I watched a 1980s hardcover fall apart in 3 minutes after I tried to open it flat

Found an old Stephen King first edition at a thrift store in Pittsburgh last weekend. Looked fine on the shelf. Got it home and tried to open it to read and the spine just cracked. Not the cool kind of crack either. Pages started falling out. Realized the glue had completely dried up after 40 years. Guy at the counter warned me but I didnt listen. Anyone else ever buy a book that looked solid but was basically dead inside?

3 comments

3 Comments

piper77923d ago

Grab a roll of bookbinding tape and save those pages. A cracked spine from dried glue is super common with older hardcovers. Bummed about the first edition though, those are the worst to lose.

thomas_torres23d ago

First editions make the best coasters though.

spencer78223d ago

Buddy of mine dropped his granddad's old Hemingway first edition. Pages went everywhere. Looked like a confetti disaster in his living room.