Sea Fishing on the English Coast
by Frederick G. Aflalo
Hardback with laminate cover, no dust jacket, perfect bound without sewn sections.
The Deterioration of a Book
As a book conservator, I repair books on a daily basis, all in varying states of destruction and disrepair. As a resident of Worthing and the South Coast, I am witness to the destruction and disrepair caused by the sea and coastal weather to buildings and all kinds of objects.
However I have yet to see any evidence of a book being destroyed by the sea and weather. This is what I hope to observe over the course of the year ahead, and record here as part of an ongoing installation with ‘Art on the Pier‘.
Installation of the book on the cafe
Coast Cafe
Art on the Pier
The book itself is installed at Coast Cafe, near The Book Hut, and new and updated images will be put onto my website on a monthly basis.
A record of the deterioration
June 2016 – May has seen some substantial rain showers followed by swift hot sunshine, saturating the book, and then drying it out quickly. This has taken its toll on the textblock and the laminated covers, which are now bowing slightly in the middle. I am expecting the volume to split down the middle at some point in the future, perhaps after a particularly rainy spell.
May 2016 – The book is new and untouched by the elements. It has been installed onto the wall of the Coast Cafe by mounting it onto a piece of oak with four zinc screws. the oak is mounted onto the wall of the cafe beneath the book.