The Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith, Junior (Palmyra, [N.Y.]: Printed by E. B. Grandin for the author, 1830), first edition; Woodstock Theological Library.
All parts of the binding for this book were in poor condition, with the upper cover and flyleaf entirely detached, the leather at the corners, edges and the surface abraded and worn; and the end caps and bands entirely missing. In addition, the spine leather had pulled loose from the textblock. Leather spine labels from the nineteenth century tend to be extremely thin and made from the outer layer of a split sheepskin (known as skiver); and as such, can be easily damaged. Most of the overall textblock was in good condition, except for two of the gatherings that had split. Conservators removed the covers and spine leather, including the label; which was lined. The spine and textblock were cleaned, and all of the leaves were surface cleaned; with minor paper repairs using Japanese paper and wheat starch paste as needed. In addition, conservators partially resewed the volume to reattach the separated sections. The surface leather of the original binding was consolidated and repaired with Japanese paper, and all repairs to the cover were toned with watercolors. The original end sheets were restored, and the joints were repaired with inner Japanese paper hinges. Since the original spine leather had failed, the volume was rebacked. This volume was also digitized, and is now available for access online in DigitalGeorgetown.