For dirty finger-marks, the following is recommended: Cover the mark with a piece of clean yellow soap for 2 or 3 hours, then wash with a sponge and hot water, and dip the page in weak acid and water. Give another bath of hot water, and then thoroughly cleanse with cold water. To remove ink-stains, dip the page in a strong solution of oxalic acid, then in a solution of 1 part muriatic acid and 6 water, after which bathe in cold water, and allow to dry slowly. Vellum covers which need cleaning may be made almost equal to new by washing with a weak solution of potash binoxalate, or, if not much soiled, warm soap and water. Grease may be removed from the covers of bound books by scraping a little pipe-clay, French chalk, or magnesia over the place, and then ironing with an iron not too hot, else it will discolour the leather. (Publishers’ Circular.)
(b) Press powdered fullers’ earth lightly upon the greasy spot, and allow it to soak out the grease.
(c) Hannett says the spots may be removed by washing the part with ether, chloroform, or benzine, and placing between white blotting-paper, then passing a hot iron over.
(d) A more expeditious, and thought by some, the best way, is to scrape fine pipe-clay, magnesia, or French chalk on both sides of the stain, and apply a hot iron above, taking great care that it is not too hot.
(e) After gently warming the paper, take out all the grease you can with blotting-paper, and a hot iron, then dip a brush into essential oil of turpentine, heated almost to ebullition, and draw it gently over both sides of the paper, which must be kept warm. Repeat the operation until all is removed, or as often as the thickness of the paper may render necessary. When all the grease is removed, to restore the paper to its former whiteness, dip another brush in ether, chloroform, or benzine, and apply over the stain, especially the edges of it. This will not affect printers’ or common writing ink.
(f) Lay on a coat of indiarubber solution over the spot, and leave it to dry. Afterwards remove with a piece of ordinary indiarubber. Any operation with ether, chloroform, or benzine, should never be conducted by candle-light, as their vapour is apt to kindle even at several feet from the liquid. (d) will remove grease from coloured calf, even if the spot be on the under side of the leather; it may thus be clearly drawn right through.
(g) Apply a solution of pearlash (in the proportion of 1 oz. pearlash to 1 pint water) to oil-stained drawing-paper.
Parchment and Vellum.—(a) Immerse in a solution of acetic acid, and gently rub the stained parts while wet on a flat board with lump pumice, then bleach with lime chloride. This process was recommended in the English Mechanic. It is not very successful, but it makes it white enough for bookbinding. It has, however, the objectionable qualities of not making the parchment flexible, and when dried it is as hard as a board, and it has no gloss like the virgin parchment. On no account must the parchment be washed in very hot water, or held before a fire, as it will shrivel up in a most provoking manner.
(b) Benzine applied with a sponge. It will remove almost every stain, and does not destroy the texture in the least.