Do "book doctors" really exist? This may seem like an odd question, but my dad favorite book, "The Complete Book of Swords" sadly got chewed on by my dog, it's a really old book and has a very nice cover (well until it became a chew toy) and for his birthday I wanted to revive it but had no idea how!
You can check online for ways to "repair" bent pages, damaged spines, water damage, etc. But it probably won't be in the same condition as before. You could always buy another copy. Hopefully it's not one of those rare first editions.
Heres what they said on the Victoria Bookbinding Company's website: Save the environment! Please rebind! Victoria Bindery Book Binding We are sensitive to the costs of new books, and also the existing values of older books. For this reason, we offer the rebinding of worn and used textbooks. Rebinding can save and prolong the life of a book for years beyond what would be considered "normal". Victoria Bindery Book BindingIn many cases rebinding can make old books appear and feel like new again. Covers are digitally scanned, old glue stripped from spine and new glue applied. Text block are trimmed for clean edges and a new cover applied. So... I'm not sure if that means they'd only do textbooks but you can always ask. I have many books who's spines are so worn out you can't even read the title. I wanted to get them rebound, but my mother talked me out of it. Said it'd probably cost more to rebind than to buy a new book. They were modern paperbacks. The book you want fixed sounds like it might be worth the work and cost.
No problem. If you do find a place and get it rebound you should get some before and after pictures. It'd be nice to know of a company that does that kind of work well in case I ever need it done too.
