Laminated dustjackets

Not sure. I have a 1960's H with the jacket fully laminated. Never thought of trying to remove it though, as it didn't cost that much. Colours have been noticeably bleached.

Also have a 1977 Pb set of LotRs with covers & slipcase fully laminated. Now that I'd struggle to remove without damaging...

Do post us the results!

BH

I have a 2nd Impression 1968 one volume paperback Lord of the Rings, which has a clear adhesive cover, scared stiff of removing it.

Best of luck, and please inform us of results if you try it.

I'm guessing this is a copy you picked up cheaply and plan on de-laminating and selling, which means your tolerance for risk is probably pretty high.

I wouldn't try and hit it with an iron, but application of heat is your only hope. I'd use a temperature-adjustable heat gun (I have one that goes from 40C to 400C with a built in laser-thermometer). If that works, then the only thing I would trust to remove any glue residue is isopropyl alcohol. I have used this on grubby gloss dust-jackets very successfully (but I wouldn't try it on a matte finish jacket such as The Hobbit).

In terms of trying the process on other books, remember that there are probably a wide-range of adhesives on different types of plastic.

I probably wouldn't try it myself unless I thought the book was zero value/interest without removing the plastic!

H
thanks for replies
Yep tolerance high on my test books. They are old library copies with lots of stamps and wear so in theory worth very little
Like idea of a heat gun vs an iron

When I get a moment and a fire extinguisher I will give it a go

More experimental then anything else but you are right Khamul mine too have colour differences caused by solvents

Got to be worth is vs throwing away

I have a laminated first edition Bombadil that I will leave alone - given the discoloration, and general paper quality, I don't think there would be much left beyond a pulpy mess if I tried any sort of removal process.

My own personal opinion is that the dustjacket is better laminated (can still see art clearly and it is protected) but I haven't seen a successful removal yet, so it may actually look better if a good job is done. Either way, I don't think it would be anything near "very good" condition, and thus there's no real benefit to the removal except personal preference for aesthetics.

I have a laminated first edition Bombadil that I will leave alone - given the discoloration, and general paper quality, I don't think there would be much left beyond a pulpy mess if I tried any sort of removal process.

My own personal opinion is that the dustjacket is better laminated (can still see art clearly and it is protected) but I haven't seen a successful removal yet, so it may actually look better if a good job is done. Either way, I don't think it would be anything near "very good" condition, and thus there's no real benefit to the removal except personal preference for aesthetics.

Urulöké wrote:
Either way, I don't think it would be anything near "very good" condition, and thus there's no real benefit to the removal except personal preference for aesthetics.

That's how I tend to look at it. A laminated book might not be worth much monetarily, but it could still be nice to own. Once the laminate is removed, it might very still well not be worth much monetarily but also no longer be so nice to own, depending on how much damage the removal does.

That said, interested to see any results!