Tintin Forums

The spine on my 'Black island' is beginning to 'peel off', for lack of a better word....nope, peel off sounds about right.
It just started, so I know I can save it.
Any of you know how to stop/avoid/fix this? I don't want it to end up all scotch-taped!

Bind it? I am planning to bind all my tintin albums. The pages of "Land of Black Gold" and "The Blue Lotus" are tearing from the edge like notepad paper.

Oh, no, the pages are fine, none of them has the slightest sign of tearing (yet); is there an alternative to binding? I'd really like to keep it as close to the original as possible (that is no heavy interventions)

My copy of the Black Island is also in a bit of a state - it's about 25 years old now, the cover has come completely away from the rest of the book, my younger self drew round the title in the inside cover in red felt-tip, and, well, it's just generally knocked about! I can't quite bring myself to buy a new one.

Not as bad as my Asterix books, though - when i was about 8 or 9 I went through a phase of categorising them and so the older ones have various numbers, triangles and circles, of which the meaning is lost to time.

Anyway - slightly off-topic there! Basically - my Black Island too!

You may be able to find those plastic wallets that they have in libraries which will keep you other books from getting destroyed. I have an 1983 Ex-Libris copy of 'Sharks' in a plastic sleeve and I believe they keep a Album readable yet clean.

You mean like the collectors do with their comics (sleeve or plastic 'envelope' which I find very annoying), or more like a plastic jacket? (like kids do with their school books)
I think we had to have those jackets made, though, to fit our books. I think I'm going to do that, instead.
It just bugs me, cos it's not that old (I think it's about 8 years old), and I've been extremely careful with it.

I believe the plastic jackets (like dust-jackets, but made of clear plastic) are commercially available - libraries have lots of books the same size as a Tintin album, so the size of jacket must be available somewhere.

Incidentally, a strip of sticky-backed plastic down the spine would hold it together, without looking too noticeable. Sellotape would be fine for a paperback, but I think you'd need sticky-backed plastic for a hardback, since Sellotape isn't wide enough.

Thanks for your help.

I'm extremely careful with mine too (all but two are paperbacks), and they remain, happily, in mint or near-mint condition. As far as maintenance, where the hardcovers are concerned, not opening them past the point where the covers have that nice little bit of spring and resistance to the "feel" helps, if you're the kind of reader who can be mindful of that kind of thing without finding it absurdly anal retentive or distracting. (Non-collectors and casual-style readers scoff at this, thinking it means you can't open the book wide enough to read comfortably, but that isn't at all true; it only means you don't press down to open it "flat.") If you *can* adopt such caution, it keeps the cardboard hinges from creasing and the (laquer?) coating from peeling. (The paperbacks are so big and floppy, and the hinges so close to the spine edges, that they open wider more naturally, but the same philosophy obtains.)

As for a worn or peeling copy, I'd say if you're not counting pennies (and who isn't?), buy a new one. It's not as if you're trying to restore or preserve a first edition. And it's usually worth replacing books you care about.

I must say, I rather like the 3-in-1 volumes too, even though they reduce the page and image size. A smart and compact way to store sturdy hardcover editions.

And no, my real name is not Felix Unger. I only wish I WAS that neat ... ;-)

(Ha-ha, yes, Felix Unger; I was under that impression...)

No, really. I think one must be careful with your good books.
And I was careful (I think); but the plastic on the covers of the paperbacks is what starts to give in first; then, the cardboard.

The problem is that the binding in paperbacks is done with paste, and it's usually bad (hence, the price); so though I grieve, it was quite normal for this to happen, now that I think about it (I just hadn't realized my book was about 8 years old now; time flies)

I don't plan to buy it again, cos I'm still collecting the other ones, plus it's in really good conditions, besides the slight peeling on the spine.
Maybe the next ones I'll get will be hardbacks instead?