Glassine Interleaving And Foxing, Rust. Can It Be A Problem

It's so hard to tell with the images out of focus. I must say, however, these shots don't look as alarming as the first.

The only thing I can think of offhand is that the outer edge of the pages were exposed to sunlight and the paper became brittle and easily chipped.

The first photograph hints at a different story as there are loose fibers visible.

I don't know what else to say short of try to photograph a page or two at a greater distance and in natural light. Maybe that will improve the focus.

I will see what I can do with pictures tomorrow.

I have trimmed all the edges of the really bad pages, hence the strips in the first scan. It almost looks like they were chewed by the perfs left behind, hence why I thought maybe termites or possibly ants.

The edges as a group are hard to photograph due to all the glassine interleaving.

It looks like they took all these pages and put them in 4 new 4 inch Scott International binders and slip cases with interleaving to sell them. None of the interleaving has any issues like the pages.

I am working on trimming all the pages but may have to do the tops and bottoms as well as I have not looked at those very carefully.

It does not look like foxing as I compared it to another album that has it and is very noticeable on the edge and the edges are not chewed up like these are.

I have ordered new Parts 1 and 2 but would like to transfer the interleaving to the new pages. Then I will trim all the old damaged ones and use them for duplicates.

Here is a scan of a page with the edge showing in detail, also chewed up?

Why don't you hold off on the photos until I can confer on this.

It's funny, but this kind of ragged edge is common to uncut volumes that are opened with a dull knife. I have a few volumes like this from as late as 1940 (or thereabouts) but they were printed in Latin America. I don't think that this is what you are facing, however.

The uncut edges are called "deckle" edges and they are common on older books, as KGB stated, because the books are sewn volumes. The signatures (groups of pages) were printed as a large sheet and folded before they are sewn together with other signatures. Sometimes the front edges were slit, resulting in the deckle edges. If they had been trimmed, guillotine style, before being sewn together, they would have a smooth front edge.

The pages in question look like they have been chewed off, rather than just torn with a dull tool.

Possibly damage from wood lice, aka silverfish. They thrive on old paper, typically in cool, damp climates. The seller may have had them. The volumes could have been stored in an infested area for years, then sold to you.

Latest pics look like they were brittle around the brown area and just flaked off when touched. Can you recreate that by touching some of the area that's still straight?

The used Big Blue Part 1 I picked up had brown edges but not going quite as deep in as yours. I took a very fine sanding block and sanded them down to the white area. Problem solved (I think :)

Cockroaches will also leave chew marks like that. Look for their droppings on the shelves or on top of the albums. That will confirm it.

Robert

I guess this boils down to money.

I've purchased two different Scott International collections in the past 25+ years. Both sets, but particularly the first, show the same browning of page edges and also browning/brittleness of the glassine interleaving. The first set came from a stamp auction house in Portland, OR and I'm fairly certain the former owner lived in Portland. So, my thought is that humidity, or dampness in the storage place, is the cause.

On the other hand, my own set of Parts I through V International pages, that I bought in the early 1980s, shows no sign of such damage. I've not had to replace any glassine interleaves either. I live in a semi-arid climate in the Intermountain West, with humidity seldom being an issue. And my albums are kept in a cool, dry place with no sun exposure and no bugs. I think how albums are stored is the key here.

to Trainwreck

I live in Canada and they were bought from someone on ebay in the US. They arrived here that way and I did not notice until I started putting stamps in the first volume

to Mike 33

None of the areas are brittle and flake off. Also, none of the interleaving is damaged at all.

to sdtom

Not sure what your comment means.

to Climber Steve

I have a volume 6 with the brown areas on the edges but this does not look the same as that

I do think you could take care of it with a very fine sanding block. I believe it would be a lot easier than trimming each page.

Just close the book and put a lot of pressure on it as you're sanding so you don't catch and tear any of the pages. I got all my page edges white again in about 15 minutes.

Do the interleaves go all the way to the edge of the page or just the borders? I guess if they go to the edges, sanding might not be the best idea as I'm not sure how the interleaves would react to it

Good luck