A relatively rare example of a Victorian era special edition binding rendered in decorative wooden boards with leather spine.

Outwardly it appeared well preserved and in overall excellent condition.

However...

When opened...

A common problem with non-traditional commercial bindings is that they all too often rely solely on adhesives to secure the outer covering to the text-block.

Such was this case. With the passage of time, the original animal hide based glue used to attach the leather spine and text-block to the boards became dry and brittle, leading to the bindings inevitable failure.

Once the text-block was completely rebuilt and all extant pieces cleaned and individually restored...

...they were reassembled using modern permanent adhesives

The original aesthetics are once again preserved, along with a new and more or less permanent structural integrity.