Ojai’s Book Doctor Does Volume Business

Joseph Ross calls himself “the Book Doctor.” He wears a white lab coat and blue stethoscope and carries a pen disguised as a syringe for what he calls his “house calls,” when he picks up and drops off the worn books he repairs.

The attire is frivolous, but the Ojai resident takes his job quite seriously.

At a time when nearly everything seems disposable, and some speculate the Internet may replace the printed word, Ross considers himself on an increasingly desperate mission.

“That’s the only way we have [a] record of history is the books,” said Ross, 56. “That’s why I have taken up the calling as the Book Doctor, to preserve all this.”

Others have heard the call as well; perhaps it’s a backlash against technology, or a strong economy that allows more people the luxury of having books repaired, said Alice Vaughan, president of the California chapter of the Guild of BookWorkers.

The guild, founded in 1906, has grown steadily in the past 15 years. Vaughan estimates there are now about 100 professional book restorers, guild members and nonmembers, in Southern California.

Ross said he was just responding to demand when he taught himself book repair eight years ago. As a bookshop owner in Sonora, he had several customers come to him with family Bibles in need of repair.

While others have mastered the craft working as apprentices in Europe or Asia, or earning book arts degrees now offered at some universities, Ross learned to mend books through trial and error with information from a company that sells archival materials.

The profession is a perfect fit for Ross. He loves books and has collected several old tomes, the rarest of which is a 17th century edition of Homer’s “Iliad” valued at $1,400.

His passion for collecting historical writings led him to publish his own book about the Ojai-based Theosophical Society, a religious sect incorporating elements of Buddhism. For nearly two decades, he was the personal assistant to one of the religion’s leaders and traveled around the world promoting art from India.

Ross said he can’t help but scoop up the injured and aging. He found his dog on the side of the road with a fractured leg nine years ago. He named the Lhasa apso Dash for “The Maltese Falcon” author Dashiell Hammett. Ross also volunteers as a companion to seniors, visiting them regularly to feed them, take them outside and tend to their other needs.

Ross decided to step up his book repair work when he returned to Ojai two years ago to begin a second Theosophical Society book. He opened a shop called the Book Doctor, but closed it last year after Diane Neveu, owner of the Book Mall of Ventura, asked him to give demonstrations and lectures at her downtown shop.

Ross now performs most of his repairs in his living room, which is decorated with an eclectic mix of antiques and handmade crafts, such as Indian puppets and sterling silver trinkets. At one end of a large table sits Ottis, a talking gray-bearded mannequin that greeted customers at his bookstore.

At the other end, Ross labors over several antique Bibles--heirlooms containing precious written records of families. The most impressive is a large 1881 edition with gold designs on its leather cover, one of many that need healing.

“Look at this, held together with Scotch tape,” Ross said. “You can’t believe what [owners] do.”

The most critically injured is an 18th century German Bible with a burnt spine.

“Everything can be saved,” he said after explaining how he will carefully restore the spine and cover. “It takes time and it takes creativity.”

The books he works on often have a greater emotional than financial value. He won’t touch an expensive first edition because it decreases in value once it has been altered.

Most of Ross’ clients are individuals, but he has also done work for local book and antique stores and Thomas Aquinas College, a private school in Santa Paula with a curriculum based on great books.

All customers, and all books, receive equal treatment from Ross, Neveu said. One older woman brought in dictionaries and other well-used volumes filled with underlined passages that she wanted Ross to repair. They clearly were not collectibles, but Ross treated them just as tenderly.

“He takes that as seriously as the family Bibles and the other books he has had to repair,” Neveu said. “To him, it’s important to do a nice job on anything.”

Like the earliest book makers, Ross doesn’t use any electric machines or tools. Using a hand drill, special knives and archival materials, he restores the webbing that holds pages together, restitches signatures (a group of pages), reattaches covers and even touches up gold cover designs.

“It takes a lot of patience,” said Ross.

Charging rates from $5 to $200 per job, Ross said he isn’t getting rich. But he maintains that the rewards are incredible.

Ross speaks reverently about how his fingers get to run over pages and covers that have been around for generations. He said he envisions their history and the lives they’ve touched along the way. He gets a great sense of accomplishment in bringing these treasures back to life.

“They really have a life of their own. It’s an energy you can just tune into,” Ross said. “You pick up a new book today and it just doesn’t have it. It’s just mass-produced.”