To clean an old book, remove stubborn dust by brushing it off with a dry paint brush or a soft toothbrush. If there are smudges or pencil marks in the book, get a gum eraser from an art supply store and erase the marks with it, working in one direction to avoid crinkling or ripping the pages. Additionally, to lift sticky residue off the cover of a book, dab a little baby oil or cooking oil on a piece of cotton wool and rub it over the affected area. Once the residue is gone, wipe the area clean with a fresh piece of cotton wool. To learn how to clean leather bound volumes, keep reading! Show
Did this summary help you?YesNo Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 208,327 times. InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website. Foxing stains on books, papers & photographs:This article defines book & paper foxing - those reddish-brown stains found on some old books, papers, photographs, and other paper products.We explain the causes of foxing stains, the chemistry and mold components of foxing, and we describe what foxing looks like, how it is cleaned from books, papers, or photographs, and how foxing can best be prevented by book and paper restorers and paper conservators.We provide and cite an extensive list of authoritative references about foxing: cause, cure, and prevention.We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom as a quick way to find information you need. Foxing Stains on Books, Papers, Photographs: cause, cure, preventionOur photograph of book foxing illustrates foxing stains on the page edges of the book discussed in this article. Photograph taken in direct sunlight.[Click to enlarge any image]Article Series ContentsQuestion/Comment: what causes rusty stains or foxing marks on books and paper ? Foxing definition, chemistry, causes, treatments or removal methods, and preventionAre foxing marks on books and paper always caused by mould or are other factors also at work?Also, I have a couple of books with shiny pages that have become sticky during a humid summer and have developed orange lines along the edges of some of the pages.Is this a reaction of the acid in the books seeping through the cut edges or could mould be a factor? - Rachel 9/2/202Reply: iron oxide, fungi and yeast associated with foxing on books and papers: causes, cures, preventionRachel,Your surmise that more than mold is at work in the development of local discoloration or reddish-brown foxing marks on paper and books is correct in that at the core, foxing is caused by exposure of those materials to high humidity, and the brown stains characteristic of foxing marks, according to some researchers are typically found to contain high levels of Iron Oxy-Hydroxide (FeOOH) in one or more chemical forms.However as paper expert Paolo Calvini corrects the record (in detail below),
How experts examine foxing stains on paper productsFoxing and other stains on paper are typically examined by several methods including
Definition & basic chemistry of foxing stains on books, papers, photographsIt is useful to note that the term foxing, used to describe brown or reddish brown discoloration appearing on books, papers, some photographs, derives its name from The F and Ox in Ferrous Oxide, or iron oxide deposits that are attracted to areas in the paper substrate.Exposure of a book or other paper materials to water or more often high humidity over the materials' life is the key or gating factor in the development of foxing stains.This same exposure to humidity is also a determining factor in the development of fungal growth in or on books and papers as well as on other materials such as book bindings, glues, cloth covers, and of course on other indoor building materials and surfaces.Biotic foxing on paper is indeed a widely-recognized book and paper conservation concern. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]9][10][11][12][14] Yet according to at least some of those experts, the biotic or even chemical origin of these stains remains unclear.What do foxing stains look like on books or paper?I'm not an expert book or paper conservator, but our photo (above left) is indeed a typical example of modest foxing marks or stains on both the page edges and within pages as well. The example is from our copy of Hypatia or Woman and Knowledge, by Dora Russell, third impression, printed by Mackays Ltd., Chatam, London, in the mid 1920's.Examining small brown spots of "foxing" stains from a sample page macroscopically we observe a classic fungal colony pattern - as if a colony has grown from a single spore center.But examining these samples by light microscopy in acid fuchsin and in KOH (not the optimal mountant chemicals for this purpose) as well as dry without a cover slide and using reflected as well as transmitted light did not produce good images of fungal colonization, just a few fungal spores resembling Cladosporium sphaerospermum.At left our photo illustrates preparing a large sample (triangular cut) of one of these brown stains.Further work is in process, and of course other experts have examined foxing stains using other methods including FLIR. [16] [Forensic microscopic images of these stain materials are forthcoming. - Ed.]Research reported by Arai et als established the fungal basis of foxing stains. [31][32][33][34] while more recently, Zotti et als, using FLIR, cultures, and other methods, identified Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Penicillium purpurogenum, Aspergillus melleus, Pithomyces chartarum, Aspergillus sclerotiorum as among the most common fungi associated with foxing marks or stains on paper. Those researchers found these fungal genera/species present before and after microwave treatment of foxed papers. [16]Further work by the same authors found that these biota were absent after mechanical "rubbing" of the stained areas to remove the apparent stain - which surprised me.My own preliminary work on the brown foxing stains such as those shown here suggests that at least in some cases the foxing stains involve materials that reside within the matrix of wood pulp fibers comprising the paper itself, making successful mechanical surface treatments difficult.In an earlier work the same lead author, Zotti, who along with Arai has done extensive research on foxing, noted that the while fungi and some yeasts are found in foxing marks on books and papers, the dominant genera and species appeared to be in the Penicillium group.Ten species representative of filamentous fungi genera and one yeast form were identified. Of the fungal species, the one most frequently represented was Penicillium, with 5 different strains, while for each of the other genera there was only one species. [17]What are the Foxing Fungi? fungi identified as growing on or in paper materials included the followingAt least ten species of fungi and one yeast have been identified as growing on/in or "hosted by" paper, [16][17][17a][29]Indeed, a literature search confirms that among scholarly and research papers we researched for this article, not one authority detected the presence of either of the two types of mildew (Oidium-Erysiphe - powdery mildew, or Peronosporaceae - downy mildew) among the various fungi found growing on books, papers, photographs, stamps, or other paper based works. [1] op. seq. Fungal species commonly identified as found growing on or in books, papers, photographs, stamps, etc. include at least the following:
How to remove & prevent Foxing stains: Cures for Foxing on Paper, Books, PhotographsConservationists and paper or book restorers typically use a range of chemical or plant extract treatments to attempt to neutralize the reddish stains associated with foxing. Removing ferrous oxide (FeO) from the paper appears to be a key step in both removing the stains and preventing their recurrence.Where appropriate, such as in visibly moldy books and papers, mold needs to be physically removed from paper and book surfaces first, typically by gentle brushing, wiping, or HEPA vacuuming. Some conservationists also attempt to "kill" the mold using microwave or freeze-drying methods.[16]Watch out: killing mold simply means that most of the remaining mold spores, if placed in a culture media, will not reproduce. But depending on mold genera/species such spores may still be harmful to humans or other animals and may retain allergenic or even toxic chemicals such as mycotoxins found in some fungi. For this reason, a proper mold remediation strategy should always involve physically cleaning mold from materials and surfaces that can be cleaned, and correcting the conditions that caused the mold growth in the first place. See MOLD KILLING GUIDE for details.
... Bleach treated or chemical treated papers on the other hand will always be subject to the foxing returning and eventual disintegration. [25] Warnings & Corrections About Causes of & Treatments for Foxing Stains on PaperReader Comment: correcting the record on Foxing and Foxing Stain Removal TechniquesI have read the article aboutI'm one of the authors quoted in the bibliography (16, 17: Zotti et al.).In the article published here there are some questionable statements:
Reply:Sr. Calvini:I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to send me your note.. I have edited the article above to reflect your warnings.As a matter of editorial policy we ask for expert technical review of our articles, while at the same time,we understand that we should not burden experts with too great a volume of requests. Had I considered that risk was involved I might have been smarter by asking for further reviews. - Daniel Friedman, Editor. Using Microwave Oven Treatment for Foxing on Paper ProductsReader Question: any truth to effectiveness of using microwave oven treatments for mold?(Mar 19, 2014) Foxing said: Is there any truth in this as it sounds plausible, and if it does work does it harm the card. - Regards David Reply: uses of microwave treatment on moldy booksDavid Microwaving is one of the techniques used by some book restorers to try to dry out and "kill" mold. First, on cigarette cards with foxing stains, microwave treatment will almost certainly not remove the existing brown stains attributed to fungal attack.Next, it might "kill" some or even all of the fungal spores, though we haven't tested that theory. We'd need to identify a suitable culture media that works with foxing-fungi (not all molds will grow in any culture of any sort), then do some testing with samples collected before and after treatment. Third in my OPINION there may be some cigarette cards that might be damaged, either their inks that might be oxidized or other components such as metallic inks or foils that would cause or might cause a bit of excitement (sparking) in the microwave. In the most extreme case we might even oxidize or brown the card by heat. Still it's an interesting idea. If you want to pursue it we could get some help from appropriate mycologists and paper restoration experts, and here at InspectApedia we could conduct the lab work in our forensic lab. Let me know if you have some low-value examples that we could use for testing if you want to pursue it more scientifically. Research on biotic foxing and its treatments on valuable or antique books, papers, related objects
Other Do-it-yourself Treatments for Foxing?Reader question: 7/25/14 IAmBill said:Are there DIY methods on removing the foxing stains because the methods shown don't seem like it. And is putting them out in sunlight one of them?Reply:Bill,I agree that most of the foxing stain treatments discussed here are used by professionals.
Watch out: as Calvini cites in comments on this article, some older documented treatments for foxing stains on paper, photographs, books, or other similar products are both obsolete (no longer recommended) and dangerous. (Aug 1, 2014) IAmBill said:I am simply asking if there are other DIY methods beyond the two just mentioned.There has to be more, right? Or are there only two? Reply:Bill, researched information on foxing stains including comments from one of the most expert people in the field along with citations are in the article above.If there were other methods advised that research had cited or disclosed they'd be here. What would lead a reader to think our editors withheld useful information.?I was taken to task by a world expert on this topic Paolo Calvini (in the article above) for including too many now-obsolete and some-dangerous methods for treating foxing stains. I conclude that while there may be more amateur approaches they are either ineffective or dangerous.The ineffective or less-effective ones that might do something and that I know about are included in the article. For sure, if you find reference to other foxing stain treatments that we have not discussed here just let me know and I'll be glad to research and comment on them.Cross-Contamination Among Foxed Books & Papers?8/24/15 Zack said:May i know if foxed book could contaminate other books?Reply:ZackIt's more likely that the conditions that caused foxing or mold growth on a book would affect others in the same environment. Not all books are equally affected - variations in materials, inks, papers, glues, bindings make a difference too.Storing Books & Papers to Avoid Foxing8/25/14 Zack said: Hi, lately i don't have time to maintain and take care of my books. So i put them in traveling vacuum bag and vacuum the air out. Will this keep my books from getting foxed or mold?I live in a humid country and maintaining the environment is very costly (i.e aircond and dehumidifier). What is the best method to keep the book in good condition as possible.Reply: Zack,Provided the books and papers are already dry, you can store them in a vacuum bag and remove the air, though document experts have warned me about storing important documents in a vacuum. I think equally safe and easier is to place your *dry* books into a clean tightly-sealing plastic container.The remaining few mold spores and moisture molecules sealed in with the books won't cause a mold contamination. Watch out: if you store wet or damp books and papers in any closed container, vacuumed or not, you can expect mold growth to ensue. Is there a distinction between "mold" and "mildew" appearance on books & papers?Reader opines that book mold is "mildew"As a book collector and once-upon-a-time mycologist I found your web site of interest. However, I do not believe there would be uniform acceptance among professional mycologists of your distinction between "mold" and "mildew".The organisms involved are all fungi in the classical sense. Those attacking dead organic matter like cellulose are not all that different biologically from their relatives that may have a preference for the living cells of plants and animals. The fact that some parasitic species may be facultative heterotrophs (feeding on non-living materials) supports this view.I believe your cause is best served by promoting the idea that the fungi, a diverse and highly successful breed, will exploit any environment where nutrients and moisture are available whether or not it is living or dead. Books and their bindings in a high humidity environment are sitting ducks. ... [text omitted here]. - Chris 9/7/2012See our article BOOK / DOCUMENT MOLD & WATER DAMAGE RESTORATION and its section on the MILDEW on BOOKS? for additional details about the importance of the distinction between mold growth on surfaces and mildew growth. Mildew doesn't grow on books, nor on leather shoes, nor on wallpaper, nor on other indoor building surfaces, though lots of other mold genera/species mightChris, Thank you for the interesting comments about book mold, mildew, HEPA vacuuming, and the important role of the fungi in our environment. I'm grateful to read your opinion and want to emphasize that we welcome polite, informed discussion or debate about this or any other topic found at InspectApedia.com. Indeed even among expert book restorers the term mildew is often used loosely and technically incorrectly to refer to the role of certain fungi or mold genera/species in the cause of foxing on books and papers.A few points need clarification: by no means do I suggest that mildew is not a fungus, as mildew is indeed a proper subset of the huge kingdom of fungi. But the fungi appearing on books are different genera/species from the two fungi properly named mildew. There are some important distinctions to be made.Mildew doesn't grow on shoes, nor on paper, though many other mold genera/species can grow on these materialsI learned about the distinctive properties of mildew as a living plant pathogen among other members of the Fifth Kingdom from Dr. John Haines, my friend and mentor, when John was still serving as the NY State mycologist. Like many people I just bandied the word mildew about willy-nilly. John asked why I thought it might be mildew, allowed me to embarrass myself, and then kindly explained that mildew grows on plants, not shoes. Perhaps it's technical nitpicking, but mildew a subset of "mold" that only grows on living plants. Mildews are a small group of fungi found among the Basidiomycota, Ustilaginales if I recall correctly, and any "mildew" if properly identified, will be either Oidium-Erysiphe or Powdery Mildew or Peronosporaceae or Downy Mildew. Mildew, then, has nothing to do with and won't be found growing on books nor on other building surfaces unless the item in the building is a live or recently-live plant. The fungi identified as mildew include these two groupsBelow I include photos of Oidium or powdery mildew that I collected from a jasmine plant (below left) that was growing indoors (we moved it outside before this photo was taken) along with a photo of the same mildew from that plant under my lab microscope (below ). Below: Oidium or powdery mildew under the microscope in our lab. Watch out: In a library of moldy books, if by careless language we informed building management that we thought the dominant mold present was just a bit of mildew (say Oidium) we would erroneously conclude that other than a possible allergic response or perhaps a problem for nearby houseplants, there was no health risk to building occupants. But in point of fact what I find on moldy library books is typically a potpourri of fungi dominated on book jackets by several species of Aspergillus - far more likely to present an IAQ and health hazard to occupants. See MILDEW on BOOKS? for additional details about this distinction. Reader Q&A - also see the FAQs series linked-to below@Lynette Carothers, A number of paper conservationists / researchers have discussed the use of 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide (among other bleaching options or methods) to mitigate foxing stains on paper, and hydrogen peroxide has been discussed by some conservationists as one of the safer methods (Carter 1996) though nevertheless not without some risk. But watch out: use of hydrogen peroxide (or other bleaching agents) to reduce foxing stains can also damage the paper. (Hummert 2012) Below are some citations of interest.
I've heard a lot about freezing papers to kill off any microscopic pests. Would freezing photos that have foxing be of any use in preventing the foxing from getting worse? The photos I'm dealing with are 100 years old and printed on a cardboard-like backing. @Jane, For stains caused by fungi, freezing *might* have some application in paper conservation, to the extent that stains seen on your photos are due to microorganisms such as fungi, as most fungi (molds) become inactive at low temperatures and as freezing usually also means very dry air - low moisture; but you'll also see below some warnings about this approach. I'm not sure that other sources of foxing stains that are only chemically-based will respond to low temperatures though keeping paper dry (an effect of freezing under proper conditions) can reduce the propensity to stain of several stain sources. Watch out: You would want to take care to assure that - moisture is carefully controlled including when the papers or photos are being removed from freezing storage - freezing and subsequent thawing won't damage the materials being stored at freezing temperatures. -Some of the effects of freezing may damage paper materials and photographs, and can be subtle, such as changes in thickness of materials (Michaelsen 2013) and other properties of paper that might weaken it. (Teygeler 2004) Freezing as a paper conservation method has been widely-discussed. Here are some examples:
Please advise if my treatment of acid and water stains is appropriate. For many years I have been using food grade hydrogen peroxide with a small art paint brush. I start in an area closest to the border and lightly brush a small portion of the stain. I them immediately blot with a natural cotton cloth. If it appears to remove the acid stain I continue, at times having to go over the same area several times. The process is to bring the areas as close to the aged shade of the surrounding area as possible. I have never used the process on the colored, picture areas of the print. I have used a lightly dampened with food grade peroxide cotton cloth to gently wipe the entire print. The results have been good, especially around the borders and in a few cases close to the print. It works especially well with Victorian news prints. I have been using the process for over 20 years and have not seen any damage to the prints that I have cleaned and then framed in either the original frame or a vintage frame cleaned and either touched up in the chipped or worn paint areas or addressed the restoration of a wood frame. My question is how this will affect the print in the long term. As I said I have a couple nearly 20 years since I have done this treatment. The process is not meant to make the print new looking. It was a process that I 1st tried to stop further acid damage. I don't think that framing itself would it effect foxing unless there are chemicals leaching from the frame into the paper which would then be a chemical stain anyway not foxing. However exposure to humid air could be a factor. Is your woodcut open to the air or under glass? I have purchased a wood cut that has foxing stains across the product. I intend to frame the piece. Will framing affect the current foxing, either increasing it or retarding it? The paper is much larger that the block print so I can mask some of it with the mat and frame. If I simply cover it up, will it continue to affect the piece> Judy The problem of damage to artworks from the adhesive on tape is a common illustration of in-expert mounting of works on paper, usually showing up years after the mounting was done. If the artwork is valuable enough to justify the expense, an expert paper conservator may be able to remove the adhesive and reduce the paper staining that it caused. In Atlanta you have more than one expert paper / artwork conservators. Call a couple of them for advice. Examples of paper conservators in Atlanta: Marianne Kelsey Book and Paper Conservator Professional McGannon Studios Paper department, Williamstown + Atlanta Art Conservation Center I have a lithograph on Japon paper, to my dismay the art tape has bled through to the front of the art piece. I can’t find an expert on this in the Atlanta area. Any help would be appreciated. [Photo above] Thank you GJ for the interesting and significant comment. If you can post a photo or two (*use the Add Image button) it would be instructive to see some of the patterns that you describe - on various materials. Since hemp, linen and wood are often main components of paper, you have to look at the pattern of oxidation in cellulosic fabric - and brown spots are the result. This is a breakdown in the cellulose from moisture over time; the resultant stain or rust mark is oxidation. This can still be seen in cheaper fabrics for instance which are not treated to resist it and in floor coverings made from sea grass etc. Nope. But there are fungi that may grow on paper that can produce stains of almost any colour, of which black, brown, yellow, green, and red are common. see But mold does occur on paper and books and book bindings - and may be mistaken for foxing.
...Continue reading at BOOK / DOCUMENT MOLD & WATER DAMAGE RESTORATION or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.Or see FOXING STAINS on BOOKS & PAPERS FAQs - questions and answers posted originally at this article.Or see these Art, Book, Document, Photogaph Foxing & Mold ArticlesSuggested citation for this web pageFOXING STAINS on BOOKS & PAPERS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.Or see this INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to MOLD CONTAMINATION & REMEDIATIONOr use the found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia ... Ask a Question or Search InspectApediaTry the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly.Search the InspectApedia website Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. Apologies for the delay. Technical Reviewers & ReferencesClick to Show or Hide Citations & References
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