Talk:Foxing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hmmm, is this why the soft leather binding of my copy of the 11th edition of the Britannica has brown covers which get my hands dirty when I touch them? If yes we could use it as a quite relevant example of foxing, depending on the type of binding. I am always amazed at the diversity of bindings in which the 11th edition came in. Forgot to sign AlainV 01:59, 2004 Apr 21 (UTC)

• No, that's something else (don't know what...). Foxing affects the paper, not the leather bindings. - Nunh-huh 02:00, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC)

I don't feel confident enough about this topic to make any edit to the article, but this is the very first time that I have ever seen a Ferric OXide explanation. Every other commentary that I have ever seen about foxing has suggested that it was the suspected result of microorganisms/fungi, and have often mentioned that its origin remains mysterious. Never before have I ever seen anything about iron. I do like the etymology, but I have to wonder if it is correct since I have never seen this definition before, and I have often seen waffly comments as I describe above. Can anyone comment further? Moleskiner 02:41, 16 Feb 2005 (UTC)

This link suggests that the current explanation for the appearance of fox-stains is wrong. Ncik 23:16, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

There seem to be multiple theories of foxing, involving either oxidation or fungi. The page referenced by Ncik makes no firm conclusion; it seems to go with the fungal theory, but also admits some role for iron oxidation. I added a section mentioning both theories. The last section on repairing foxing is preserved from the earlier version, but it seems too specific to me. gorlim 18:50, 11 June 2006 (UTC)