Of late, I have started worrying about the destruction of some of the valuable books in my personal library. Often, I refer to these while preparing articles for my favourite newspapers and journals. Several pages are destroyed; either the pages are brittle or affected by insects like silverfish and such other entomological elements hidden between the pages.
I remember, hearing about a book-collector, who later settled down at Bangalore. She collected antique books related to India of 16th and 18th centuries. Having heard of us, this lady started visiting our house (as I used to stock rare books for sale at home). We settled on a fortnightly arrangement that either she should visit my house or I should visit her to display rare books she would be interested in.
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On one of her visits, she was highly excited by some 17th and 18th century books related to India and southeast Asia but was reluctant to touch them. She was worried about insects and cockroaches crawling out of the pages. Just as I was about to promise her that it would not happen, two tiny cockroaches and one silverfish appeared out of nowhere! I must have looked worried, for she said, “Mr. Murthy, don't be perturbed. I have a solution. To preserve such books, I invariably store them tightly packed in plastic bags in my cold storage for a day or two. Later I take them out and keep them in sunlight.”
But this method was not practical for us book dealers. Soon I had to visit the U.S. and make sure that the books scattered all over my garage were safe from other kinds of bookworms. I asked for advice from other book lovers and librarians and learnt that Higginbothams in Chennai sold a certain herbal powder packed in sachets. I tried this before leaving for the U.S. Fortunately, the powder was effective. On my return, I could see several dead insects along the borders of pages and spines of books.
Since this powder worked so well, I tried to obtain some more sachets before my next trip to the U.S. But it was no longer available in Chennai. The manufacturer had shifted his firm to Ahmedabad. I couldn't get his address despite repeated attempts.
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In any case, my study of bookworms continued. Recently, I came across a book in Kannada called Granthasamrakshane (Protection of Books) by B.S. Sannayya published in 1971. I feel this book should be read by all librarians and booksellers dealing in old books, as it is full of details of insects that damage books.
Rare find
During one of my book-hunting expeditions, I bought two bundles of old Kannada books stacked in the attic of an old house near Kengeri. However, when one bundle was opened, I discovered a multi-volume Kannada dictionary tied safely in a cloth. It was a rare find in those days and I opened the pages with great excitement. But a shock was in store for me. There were several tears and holes perpetuated by some mysterious insects.
Interestingly, Aristotle in his Historia Animalium complained that he had found tail-less scorpion and other arachnids between the leaves of his books. C.M.E Towne's Autobiography of Master Bookworm also mentions that a worm was born on the first page of Samuel Johnson's monumental Dictionary of English Language .
To conclude, I would like to cite one unusual measure taken to prevent destruction of books stored in a library. The Royal Societies gifted one Dr. Johan 12 durcat as the Reward.
The writer is the proprietor of Select Bookshop, Bangalore.