather case of this beautiful, wonderful, cherished, prized, and glorious bible is dried and cracked. I was wondering if there are any gentlemen out there who may have had experienced "reviving" an old leather-bound bible and might want to disclose some trade secrets or tips to help me out.

Thanks for reading and God bless!

Yours in service,

Sean

[amazzin]

Yes, I do. Go to an antique books shop. They have old leather bond books that they repair regularly, if not they can refer you to someone. They can be very helpful as a first step

...and it's 57 years old. According to the "This bible was given to..." page, he was nine when it was given to him. I have many fond memories of this bible. I remember thumbing through its pages and staring at the illustrations for hours on end when I was very young. But my parents divorced when I was three and my father and I grew very distant despite the many visits we (my sister and I) had with him those summers long ago. You see, my dad was much too busy fighting his memories of Vietnam. He was a sniper and worked with the CIA on many occasions, so I am sure you can understand that the majority of those memories were probably not very pleasant. I saw him intermittently through my preteen years, but he remarried and soon all my sister and I got from our father was an occasional phone call and gifts in the mail. Nice stuff; he was no cheap-o, but that stuff couldn't replace what should have been a great relationship with his kids. I don't blame him; in fact, I love(d) him dearly - as does(did) my sister. There is plenty in-between the lines here and I hope I haven't left so much out as to confuse or raise eyebrows.

Back on point - I saw my father twice since I enlisted in the Army in 1991. Once in 1994 and again in February 2011 when he was on his deathbed.

But that is another story.... perhaps later.... After the funeral, I was given his bible. And - rather unfortunately - for a 57-year-old bible, its pages are in splendid shape - from disuse, of course. (I think I may have even found some fingerprints from a much younger version of myself on a couple of the pages! How cool is that?) Dad wasn't much for religion; he had been baptized, but I can only imagine the damage of having to do the things he did and having to live with it all did to his faith. As a combat veteran myself I can tell you it's very easy to go down the road to self-loathing and festering guilt. Add the copious amounts of liquor he used to quell the thoughts.... well, there couldn't have been much room in there from much else, let alone God.

But, I keep derailing myself from the point of this posting! Which is this; the leather case of this beautiful, wonderful, cherished, prized, and glorious bible is dried and cracked. I was wondering if there are any gentlemen out there who may have had experienced "reviving" an old leather-bound bible and might want to disclose some trade secrets or tips to help me out.

Thanks for reading and God bless!

Yours in service,

Sean

[FOCAL P01NT]

Thanks, amazzin. Honestly, I hadn't thought about that course of action. I'll have to look around the area and try to find one. I've found some internet remedies and have tried a couple; I've cleaned the leather with a leather cleaner, (it was VERY dirty! Dad smoked in the house, so I imagine it was mostly tobacco tar built up.) I've oiled it with a bit of olive oil (that seemed to soften it a bit, but it wasn't enough.), and today I've bought some mink oil. I've rubbed some in over my lunch break at my desk and now it's sitting. Hopefully it's soaking up all that moisture! The binding has cracked all the way down one side, so it may be a lost cause... (of course, there's always duct tape!) Thanks again!

[Reynolds357]

Thanks, amazzin. Honestly, I hadn't thought about that course of action. I'll have to look around the area and try to find one. I've found some internet remedies and have tried a couple; I've cleaned the leather with a leather cleaner, (it was VERY dirty! Dad smoked in the house, so I imagine it was mostly tobacco tar built up.) I've oiled it with a bit of olive oil (that seemed to soften it a bit, but it wasn't enough.), and today I've bought some mink oil. I've rubbed some in over my lunch break at my desk and now it's sitting. Hopefully it's soaking up all that moisture! The binding has cracked all the way down one side, so it may be a lost cause... (of course, there's always duct tape!) Thanks again!

I have my great grandmothers Bible. I have not restored it because to me, it will not be the same once it is altered. In the antique world, some things are to be restored and some are to be left as be. If you value the Bible to use it, I would restore it. If you value it just to keep, I would consider leaving it as be. You can always restore it, but you can never un-restore it.

[FOCAL P01NT]

I have my great grandmothers Bible. I have not restored it because to me, it will not be the same once it is altered. In the antique world, some things are to be restored and some are to be left as be. If you value the Bible to use it, I would restore it. If you value it just to keep, I would consider leaving it as be. You can always restore it, but you can never un-restore it.

I want to use it, but I don't want it to fall completely apart on me when I do... So, I guess maybe "restore" isn't quite what I mean. Perhaps "salvage"? LOL I am hesitant to have it rebound with new leather, though. The cracks, dings, scuff, and the feel just make it so much more - real? It just gives it more substance, if you know what I mean. If I can just get that leather to soften up - then maybe I can stitch that crack/tear in the binding. I don't know... You're right, though; it wouldn't be the same.

[TomH]

A good saddle soap gently applied in thin layers (three or four applications should do it) will give it a protective coating and remoisturize the leather. After that, if you are indeed intent on using it, a quarterly application will keep it.

I'm assuming, since it was seldom used, the pages and binding is still in pretty good shape. Contrary to what you may think, constant, but gentle, use of the bible will keep the binding flexible.

Keep it out of direct sunlight, and there are cases for individual book storage that can be climate controlled although pricey.

[FOCAL P01NT]

A good saddle soap gently applied in thin layers (three or four applications should do it) will give it a protective coating and remoisturize the leather. After that, if you are indeed intent on using it, a quarterly application will keep it.

I'm assuming, since it was seldom used, the pages and binding is still in pretty good shape. Contrary to what you may think, constant, but gentle, use of the bible will keep the binding flexible.

Keep it out of direct sunlight, and there are cases for individual book storage that can be climate controlled although pricey.

Thanks for your advice; what do you think about mink oil? I've done two coatings of mink oil so far. The cover is in pretty bad shape, but some flexibility is coming back. I will try a few more and see if it comes back more - unless you think I should use JUST saddle soap? Saddle soap has a lot of detergents, doesn't it? I've used a leather cleaning solution from Kiwi and that softened it some - definitely cleaned it! I used olive oil; soaked right in too... yesterday it received two coats of the Kiwi mink oil.

[TomH]

Thanks for your advice; what do you think about mink oil? I've done two coatings of mink oil so far. The cover is in pretty bad shape, but some flexibility is coming back. I will try a few more and see if it comes back more - unless you think I should use JUST saddle soap? Saddle soap has a lot of detergents, doesn't it? I've used a leather cleaning solution from Kiwi and that softened it some - definitely cleaned it! I used olive oil; soaked right in too... yesterday it received two coats of the Kiwi mink oil.

Mink oil won't do any harm. Although it has a tendency to not allow the leather to "breath" being that it is a water repeller. But being of a thinner leather than say shoes, it should be able to breath from the inside out.

Watch carefully. If you see any mor signs of it breaking down, (look to the inside of the leather) If the paper appears to be separating from the leather where it's glued, think of discontinuing the mink oil.

Leather will last a lifetime as long as it doesn't dry out. The mink oil and or saddle soap will allow the dry rot cracks to "heal" for the most part.

(I too, would use it frequently. The older Bibles were purposely made to withstand daily use.)

[FOCAL P01NT]

Meh. I give up. The cover just isn't taking the oiling very well. I apply the oil as directed, let it alone for 10 or so minutes, wipe off excess. Every time I wipe, a new crack appears or a tiny piece of the leather breaks away from a corner. I guess I'll just shelve it... I don't know.

Anyway, thank you to all who replied with advice! I hoped it wasn't lost, but it appears there's no saving the leather. It's just too dry!

[andrew_no_one]

Meh. I give up. The cover just isn't taking the oiling very well. I apply the oil as directed, let it alone for 10 or so minutes, wipe off excess. Every time I wipe, a new crack appears or a tiny piece of the leather breaks away from a corner. I guess I'll just shelve it... I don't know.

Anyway, thank you to all who replied with advice! I hoped it wasn't lost, but it appears there's no saving the leather. It's just too dry!

You may be able to have it professionally restored, depending on how much money you want to spend on it. I know that costs more than buying even a very expensive new Bible.