Aging Gracefully
We do Not attempt to hide evidence of use and time passed.
We attempt to show care.
WashingtonStateBookRestoration.com is owned and operated by Gudrun Aurand, Bookbinder and Paper Conservator.
I provide professional Bookbinding and Conservation Repair. In this site you will find examples of Book Repair, Paper Conservation, Custom Bindings and Custom Boxes. My specialty is to save as much of the original as feasible.
I offer Preservation and Restoration Services of books including First Editions, Cookbooks, Children's Books and Family Bibles. Cloth bindings and leather bindings from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, may be restored for future generations to enjoy. Books may be restored as closely as feasible to their original state or may receive minimal mending. I will make custom bindings and custom boxes and enclosures according to your wishes.
I preserve and restore paper based objects including prints, drawings, maps and a variety of documents. Documents include Trauscheine (marriage licenses), Build Sheets, U.S. Army discharge papers; land grants and more.
Sending DIGITAL IMAGES can be helpful and allow a first assessment. Occasionally I offer classes among others in Archival Mending Techniques and Book Making. Please, email for updates.
Treatment may range from washing, deacidification, pulpinfill and mending of paper to encapsulation of fragile documents. Custom boxes may be created to house books and ephemera.
Examples of Book Restoration, Book Bindings, Paper Preservation and Custom Boxes are within the site.
Joint Tackets are one way to attach boards, when the original spine cover could not be saved otherwise.
A Few Definitions
Preservation is a branch of library and information science concerned with maintaining or restoring access to artifacts, documents and records through the study, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of decay and damage.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
How is conservation different from restoration?
Sometimes confusion arises about the terms "restoration" and "conservation." Restoration is actually a type of conservation treatment. It specifically refers to an attempt to bring cultural property closer to its original appearance. The other type of conservation treatment is stabilization, which refers to an attempt to maintain the integrity of cultural property and to only minimize deterioration.
Definition from the AIC webpage (American Institue for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works).
SOME INFORMATION ABOUT MYSELF Biography
Gudrun Aurand is a practicing Bookbinder and Paper Conservator. Her experience comes from traveling a long and winding road along paths of the world of books.
She received her MLS at the University of Cologne, Germany.
Apprenticed for five years with Jim Croft a Master Craftsman in the Art and Craft of Medieval Bookbinding, Gothic Period. (https://www.cargocollective.com/oldway)
Apprenticed for 3 months at Jack C Thompson, Thompson conservation lab in Portland Oregon.
Worked as Bookbinder/Conservator for Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections MASC (http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/masc/ in Pullman, WA).
During this time took numerous workshops and was awarded advanced internships. To highlight a few: 2007 Centro Del Bel Libro, Ascona Switzerland.
2005 Etherington Conservation Center (ECC) in Greensboro, N.C; 2003 Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C.; 2001 ZfB Zentrum für Bucherhaltung (Center for Book Preservation) in Leipzig, Germany learning about Paper Splitting Technology.
Gave instructions to private individuals as well as library staff in Washington and Idaho State. Classes included book making by hand in various styles and Archival Mending Techniques.
Encourages consultation. The patron's concerns will be addressed, and a course of action appropriate to the item in question will be determined.
