Best way to display/honour/care for a decades-old paper book with massive sentimental value?

April 6, 2010 9:02 PM

Best way to display/honour/care for a decades-old paper book with massive sentimental value?

My grandparents are in their late 80s and beginning to organize their 'affairs.' I have been told that next time I am over there, I should take whatever keepsakes I want. I am not really a 'thing' person, but I have decided that the object I most want is the copy of A.A. Milne's 'Now We are Six' that my grandmother used to read to me whenever I slept over. I am sure this book is older than me. I am not sure what shape it's in. I tend to go for ebooks these days since I am not a clutter person either and don't have the space for endless paper books. but this is a special case.

I am not sure what to do with it. I am viewing this not so much as a book to read and put on a shelf, but as a memento of my cherished relationship with my grandmother. I am wondering if there is a way to display it or honour it somehow. I don't want to just leave it on a shelf somewhere. Is there some sort of frame I can get to hang it on the wall? Ideally, if it was some sort of shadowbox type thing maybe, where the book could be easily removed from it from time to time for looking at, that would be ideal. And if there was a way to do this in a fashion so as to help preserve the book from damage or decay or whatever, that would be great. It's a hardcover, if that helps.

So, what are my options? My priority is that I don't want it sitting on a shelf, and as it's more a memento than a book to be read, I want to have some way to display it and preserve it. I am prepared to pay to have this done nicely/properly. It does not need to be a DIY solution. Fwiw my cousin chose to take a jacket my grandmother had made, so this memento is aiming to be on par with that sort of permanent artifact.

posted by JoannaC to Grab Bag (5 answers total)

For one of my favorite books I went to a bookbinder and had a simple but beautiful slipcase made, covered with a very exquisite cotton on the outside and marbled paper on the inside. I opted for an open back, but you can also have a lid made, that protects it against light and dust. All in all, it set me back 60 dollars. My book is protected for years to come, and it feels like unwrapping a present everytime I use it. Check around for a bookbinder that you really like, because the styles vary wildly.
posted by ouke at 9:18 PM on April 6, 2010

My grandmother had such a book. It was in a bookstand under a glass box. She would, as part of her morning routine, turn a page each day to ensure that a) she would read that page and b) the paper would not age preferentially in any one place. As I remember the bookstand and the framing of the box were copper or something like that, and it was probably irreplaceable unless an artisan were found to make it. To my young eyes the characters - a couple of kids - were very dull and she wouldn't let me touch the box anyway. The book passed to my cousin Karen since it was a "girl's book" and was consumed in a fire in the late '80s. I suppose my grandmother had had it since about 1915.
posted by jet_silver at 9:31 PM on April 6, 2010

I would opt for ouke's slipcase idea myself. If you do opt for some kind of display option, be really sure you keep the book out of direct light/sunlight/UV light, which can cause damage over time.
posted by gudrun at 1:59 AM on April 7, 2010

If it were me, I would find a small display easel for it, and find a place of honor for it in the home. (A place that is protected from harsh light, of course.) Maybe find a nice piece of decorative fabric to throw over it for protection when it doesn't need to be on display.
posted by trip and a half at 6:41 AM on April 7, 2010

I like the idea of a shadow box, myself, rather than cluttering up a surface with it. I would suspect that a shadow box maker (at a frame store, I suppose?) would be able to make the front glass a hinged door for easy book removal. Lovely idea, btw.
posted by widdershins at 9:49 AM on April 7, 2010