What materials are used?
RV: More fabrics and a bit what they have in mind. Often what happens is that people do not know very well what they want, and then I do more to my liking, or what we think they will like. Normally, they enjoy it immensely. I never had any complaints. Some orders also arise within the genre that I put in the portfolio, it is easier for me when I do something and show. Anyway, I got the paper for binding, laces, pelts, etc... I like to do everything, but I prefer the classics, the traditional book with leather cords, nerves, is my preferred option.
The miniature books are also your favorites, are fashion accessories.
RV: They are even books, and can be open up and written on them. Are cut, sewn and assembled by hand.
But are those that give you more work.
RV: Yes, it's true. (Laughs) I like the idea of being able to use it and then is not anyone who uses a book in day-to-day life. Sometimes I also do calendars with covers of the seventeenth century, mine is on pelt as well.
Have you ever had a very unusual request?
RV: Yes, a cover for Imac in book form. The materials used are those which are used in bookbinding, pelts, cotton, artificial filling.
Are there any of these works that you just don't forget?
RV: There are some works that stay, are made gradually. There was one who liked doing and, of course, when it end up back to the client, which was a restoration of a book of theology of the eighteenth century, because when a piece has that quality, made of leather, very well bound of origin, all that has another value, another charm. Then I made a box for condition it, which is something that also occurs in restoration, helps protect from dust, light, insects and even friction when taking off the shelf. As it was also a book with some sentimental value for the owner, I made a rigid box with decoration identical to the original, with a gilt title.
Let's talk about the restoration, who looks for your services and what you usually ask you to restore?
RV: There comes a bit of everything, of all sizes, shapes and themes. Particularly I receive many books devoted to travel to Madeira, because many people here collect this type of publications, even if it is a book with only a paragraph, a chapter, or all dedicated to the island. I get religious, missals and also dictionaries.
You are more sought after by institutions or are more private?
RV: They are people with collections, or do not even consider themselves as collectors only have old books at home. Also do restoration of books of 1950, depends on the state they are. For me these are new in comparison with others. I get a lot of things, but always the privates. Some, a minority, are bibliophiles, which have a large collection at home and have such wonderful books end up becoming loyal customers and give me work every day.
On average, how many books can you restore, for example, on a month?
RV: It depends really. In the last month could restore seven books, but it's very good average, because the problems were more at the outside of the spine, front cover, so that's nothing. If we were talking about a book with serious problems inside, is something for a whole month.
What kind of problems?
RV: The weevil, the termite, moisture too. Water stains and mud, but those not always manage to restore. This type of stain ends up creating a series of micro-organisms on paper and there are treatments, but there are books that no longer have a "healing." I never had a "case" of these, everything has been recovered.
Pages with illustrations can you recover?
RV: Yeah well, I retrieve the paper; the composition cannot recover for lack of information on the origin. If I have this information, because I own a copy of the book, or see a picture on the internet, I can reset it. If it is text is complicated, which usually makes a restorer is to recover the role and the place is a white spot where there's nothing. The recovery in these cases helps to handle the book without that was not possible.
