Using Glassine Interleaving Pages—advise Sought

Thank you for taking this question. I have a 1947 Scott International album, Volume 1, that is literally stuffed to the gills. Since the pages are printed on both sides, I have been inserting the glassine interleaving pages between two pages that face each other and have stamps attached. However, these glassines are not through the stamp posts and as you can imagine with a book stuffed this full, they are becoming cumbersome each time the book is opened.

I was thinking of trimming the sheets a little along the post holes and then trying to attach one edge more permanently towards the spine. The question is the method of attachment: ? Tape, archival tape, a thin bead of glue or other?

I would appreciate hearing how others have dealt with this issue. Frankly, if I took the album apart and tried to run the glassine through the posts, I think I would be unable to get the book back together or the glassines would probably tear around the posts with usage and reinforcements around the post holes never seems to work smoothly.

*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***

Wouldn't it be easier to pick up a cheap, used binder and expand into two volumes? The time and misery involved in a messy DIY solution hardly seems worth the effort.

First mark a thin vertical pencil/guideline. Then apply the very thinnest vertical line of white glue, as close to holes as you can, will work perfectly. Not messy, easy.

I faced the same situation couple years ago and took the approach of buying cheap used Scott binders and breaking it out. So much easier to use now.

Per GeoffHa, you'll need to expand into a second binder in any case if it's that full. You will get slightly more wear around the holes, but that's unavoidable over the long term. Rather than using store-bought reinforcements, I prefer to patch hole breaks with a hinge, or a bit of wrapping tissue with white glue. I also patch (and attach interleaving) on the back/lefthand side as it's less obvious to me if visible.

And when bookbndrbob says "thin", that means thin and really light. If the glassine puckers at the glue line, that's too much glue.

A second album is the best solution. If you search and are lucky you may find an album in good shape without stamps. I was able to get one with a few mounts and stamps. It allows me to make a better album given the time.

I agree with the others who have suggested getting a second binder and expanding.

Dale

I second the idea of dividing the pages between two binders. I bought an International Part 1 several months ago and plan on ordering an extra binder and interleaving in the very near future.

I bought 2 of the wide binders, using the clear interleaves instead of glassine. I filled the first binder and since the 2nd will only be less than half full, I'm going to use a part 2 to fill the empty space in it.

The big blue binders should not have that many pages with stamps on them . As mention above get another binder and expand your collection to more binders or chuck the BIG BLUES and repunch the pages to fit a 3 ring binder { that's what I did and cut 1/4 of inch off the bottom and 1/4 inch off the right side to fit better in a high quality binder }.

I've done this with a couple of albums. Glue stick is my method - applied sparingly, to just grip the edge of the glassine which is to be fixed as far away from the stamps as you can reasonable get - ie, as close to the spine as is practical. Mine never seem to come away, and would pass for pre-faced leaves.

Ringo: I started to look at glue sticks. There certainly is a wide variety of opinions regarding their quality, flow of glue, obstruction etc. it would seem that a glue pen would have the best tip, but that actually did not appear to be the favorite. What specific product do you use and has the glue applied as a light thin bead ever ruined the stamps on the page or bled through?

I agree that minimum glue stick use would be the best solution here.

From a craft site:

Don't use a glue that is too wet as this will make the glassine paper wrinkle too much, a more solid glue like pritt-stick is best.

Meaning no dis-respect.....but for me, glue of any kind gets nowhere close to my albums.

Glue sticks don't have runny glue of course, so there is little risk of contaminating stamps. Not impossible, but normal attention to what one is doing would be enough.

I used Pritt stick. Very thin line of sticky down most of the edge of the interleaving sheet, and press onto the album page. Honestly, I wouldn't over-analyse the problem. It's just sticking paper to paper - very easy to do.