Paperback Protection (Entombment Edition)
July 26, 2021 4:10 AM Subscribe
I have some nice, collectible paperback books. I want to put them in some kind of protective case or holder that's more durable and perhaps permanent than the plastic sleeves they currently reside in, but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. Maybe you can help?
Inspired by comic book "slabbing", I want to get these paperbacks put into some kind of permanent or semi-permanent plastic display casing. But all of my internet searching comes up with either cheap plastic covers or other variants of the stuff that you'd find in a library, or services aimed solely at the comics market.
I understand that slabbing comic books means they're unreadable. Some of the books I have are rare enough that the story they contain would be hard to find again, but a good number of them have been reissued so I'm not very concerned about not being able to read them. It's more about a) protecting the book into the future and b) creating a nice aesthetic object that displays the paperback sculpturally instead of leaving it shelved.
I have gotten books framed before, but I'm not interested in that route for these books. And I don't have the room for bell jars, which might look cool but are a little too large for my current situation. I have considered getting them encased in resin but that seems a bit much, I don't know.
Any thoughts?
Inspired by comic book "slabbing", I want to get these paperbacks put into some kind of permanent or semi-permanent plastic display casing. But all of my internet searching comes up with either cheap plastic covers or other variants of the stuff that you'd find in a library, or services aimed solely at the comics market.
I understand that slabbing comic books means they're unreadable. Some of the books I have are rare enough that the story they contain would be hard to find again, but a good number of them have been reissued so I'm not very concerned about not being able to read them. It's more about a) protecting the book into the future and b) creating a nice aesthetic object that displays the paperback sculpturally instead of leaving it shelved.
I have gotten books framed before, but I'm not interested in that route for these books. And I don't have the room for bell jars, which might look cool but are a little too large for my current situation. I have considered getting them encased in resin but that seems a bit much, I don't know.
Any thoughts?
I'm still a little unclear as to your goal for these books: Display? Preservation? Use?
If it's preservation, Acid free phase box is how I have the family book of French fairytales from 1780 stored, because I want it to be available for future generations to read and see the names of successive schoolchildren printed in the front. If you're looking to display the book like a collectible, all the options you've listed would work, but with the acknowledgment that any amount of exposure to light will eventually degrade the cover, and all glass options will retain water and need a desiccant as pipeski suggested. Depending on how old the paperback is, (1990s or before?), deacidification treatment could keep it readable for longer and stop it yellowing, but again is it really worthwhile for home use? Paperbacks are literally designed to degrade and be pulped.
Personally, I came out of archives school with the understanding that the vast majority of things should be enjoyed rather than preserved, so I'd go with a nice shadowbox with UV Protective glass and hopefully a swinging door so I could take it out and read it if I wanted.
posted by theweasel at 4:58 AM on July 26, 2021 [6 favorites]
If it's preservation, Acid free phase box is how I have the family book of French fairytales from 1780 stored, because I want it to be available for future generations to read and see the names of successive schoolchildren printed in the front. If you're looking to display the book like a collectible, all the options you've listed would work, but with the acknowledgment that any amount of exposure to light will eventually degrade the cover, and all glass options will retain water and need a desiccant as pipeski suggested. Depending on how old the paperback is, (1990s or before?), deacidification treatment could keep it readable for longer and stop it yellowing, but again is it really worthwhile for home use? Paperbacks are literally designed to degrade and be pulped.
Personally, I came out of archives school with the understanding that the vast majority of things should be enjoyed rather than preserved, so I'd go with a nice shadowbox with UV Protective glass and hopefully a swinging door so I could take it out and read it if I wanted.
posted by theweasel at 4:58 AM on July 26, 2021 [6 favorites]
FWIW there's nothing about the slabbing process that makes the books inherently unreadable - the unreadableness is really just to preserve the seal that guarantees that the book was genuine and of a certain grade when it went into the slab and hasn't been tampered with.
Like theweasel, I'm also kind of unclear on how you would be looking to display these books - on a shelf? On a wall? Cover facing out or spine facing out? Would you want to be able to handle the container? How often?
I like the idea of a shadowbox resting on a table or shelf with the books laid flat, so you can see the book covers through the glass on top. Rather than displaying them all at once you could rotate which books are on display and keep them in archival boxes when they're not. In addition to UV protective glass you can also put a piece of fabric on top of the case when you're not actively looking at it, to further protect from light damage.
posted by mskyle at 5:10 AM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
Like theweasel, I'm also kind of unclear on how you would be looking to display these books - on a shelf? On a wall? Cover facing out or spine facing out? Would you want to be able to handle the container? How often?
I like the idea of a shadowbox resting on a table or shelf with the books laid flat, so you can see the book covers through the glass on top. Rather than displaying them all at once you could rotate which books are on display and keep them in archival boxes when they're not. In addition to UV protective glass you can also put a piece of fabric on top of the case when you're not actively looking at it, to further protect from light damage.
posted by mskyle at 5:10 AM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
Displaying them in clear plastic doesn't fit with preserving them, so you'll have to pick one or the other.
If you want to preserve them the search term you need is acid free archival clamshell book box. You can have these custom made to fit the book in question.
posted by mani at 5:34 AM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
If you want to preserve them the search term you need is acid free archival clamshell book box. You can have these custom made to fit the book in question.
posted by mani at 5:34 AM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Hiya, thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm hoping to display these books on a shelf or table with covers facing out, and for them to be stable enough to be occasionally handled like a small sculpture. The paperbacks are from the 1950s to the 1980s. Preservation would be a nice side effect (UV protective glass and dessicant suggestions noted!) but not really the point: I'd like to enjoy these terrible pulp novels as art more than literature. They would be displayed away from any direct sunlight, regardless.
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 7:12 AM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 7:12 AM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
There are a lot of online retailers that sell clear plastic display boxes for video games, toys, and other collectibles; you just need to find one that lets you order them in a custom size (like https://cgagrading.com/ for example). They usually have the top with a grooved sliding piece that lets you put the item in and/or take it out when necessary, while keeping it (relatively) airtight.
For a traditional mass-market paperback, the size would be approx. 4.5" W x 7.0" H x 1.0" D (that's assuming you're in the US, and depending on the era your books are from the measurement will not be exactly that... I'd measure the titles you want to display to the nearest 16th of an inch in each dimension and then add 1/8th of an inch to the height and width). Could probably order a dozen of them for about $300. They'd let you display the book upright with the cover facing out. Will protect them from dust and from being handled. Degradation from UV exposure and acid in the paper would still be a factor.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 9:15 AM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
For a traditional mass-market paperback, the size would be approx. 4.5" W x 7.0" H x 1.0" D (that's assuming you're in the US, and depending on the era your books are from the measurement will not be exactly that... I'd measure the titles you want to display to the nearest 16th of an inch in each dimension and then add 1/8th of an inch to the height and width). Could probably order a dozen of them for about $300. They'd let you display the book upright with the cover facing out. Will protect them from dust and from being handled. Degradation from UV exposure and acid in the paper would still be a factor.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 9:15 AM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
I have considered getting them encased in resin but that seems a bit much, I don't know.
Since you mention you're open to permanent alteration for your collection: To turn paperbacks into sculpture while preserving the cover art, I think you could treat them with clear acrylic sealant (Mod Podge, Liquitex, Aleene's) using a brush or spray technique: tape off covers and treat page edges, separate while drying, re-tape, and prop open front and back covers one at a time with foil-wrapped carboard backers to treat those areas. Afterward, it's still possible to handle the books and flip through them; layers of sealant make the covers less flexible so the books stand up pretty easily for display.
Man, I really like that you want to preserve and present this art, while keeping it tangible, but permanent sealant with rare, full-text pulps, rather than salvaged covers, would be fraught for me. If you try this method, make a few test runs using gloss and matte finishes on similar, non-precious paperbacks.
If you ever wanted to display your collection as-is: glass display cabinets with doors, on staggered acrylic risers and easels.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:25 PM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
Since you mention you're open to permanent alteration for your collection: To turn paperbacks into sculpture while preserving the cover art, I think you could treat them with clear acrylic sealant (Mod Podge, Liquitex, Aleene's) using a brush or spray technique: tape off covers and treat page edges, separate while drying, re-tape, and prop open front and back covers one at a time with foil-wrapped carboard backers to treat those areas. Afterward, it's still possible to handle the books and flip through them; layers of sealant make the covers less flexible so the books stand up pretty easily for display.
Man, I really like that you want to preserve and present this art, while keeping it tangible, but permanent sealant with rare, full-text pulps, rather than salvaged covers, would be fraught for me. If you try this method, make a few test runs using gloss and matte finishes on similar, non-precious paperbacks.
If you ever wanted to display your collection as-is: glass display cabinets with doors, on staggered acrylic risers and easels.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:25 PM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
Hmm I don’t know if this would work, but what about something like a clear acrylic flower press. Essentially two pieces of acrylic held parallel by bolts in each corner that can be tightened or loosened depending on the thickness of the material inside. Would allow viewing of both front and back covers and would not permanently change the books themselves
posted by itsamermaid at 8:05 PM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by itsamermaid at 8:05 PM on July 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
I tend to think the best way to display paperbacks is as close to naked as possible. Putting a paperback in a box doesn't make it sculptural - it just makes it a paperback encumbered by a box. I've had a large collection of sleaze paperbacks for over a decade, and in my experience just about every preservationist takes an overly dim view of their durability. As long as they're out of sunlight, in an environment with reasonable temperature control, dusted every month or so, and not subject to abuse from cats pawing all over them or whatnot, simply setting your books on a table is a reasonable way to display them. A display case where the books were under glass would be even better.
The other element here is that almost all vintage paperbacks simply aren't that valuable, even if they're often hard to replace. Unless you plan to display pristine examples of the most expensive paperbacks or books that are already so tattered a slight breeze might destroy them, the risk is small. Of course one tries not to damage one's books, but if they did sustain a bit of damage, you're probably talking about shaving a fairly petty sum off the value of your books, not destroying them. Whether it's worth spending $30 on a case to prevent a book from degrading $10 in value is a matter of personal taste.
posted by vathek at 9:13 AM on July 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
The other element here is that almost all vintage paperbacks simply aren't that valuable, even if they're often hard to replace. Unless you plan to display pristine examples of the most expensive paperbacks or books that are already so tattered a slight breeze might destroy them, the risk is small. Of course one tries not to damage one's books, but if they did sustain a bit of damage, you're probably talking about shaving a fairly petty sum off the value of your books, not destroying them. Whether it's worth spending $30 on a case to prevent a book from degrading $10 in value is a matter of personal taste.
posted by vathek at 9:13 AM on July 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by pipeski at 4:21 AM on July 26, 2021 [2 favorites]