How can I rebind an old, crumbling book without destroying the pages and also without making it too tight to lie flat?

Umm… I’m not sure how to do that to the book itself and hope someone else can make a good suggestion for that- but… what I’m wondering is if one option is keeping that book as it is- since the history is so clear and present, but have the pages carefully copied then bound into a plastic ring spine music book of your own?

@linguaphile I think the copy with spiral spine is brilliant !
Sounds like the originals are too fragile to change the nature of their binding, and if you used them flat they could deteriorate fast.

There is a form of binding called coptic binding that leaves the spine open, allowing the book to lie flat. The cording used can be brightly colored or mixed for visual interest. My daughter rebound some books in this style, and it is a pleasure to handle them because they’re so relaxed in the hand.

This style has to be hand sewn, so you’d have to locate an artisan bookbinder. It would also depend on being able to unbind the present cover while leaving the folds of the signatures intact. Since they’re stapled rather than sewn or glued, that might be feasible.

There are numerous ways to approach your requirements. Much depends on if you want to actually restore the originals, or simply save them in the state they are currently in, albeit with the ability for regular use but without further deterioration.

Also, is this something you want a professional to do, or are you looking for a DIY project?

Best scenario, I recommend a Swiss Perfect Bind with PUR Adhesive. You can’t do this unless you have the machinery to properly activate PUR Adhesive. You’ll also need to chop your text block stitch away permanently, shortening the pages ¼”.

For DIY, do the same, simply chop the text block (a copy shop job). Sand down the freshly cut edge to give it a slight roughness, and slather a glop of pH Neutral PVA Adhesive down the spine. Quickly place a soft, thin fabric wrap around the freshly glued spine. Let dry for a couple of days untouched… yes days. Lay the spine and glue area it over a counter top so they don’t touch anything during drying time. Any weight block, (like another book) placed on top should not cover the drying glue spine lest it stick to the block. Let the spine hang over the counter top with the top weight parallel to the counter top, glued spine sticking out with only the fabric wrap showing.

After drying, you can mount any soft or hard cover to the fabric wrap. You can even to the Swiss Cover, if you can make one, which isn’t hard, just detailed.

Covers should never be attached to the spine of a Perfect Bound book, neither PUR or PVA. Attach covers to the top and bottom pages, or fabric, and this will allow the spine to open perfectly flat. The modern adhesives allow for stretching between open pages. The PUR adhesives can also be repaired.

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Another solution would be to mount every page on a new acid free sheet. Then you have a larger book where fingers won’t touch the originals when turning pages. Good Luck!

I would look for a professional book binder and see what they suggest.

Thanks for all suggestions. I’m trying to gain some idea of the scope of the options before I seek out a professional or a particular solution.

The copying option occurred to me initially, but the problem is that it would require flattening the book far more than use has ever flattened it, to avoid distorting the page content. May as well dismantle the book, in that case.

The signatures do still appear to be intact, so the coptic binding method might work. I’d never heard of that—very interesting suggestion.

I should have mentioned that the staples are positioned about 3/16” from the edge of the page, and the margin between them and the print is negligible. There isn’t a quarter of an inch to spare. As I said, cheap in the first place.