Submitted by robotapricot t3_z5upv3 in books
Jack-Campin t1_ixy3m38 wrote
Don't. Unless it's got obvious mould there is nothing hazardous in it. The only human pathogen that lasts for decades is anthrax and I doubt there has ever been a case of that being transmitted by a book.
Anything you do to kill microbes on the book will damage it.
It'll be easy to find an electronic copy, just read that instead and give him his copy back.
Eireika t1_ixyjslf wrote
There was a stir in my Uni when someone donated XIX century book with envelope containing something that resembled dried smallpox blisters.
OP, if you are so nervous there's an option- large libraries and archives taking care of old books offer fumigation- but it's not a cheap thing. I paid over 100$ for one bath
Jack-Campin t1_ixykrth wrote
I used to visit car boot sales regularly. Never saw a book that looked like a menace, but did spot a couple of odd things. One was a clear plastic envelope labelled in English and Greek, "do not open or touch the contents" - it was a dried scorpion. The other was from the 1930s - a radium-boned corset in its original packet:
You have to wonder if anybody ever tried that to make books you could read in the dark.
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