Restoring old books isn’t cheap, but it’s a sentimental journey
If anyone understands the emotional attachment of books in the home, it’s James Twomey, who perhaps has the most unusual combination of occupations in Wisconsin.
Twomey is a professional restorer of antiquarian books and maps. He is the owner of Book Restoration Co., with locations in LaFarge and Kenosha. He is also a livestock farmer for a herd of heritage Tunis sheep at his Sandstone Ridge Farm in LaFarge, part of the hilly Driftless Area.
“It gets us outside,” he said, of the sheep farming.
The bulk of his book restoration work takes place in LaFarge. In his Kenosha studio, he works on bigger projects and map restoration. If all that isn’t novel enough, Twomey also has been an adjunct college staff member, author, property redeveloper, chairman for the Mason Temple Board of Trustees and president of the Kenosha Unified school board.
Over the years, Twomey has restored and customized all kinds of books, but requests from clients usually fall into four categories: children’s books, cookbooks, Bibles and custom-bound books.
“Books are nostalgic; they lock a moment in time,” he said.
For example, people put emotional value on books they remember being read to them as when they were children, Twomey explained.
“We all had our favorite books, such as ‘Where The Wild Things Are,’” he said.
Restoring children’s books typically runs about $125 at Book Restoration Co. But why restore a book that you can go out and buy brand new? It’s the actual book, not just the title, that holds some of the value, Twomey said. It’s the same book that was touched by family members long ago that holds the key.
Plus, they don’t make books like they used to.
“A vintage book from the 1950s is likely to outlast something made in 2021,” Twomey said.
He also recommended people invest in hardcover books, which last longer than paperbacks.
Cookbooks also possess sentimental value, especially ones with a loved one’s handwriting or food stains from favorite dishes. These charming, historical imperfections can be retained during restoration.
Making the same foods that a mom or grandmother made holds powerful food memories and allows someone to make the same dish with the same recipe decades later, he said. It’s an alluring concept for many seeking to recapture memories of loved ones or past stages in life.
Cookbooks can often be in bad shape if they were used a lot. Restoration for cookbooks usually runs around $250.
Beautiful, leather-bound old Bibles can also hold family history including births, deaths and marriages recorded in an ancestor’s handwriting. Old Bibles can also reflect current events of the time, such as the Civil War. A family Bible on display in the home makes an impressive statement, according to Twomey.
“The big old Bible, it’s a piece of furniture,” he said. “The covers are sculptures.”
Bible restoration runs in the $500 range at Book Restoration Co.
Finally, Twomey creates custom book bindings of favorite books, often as gifts, that cost from $350 to $700. He creates a one-of-a-kind book binding from scratch that can include a leather cover with custom lettering, colors, parchment endpapers, silk ribbons and gold lettering on the spine. Deerskin or goatskin can even be used.
Twomey said his typical call comes from someone who inherited a book in terrible condition. Many are more than 100 years old.
“That’s pretty darn old,” he said of the 18th-century books he’s restored. “It’s amazing that the book has been in the family in the upper Midwest.”
Restoring an heirloom book brings its own reward for relatives.
“It will not go to the basement or the garage or the shed, and they have done their good deed,” he said.