When bookworms attack
K K S MURTHY
Of late, I have started worrying about the destruction of some of the
valuable books in my personal library. Often, I refer to these while
preparing articles for my favourite newspapers and journals. Several
pages are destroyed; either the pages are brittle or affected by insects
like silverfish and such other entomological elements hidden between the
pages.
I remember, hearing about a book-collector, who later settled down at
Bangalore. She collected antique books related to India of 16th and 18th
centuries. Having heard of us, this lady started visiting our house (as
I used to stock rare books for sale at home). We settled on a
fortnightly arrangement that either she should visit my house or I
should visit her to display rare books she would be interested in.
Welcome hints
On one of her visits, she was highly excited by some 17th and 18th
century books related to India and southeast Asia but was reluctant to
touch them. She was worried about insects and cockroaches crawling out
of the pages. Just as I was about to promise her that it would not
happen, two tiny cockroaches and one silverfish appeared out of nowhere!
I must have looked worried, for she said, ‘Mr Murthy, don’t be
perturbed. I have a solution. To preserve such books, I invariably store
them tightly packed in plastic bags in my cold storage for a day or two.
Later I take them out and keep them in sunlight.’
But this method was not practical for us book dealers. Soon I had to
visit the US. and make sure that the books scattered all over my garage
were safe from other kinds of bookworms.
I asked for advice from other book lovers and librarians and learnt
that Higginbothams in Chennai sold a certain herbal powder packed in
sachets. I tried this before leaving for the US. Fortunately, the powder
was effective. On my return, I could see several dead insects along the
borders of pages and spines of books.
Since this powder worked so well, I tried to obtain some more sachets
before my next trip to the U.S. But it was no longer available in
Chennai. The manufacturer had shifted his firm to Ahmedabad. I couldn’t
get his address despite repeated attempts.
In any case, my study of bookworms continued. Recently, I came across
a book in Kannada called Granthasamrakshane (Protection of Books) by B S
Sannayya published in 1971. I feel this book should be read by all
librarians and booksellers dealing in old books, as it is full of
details of insects that damage books.
Rare find
During one of my book-hunting expeditions, I bought two bundles of
old Kannada books stacked in the attic of an old house near Kengeri.
However, when one bundle was opened, I discovered a multi-volume Kannada
dictionary tied safely in a cloth.
It was a rare find in those days and I opened the pages with great
excitement. But a shock was in store for me. There were several tears
and holes perpetuated by some mysterious insects.
Interestingly, Aristotle in his Historia Animalium complained that he
had found tail-less scorpion and other arachnids between the leaves of
his books. C M E Towne’s Autobiography of Master Bookworm also mentions
that a worm was born on the first page of Samuel Johnson’s monumental
Dictionary of English Language.
- The Hindu |
