Damage

Foxing found in volume three of The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe.

Water damage found in volume three of The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe.

All books are damaged over time, and library books especially show the wear and tear of everday use. The main types of damage seen in this copy of The Mysteries of Udolpho were water damage, foxing, and paper tears. Volume three had the most obvious signs of foxing and water damage. The pages were a little cockled and there was clear discoloration. However, the binding was still secure and the text was legible, meaning the water damage was not extensive. There were also no small tears that would have resulted from the weakened state of the paper while it was wet.

Paper damage found in volume two of The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. 

Paper damage found in volume three of The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. 

The paper tears were too substantial to be the result of water damage. Instead of just rips there were actually chunks removed from some of the pages. Two extreme cases were found in volumes two and three. The missing sections were in the margins, so there was no text lost from the work. It is unclear how this would have occurred, as the rest of the page has a clean edge. Given the length of time that the four volume set was in the circulating library however, it is remarkable that there is not more significant damage to the books.