Question: 
I'm interested in having my great grandma's big Family Bible restored. What are my options?
Answer:
The words "Family Bible" often bring to mind the large, deeply-recessed and highly decorative Bibles of the 19th century. These Bibles were once very beautiful, and a common adornment in American homes. However beautiful, most were so big and heavy that they eventually tore themselves apart, and now the challenge is to get them back into a condition where they can be displayed and even used in a Christian home.
Our goal in restoring your family Bible is to do all that is possible to get it back into a functional displayable condition and at the same time do as little as possible so as to preserve and restore the antiquity and hidden beauty of the original binding. We can replace spines, which are often missing, with new leather, antiqued and color matched to the boards, but we prefer not to attempt imprinting on these. The printing type available to us does not match the period or the size needed. Our goal is to draw attention to the beauty of the original boards.
Beyond that, we can repair torn pages, repair breaks in the text block, apply new durable hinge cloth, and restore the leather on the original boards.
Sometimes, we can take something that looks hopeless and bring it back again.
For the family Bibles that pre-date the gaudy Victorian era, we offer complete rebinding in calf or sheepskin with an antiqued finish to replicate what your Bible should look like with years of careful use.
We are always careful to preserve any personal notes, even on the paste down end pages. When replacing end pages, we use hand-milled cotton rag paper specially made to match the period.
Often the biggest challenge in family Bible restoration comes with the mid-20th century Bibles. These Bibles with decorative front covers and sometimes color paste-down illustrations were made of acidic cardboard with a pressed-in leather grain. We have had success in recovering these using genuine leather, but restoration without total recovering is nearly impossible. However, we can often save a portion of the original cover art and embed it into the new leather.
Go ahead, request a free quote. The cost may not be as much as you might think, and your cherished family heirloom will be ready to pass on to the next generation.
