Japanese Craftsman Restores Old Books to Look New

 Japanese Craftsman Nobuo Okano Restores Old Books to Look New

Instead of being Lost to Memory, an Old Tattered 1,000-Page English-Japanese Dictionary was given New Life when its Owner handed it over to Nobuo Okano, a Japanese Master Craftsman who has spent 30 years perfecting The Art of Restoring Old Books.

 

His process was detailed on a Japanese Show called Fascinating Craftsman (Shuri, Bakaseru). The Most Painstaking Part is probably when he individually unfolds every Page’s Corners with a Tweezer and Irons them. Read on for more about the Process.

A guy brought an old 1,000-page English-Japanese Dictionary

He used it in his youth and now wants to Restore it and give it to his Daughter

Nobuo begins by shaving the old glue from the spine

The Book had some Maps of English-Speaking Countries

They suffered greatly, so Nobuo Glued them to New Sheets of Paper

The Color doesn’t match perfectly, but he can prevent them from Degrading further

The Most Monotonous Part is straightening out every page corner with tweezers…

and then Wetting and Ironing the Corners straight

The Owner Wrote his High School Sweetheart’s Initials on the Book in Ink

Using a Heavy-Duty Paper Cutter, Okano removes the Color from the Edges

New, Minty-Fresh Pages

Last but not least, The Cover with the Original Title on a Brand-New Background

Towers Of Balanced Rocks

We’re having a hard time deciding whether Michael Grab is an Artist or a Magician, because he creates Stunning Structure from Finely Balanced Rocks that seem to Defy The Law of Physics.

These seemingly Impossible Structures require Intense Concentration and Meditative Focus. In the pictures below, Grab spends several minutes nearly frozen, making Tiny Adjustments until he gets all of the Rocks’ Centers of Gravity just right.

“Over the past few years of practicing Rock Balance, simple curiosity has evolved into Therapeutic Ritual, ultimately Nurturing Meditative Presence, Mental Well-Being and Artistry of Design,” writes Grab in his Artist Statement.