Book preservation question

[Solomon]

So, I recently acquired an 1842 diary of Usher Parsons (1788-1868), who did live through the ACW, but is known for serving as surgeon on one of the ships during the Battle of Lake Erie, in the War of 1812. He was apparently quite a revered physician of the early 19th century, from Rhode Island, and neat to acquire one of his diary volumes, which is filled cover to cover. The book binding is nearly gone though (see photos), and I'm wondering what the most appropriate method would be, of preserving the book. Thought I would check with the forum, as I know there are some here, who are highly knowledgeable of historic documents, and proper handling.

I would actually love to read through the volume, page by page, at some point, just to reflect on the era, through the eyes of a historic physician, but don't want to further dilapidate the material.

Any suggestions are certainly welcome!

 

[W Charles Young]

The best advice is to take it to a professional conservator. This isn't a DIY project. Your state library or archives should be able to make recommendations on conservators.

 

[W Charles Young]

If a conservator is cost prohibitive. Please consider donating it to an archive that might want it and be able to spend the money to save it. Given who he is and where he's from, Rhode Island's state museum or archives might be interested. I know professional conservators might get pricey.

 

[Solomon]

If a conservator is cost prohibitive. Please consider donating it to an archive that might want it and be able to spend the money to save it. Given who he is and where he's from, Rhode Island's state museum or archives might be interested. I know professional conservators might get pricey.

I've reached out to a couple of conservators for quotes, but get the feeling it could be pricey, yes. And I'm certainly up for archive acquisition at some point, yep. Half the reason for purchase was ultimately to this point, as I think items like this should end up in museums and archives, vs buried away in private collections. Really want to read through, but hate to damage it any further, and mostly just want to get it stabilized. Thanks for the input so far on this!