Stumbled on a stat about old leather bindings that shocked me

I was reading through a 1982 edition of The New Bookbinder journal last week and found a fact I can't stop thinking about. It said that before 1850, most bookbinding leather was tanned with tree bark and could last 200 years or more. But after they switched to chrome tanning around 1880, modern leather bindings often start falling apart in just 50 to 80 years. I had no idea the shift in tanning methods made that big of a difference. Has anyone else run into this issue with modern leather compared to old stuff? I'm wondering if there's a way to treat chrome tanned leather to make it hold up longer.

2 comments

2 Comments

the_piper16d ago

Read a similar thing in a library preservation newsletter once that said the bark tanning method creates a chemical bond that actually resists breakdown from air and light. The chrome tanning process makes the leather soft and cheap but leaves it way more vulnerable to pollution and acidic decay. I wonder if there's a way to reverse some of that damage with a good leather dressing or something. Have you tried any treatments on your own chrome tanned books?

elizabeth_gonzalez16d ago

Would a good leather conditioner actually penetrate deep enough to help with chrome tanned stuff, or is it mostly just surface level? I've heard some people say that once chrome leather starts degrading, there's really no saving it because the damage is chemical, not just dry or something.