Help with stain on vintage hardback covers

Hello. I have a book from the early 1950s. It has a type of stain on it that I have seen a few times. But I just got interested about what actually causes this particular appearance. Is it the same process as "foxing" (this is the brown patchy staining that is common in old books)? This book has a bit of foxing on the paper, but not much. Thanks for your help.

Best wishes,
James

 

It looks like a type of white mold.

I'll tag some people who may be able to help you: @2manybooks , @mirana , @Figtree3 , @moreotherstuff .

 

I've never known for certain what that type of stain is, but I think it is probably a type of mold or mildew.

 

Hi. Thanks for your reply. I think I have seen it a few times in book shops. I do not think it is something that is treated as really bad by book dealers i.e. it is not treated like black mold that can spread. I think it is regarded like foxing; as something that detracts from the appearance but is not terrible.

Best wishes,
James

 

I agree with you on that... I hope somebody else can give you some more substantial information.

 

Could it just be dye loss from getting wet? Now & then I've spattered coffee on one thing or another & been dismayed by how impermanent color can sometimes be.

 

Conservators still don't fully understand the phenomenon of foxing. Sometimes it seems to be caused by fungi, but often it seems to be related to metal contaminants that came from the machinery used in papermaking. Sometimes it may be a combination of interactions - the metal contaminants causing localized degradation of the cellulose, which renders it more subject to fungal activity.

In the case of your book, it may be an example of what has been termed "reverse foxing", where there is a loss of color rather than a reddish-brown stain. This is even less well understood, but is probably another complex interaction between materials, contaminants, environment and opportunistic fungi. Curiously, it has often been observed related to blue pigments (although not exclusively).

I don't see any tide lines on your book, which would be indicative of serious water damage that would lead to mold and mildew. The spots are more scattered, as is also typical of foxing, and they appear to be more concentrated on the fore-edge half of the binding which would have been facing the back of the bookshelf. This might suggest some interplay between components of the cloth binding and more or less exposure to air and moisture toward the back of the shelf.

 

Thank you. That is a very informative and helpful response. The idea of "reverse foxing" does, based on what you have said and my own experience, to be what might be happening in these cases. This is not a book that has got wet or been in a damp environment. Also, it has been my experience that those who buy and sell antique books tend to treat books with this patchy loss of colour in a similar way they do foxing in the respect that they still regard these books as sellable, but at a lower price due to cosmetic appearance. In many cases they probably don't think about what is causing the process, they just know that it is nothing disgusting or socially unacceptable to others.

Best wishes,
James

 

! Something we should all aim for.

 

Work on it every day.

Debora