The person who "revives" old book pages

In the world of books that gradually fade over time, there are people who work silently and meticulously to prolong the “lifespan” of books. With respect for the beautiful values that books bring, the work of those who restore and bind old books is with the desire to maintain the value of books over time.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Sinh is a rare person in Ha Long City who still accepts restoring old books.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Sinh (Bach Dang Ward, Ha Long City) has been working as a book binder for over 20 years, and for the same amount of years she has been restoring old books. Previously, Ms. Sinh was a member of the Ha Long Book Binding Cooperative. After the cooperative was dissolved, she and several others continued to do this work at the Hong Son Printing Complex on 25/4 Street, Ha Long City.

In addition to accepting new book binding, Hong Son Printing Group where Ms. Sinh works is a rare address in Ha Long City that also accepts binding and restoring many types of old books. Most of the books brought here are up to several decades old and often have damaged covers, torn pages, and falling spines... Therefore, the process of restoring old books takes a lot of time and is also much more complicated than binding new books, requiring the bookbinder to handle each step very carefully.

Most of the books brought here are decades old and often have damaged covers, torn pages, and falling spines.

When old books are brought in, Ms. Sinh will carefully check the condition of the book to decide on the appropriate restoration method. If the cover and spine of the book are torn or the pages are loose, the cover will be removed, each book sleeve will be separated and sewn back together, then the book sleeves will be arranged in the correct page order, glue will be used to fix the sleeves together and then put into the press for 5-10 minutes to increase the adhesion between the sleeves.

Next, if the book cover is still good, it can be reused, but if the cover is too old, the worker will have to redesign it, print it on decals and re-bind the book cover. Finally, trim the edges of the book to make it new and more square.

Ms. Sinh said: Normally, to restore old books, many tools are needed, including knives, scissors, needles, rulers, cloth, glue, etc., and it will take about 2-4 days. If the damage is more severe, this process may take longer, depending on the complexity of the book and the customer's requirements. When sewing books, it is also necessary to pay attention to the sewing technique to make the stitches beautiful, pull the thread tight enough to make the book sturdy, and use additional sewing tape with the book's arms to increase the connection.

The process of sewing the book covers is done entirely by hand.

The book binding machine helps to increase the adhesion of the book arms together.

With a thin figure and agile movements, Mrs. Sinh skillfully sewed each page of the book with her needle and thread. For thin books, she could sew them right away, but for thick books, she needed to use an awl to punch holes before sewing.

Although the income from binding old books is not much and it takes more time, Ms. Sinh still accepts the job, partly because she sees the respect of the book owner for the precious book, and partly because she also wants to contribute to spreading the value and love of books through her own work.

Old books have been restored and given a new look.

Old books, stained by time, preserve valuable knowledge and are sometimes precious souvenirs for their owners. Therefore, the work of those who restore and bind old books is truly special. In today's modern life, it is not easy to find workers who still do this meticulous, slow and time-consuming manual work.

With patience, care and love for books, old bookbinders like Ms. Sinh are giving old books a more beautiful "new coat", regenerating them with a new life and contributing to preserving the value of precious books considered "treasures of knowledge".

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