Foxing

Just wondering about people's opinions on foxing?

Is it common with Folio books, especially more recent ones? I thought the quality of paper that the FS uses shouldn't cause this, and so am wondering whether its biological? And if so is it likely to spread?

It's something that I've always avoided, but received an ebay purchase today with it on the fore edge - Myths and Legends of the Near East (2003). It was described as Very Good, with a few dents to the slipcase and was wondering if this was a fair description or whether it should have been mentioned, as I am thinking of returning it.

However, since postage was 40% of the cost, I feel a little for the seller, as by the time they pay for my return costs and the original postage they'll lose money even if they resell it at the same price.

Ultimately am I expecting too much for a Very Good condition book? Although in my defence there's no way I would have purchased it if I had known.

Foxing is not "contagious" unless it is of the organic kind caused by mold although that would likely be on materials that are organic, not on "Abby Wove" paper, Cambric etc - and even then it would be the mold that is "contagious". Foxing can be removed completely by a Chemistry Ph.D with a steady hand :)

Foxing may be unsightly but it will not harm your book.

The seller should have mentioned any known conditions, including foxing.

My take.

Tim

I have matching editions of the FS The Twelve Caesars (Suetonius) and The Rise and Fall of Athens (Plutarch) from the 1960s, which I inherited from my late father. Unfortunately, he had kept them in a bookcase in an unheated attic for some years before they came to me, and they initially felt cold and very slightly damp. I left them out of their slipcases for a while and let them dry out completely. They regained normal room temperature and looked really in very good condition indeed. No harm done, I thought. Then, the other day, I had another look at them, only to find that the edges of the text blocks are beginning to show the very faintest spots of foxing. The paper is of the usual high quality that you associate with the Folio Society.

No other FS books in my possession, including others from the '60s and even the '50s, have any trace of foxing, so I don't think it's a problem unless they are stored in extreme conditions.

My opinion, FWIW:

I dislike the appearance of foxing intensely and consider it a non-starter for purchasing any book. I do not believe the quality of the paper is an issue as several of the most expensive private press books with handmade papers have this blight. Rather, I believe it is caused by the conditions under which the book(s) are housed or shelved. Dampness/humidity and poor ventilation are probably the leading causes. My guess is that this problem is more common for book collectors in the UK than in most regions of the US (excluding the Deep South and the Gulf Coast states) due to the humidity.

I'm sure I have hundreds of books exhibiting foxing - I'm not fond of it, but have learned a fair degree of indifference as if I excluded it I'd be hard pressed to find copies at all of many texts it's mattered to me to read. As I'm in the UK and in a patchily heated old house there's probably new foxing going on under my nose, so to speak, but I've not come across any in Folio Society titles yet. That's unless I've misdiagnosed my set of Leslie Stephen's Hours in a Library, bought for a pittance a couple of years ago, which is disfigured by pale ochre streaking on the fore and bottom edges, but only on the very page edges. It wouldn't show on the top edges as they're stained dark blue. The appearance is as though a previous owner has choked on a cup of tea and spluttered in the direction of the books, but I'm not minded to test that hypothesis by seeing whether I can reproduce the effect on some innocent volume...

I never buy foxed books no matter the condition otherwise. Multiple sources on the Web suggest that foxing has more than one cause, such as storage conditions, acidity and metals in the paper, and fungal growth. This last cause scares me away, because if there is a live fungal growth in the book, then it would likely spread to other books in my library.

Thanks for the info but is there a way to eliminate , remove , foxing from books . I have removed foxing from loose pages via bleaching treatment and washing but never attempted anything with books . Equally I am turned off yellowing pages of acidic paper and these books may not be very old. if I buy such books I regard them as the read and dispose type.

If foxing is fungal then would not keeping your books in good conditions mean that the fungus cannot spread?

I have quite a few foxed books but have never seen a foxed Folio.

>6 jroger1:

If your library is kept at a relative humidity that does not promote fungal growth, you would not have a problem. I don't generally collect books with foxing, but I have a couple, and I have never seen any signs of spread. Fungi just can't grow in low RH situations. Periodic checking of humidity and the use of a dehumidifier if necessary will prevent any issues, IMHO. I also have silica gel in and around my bookcases (not contacting any books), as an additional measure, although high humidity isn't really a problem where I live.

Umm, I'm no expert but brute force methods like bleaching seem dangerous. I was reading a blog post by a Master Binder here in the United States and he comments that each type of spore/fungus/Microbe/Whatever requires a specific chemical treatment. And foxing is quite common with antiquarian books. No big deal and sometimes adds to the charm. And with many 19th century books, it's simply unavoidable. As I understand it, there was a big shift downwards in paper quality during that period, without much understanding of why foxing occurred. I mean, I have a de-humidifier and it helps, but bad paper is bad paper.

Never seen foxing in a modern post 1940's book which uses archival acid-free paper though, only in paper backs.

>10 JustinTChan:

Very few modern hardbacks use archival acid free paper, though. Foxing is definitely still a problem for modern books that aren't kept properly. Conversely, maintain the right conditions, and it really isn't an issue at all.

How do you use the silica gel? I'll have to keep them next time I buy shoes.

>11 Studedoo: "Very few modern hardbacks use archival acid free paper"

Really? I haven't bought a new hardback book in years that wasn't on acid free paper.

>13 kdweber:

My understanding is that archival grade acid free paper is not the same thing as bog-standard acid-free. I believe you are correct that most paper is acid free, though.

So far as I am aware, acid free paper will still fox if you let it get a high enough RH. It just doesn't suffer from the uniform age-toning that really cheap acidic papers do.

Just found myself gazing at www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252304160021? , evidence of what can befall FS books: not so much Slightly Foxed, as Spectacularly. As confessed above, I've a good many foxed volumes, but probably none of nearly such exuberance.

>15 terebinth: maybe the owner read them in the bath!

>15 terebinth: not so much Slightly Foxed, as Spectacularly.

And no bids! S/he is probably wondering why.

Personally, I wouldn't have the gall to try to sell this. I'd be too ashamed to take it to the local charity shop

>15 terebinth: Wow, that shows what can happen when you're missing a slipcase!

>18 cronshaw: When you're missing a slipcase and haven't mopped up the spilt cocoa on the shelf before shelving your books.

>19 HuxleyTheCat: Haha! I can't understand how the owner managed to achieve that effect as the impressive cocoa-ing hasn't affected the edges of the boards. It's almost as if it's an attempt at home edge-marbling. If so I hope they don't give up the day job.

>20 cronshaw: Fore-edge painting in the post-Modernist style?

Yes this should be a warning to the rest for throwing away their slipcases

I recently picked up a FS edition of The Cream of Noel Coward from a second-hand bookshop in Penzance. The book and slipcase were both in good shape, except that the edges of the paper have what looks to me like foxing:



Would this be foxing, given that this was printed as recently as 1996 on Hamilton Wove paper? The book does have a slight musty smell to it.

In this condition, I was happy to pay £5 for it. However, I'm now having some concerns about the staining on the edges. Is this something that's likely to spread to other books on my shelf? (I keep all my FS editions – including this particular example – in their slipcases, in case that affects anything.) Or is this just harmless staining caused by having been previously stored in damp conditions?

That is foxing. Period. It indicates that the books were improperly stored or shelved, probably in an area that was damp/humid with poor air circulation.

It does not spread to adjacent books.

>24 dlphcoracl: Thanks for the reassurance re spreading!

I'm reviving this thread just to share a bit of my experience and learnings during the past months.

I've lived in Panama for the past two years. Very hot and very humid. 80% RH year round. Previously, I lived in Costa Rica for seven years. Same humidity, less heat. And just a year ago I bought the dehumidifier and all books are kept in sturdy pine bookshelves, half a metre away from a wall.

Through time, some of my Folio books have become between slightly and moderately foxed, with some used copies received already foxed from the UK becoming mottled, speckled, spotted.

Some of my newest books with light foxing include the first printing of A Wizard of Earthsea, the first printing of The Princess Bride, Strangers on a Train and even books bought directly from the Folio Eagle street shop, like The Reason Why. In no new book case the foxing has seeped into the pages, but it has in one of the already foxed used ones (Brideshead Revisited)

Here are some learnings:

- Though there is not a 100% aligned cause, the one I'm partial to is the oxidation of iron remnants in the paper.

- So, the papers folio uses are not acidic or low quality, but they may have iron residues. I've found that it's not the Caxton or the Abbey, but the Modigliani of the illustrations the one that foxes first.

- Slipcases protect wonderfully against debris and dust, but they also serve as a sort of 'humidity trap', so I recommend taking the books slightly out at some points.

- And yes, running the dehumidifier mostly during the day. It increases my electricity bill by around 15 dollars per month.

>26 dyhtstriyk: Why half meter away of the wall ?

>27 Macumbeira: in case of dampness, but it's just a precaution.

I installed an open (at the back) bookcase against a northern wall. The books feel damp. I need to separate the bookcase from the wall. I'll do that with one or two centimeters to allow the air to travel between wall and books