Odor in Indian books

Wendy Jones said that she was wondering about the characteristic odor in
most Indian books.  I have often wondered about the same thing. I am not
sure but much of the odor seems to come from the hide glue that they
use.  The reason for this guess is that the smell is especially strong
when I have softened and removed the glue from the spines of these
books.  Perhaps it's an impure hide glue gone rancid?

Caroline Gilderson-Duwe
Preservation Dept.
Golda Meir Library
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
414-229-6726
Fax: 414-229-6791

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 7:45
                Distributed: Thursday, December 16, 1993
                        Message Id: cdl-7-45-005
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