Title: An account of the United States of America…

Author: Isaac Holmes

Published/Created: London: Printed at the Caxton press, by H. Fisher, [1823]

Owner: Special Collections, Rare Books, University of Chicago

Dimensions: H 23.2cm x W 14.9cm x D 4.0cm

Description & Condition

The book has a tight back and a tight joint, fully covered with blue-green paper. The spine appears to be minimally rounded and backed. Printed waste was used to line the spine. The boards are flush with the textblock and laced on with cord sewing supports. The textblock is cut but not trimmed or ploughed and retains true deckle edges. The text was sewn abbreviated (3-on) on two recessed cords, with two additional sewing holes and two kettle stations. The two foldouts are tipped into the adjacent pages. The foldout map facing the title page is hand-colored.

The first two and last three sections are whip-stitched to the boards, and a strip of brown paper tape is attached to the spine and the edges of the boards in a quarter binding style. White textile tapes are also attached to some of the leaves’ gutters. The spine tape is very brittle and breaking apart. The sewing is broken in multiple places, leaving the textblock unstable. The original paper cover is heavily soiled, abraded, and worn along all edges and corners. The boards are also worn and delaminating at the corners. The edges of the text papers are worn, as they are not fully protected by the boards. The foldout map has minor tears on the fore edge and has caused offsetting on the title page.

Treatment Note

Due to extensive damage, the book was fully disbound, guarded, resewn, and rebound with new boards and a paper cover. The broken sewing and failing paper tape, combined with the whip-stitching, made it impossible to repair or reinforce the original structure.

To preserve key original features, the book was resewn through the same recessed sewing stations and rebound as a tight back with green cave paper. To strengthen the structure, the sewing was upgraded to all-along on four sewing supports. This treatment was carried out in consultation with Ann Lindsey.

Since I was unfamiliar with cave paper as a covering material, I created a small model to test its workability using wheat starch paste. When moistened with paste, the cave paper became malleable and easy to handle.

Photo Documentation