Found an old book from 1890 with thread stitching still intact

I was cleaning out a box of donations at my local library last Saturday and found this old textbook from 1890. The spine was falling apart but the thread stitching on the sections was still completely solid. I looked up how they did it back then and apparently they used unbleached linen thread that had a natural wax coating. That stuff holds up way better than the synthetic thread I get from the craft store now. Has anyone else run into old bindings where the thread outlasted the covers?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan_thompson623d ago

That old thread really was built different, I found a 1910 book with perfect stitching but the cover was completely dust.

the_robin3d ago

Wow, @nathan_thompson62 makes a good point but I wonder if the thread durability has more to do with how they prepared the fibers... old linen was retted and spun way differently than modern stuff, takes a lot more abuse.