Dyeing of leather, book cloth and Japanese paper is an essential part of book repair and conservation.  Below are examples showing the dyeing and use of Japanese paper and book cloth from the repair of these cloth bindings of Fox’s Book of Martyrs.

Japanese paper which has been dyed to match the existing book cloth can cover and protect exposed parts of the binding structure, such as the cover boards.  Though the purpose of a repair is not to make the book look new, one needs to reduce or eliminate conspicuous elements in the binding so that one can appreciate the overall book, rather than focus on its damage and wear.

This image shows a repaired corner.  The original book cloth at this point has worn away exposing the binders board.  After strengthening the board it was covered with dyed japanese paper which was then treated in order to make it more durable.

Japanese paper can by dyed by using acrylics, tea and other materials.  In this instance  the paper kizukishi was dyed using acrylics, and then treated with Klucel-G which helps to protect the paper from further wear and abrasion.

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This image is a detail of a spine repair.  After new dyed cloth was applied to the binding the original spine was reapplied to the book.  The cloth was dyed using acrylics.

Again, the point is never to make the repair invisible, but to  make the repair as inconspicuous as possible.  Conservators often jokingly talk about the “five foot rule” which means that ideally you cannot tell the book has been repaired while it is sitting on a shelf.  The challenge is to repair the book in a way in which the repair isn’t the first thing you notice upon picking the book up.

However, it is unethical to repair a book in a way which completely hides the repair. 

A good repair should render the book usable, while preserving its character, and showing some indication of how the book was worn or damaged --  after all, the damage or wear on and in the book can say a lot about how the previous owners used the book.  And how much they cared about it and used it.

Japanese paper used to repair a corner of the cover.

Dyed book cloth used to repair the spine