Why do old books smell? It's the smell of death.

[kennyc]

Why do old books smell?
Posted by GrrlScientist on May 2, 2012

SUMMARY: That old book smell brings back so many memories, but what creates that smell?
Every time I catch a whiff of that special old books smell, I am transported through time and space to the cool welcoming basement of The Strand Bookstore in New York City, where I spent many hot humid summer afternoons, searching for some used book I've never seen nor even heard of, or sitting on the cold concrete floor, reading. The smell of old books isn't pleasant, exactly, but it is unmistakable -- and powerfully evocative.

"A combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness," writes an international team of chemists from University College London (UCL) and the University of Ljubljana (UL) in Slovenia in their scientific paper (doi:10.1021/ac9016049).
"[T]his unmistakable smell is as much part of the book as its contents."

But what is the source of that smell?

Basically, a book is made of organic materials -- a variety of different papers and inks, as well as glues and fibers used to bind the book together. These organic components react to heat, light and moisture in the environment and with the chemicals used to make the book itself. Specific odours are the result of the particular blend of volatile compounds released by the sum total of the book's organic materials. These odours also include those contributed by outside influences encountered by the book during its life -- influences that impart the familiar stench of old cigarettes or cigars that is often associated with old books, for example.

That old books smell is the smell of death.
....

More:

http://blogs.nature.com/grrlscientis...ks-smell-video

[HomeInMyShoes]

How morbidly fascinating. I like the smell, until it's the cigar/cigarette stench. Ugh...there's a certain smell I'll call old motel that is particularly nauseating.

[Harry_Y]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

How morbidly fascinating. I like the smell, until it's the cigar/cigarette stench. Ugh...there's a certain smell I'll call old motel that is particularly nauseating.

Or the smell of an Aircraft Carrier.... Jet fuel and feet

[QuantumIguana]

Death is part of life. The smell of the forest, that's the smell of decomposing vegetation. That steak on the grill smells pretty good. I bet that steak isn't alive...

[orlok]

Never thought of it in that way before, but I guess it makes sense. A lot more pleasant and evocative than the smell of dead bodies, though.

[carpetmojo]

Books - paper, ink, leather, faux-leather or plastic, glue, thread ?
Infrastructure - paper-mills, printing shop, transport,postage, some advertising, existing shops and on-line to sell.
Mostly biodegradeable

Readers - well, there's the battery for a start,not good, probably a fair bit of dodgy metals inside the case, a lot of different types of plastic, metals,wiring .........
Infrastructure - metal and plastic manufacture and assembly plants, transport, parts manufacture and sourcing of raw materials, advertising, large technical infrastructure to sell online.
Some bio-degradeable, some not, some not for a long time, and some dangerous.

A bit of a pong sounds fairly liveable with, don't it.........

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Harry_Y

Or the smell of an Aircraft Carrier.... Jet fuel and feet

There's also the smell of brussel sprouts... the smell of dirty feet and if they ever go off, they smell like death warmed over.

[issybird]

Mmmm! Old book smell! If they bottled it, I might not wear it, but I'd sniff it regularly. There's a scent called Messe de Minuit which smells of cold stone and mold. Unwearable but fascinating.

Except, as HIMS says, the cigarette smell. Nothing can spoil a library book faster than having had the previous reader be a smoker.

[emellaich]

The old book smell is one of the reasons (excuses ) that I converted to ebooks. My allergies would start me coughing if I reread any of my old books.

[sabredog]

I overwhelmingly prefer the smell of an old book to the smell of the rotten potato we found at the back of the pantry the other day....

ewwwww....

[BookCat]

I think my ereader is gaining an old book smell, well the book armor cover anyway. It's a mix of cardboard scent mixed with a touch of MDF and a hint of new cotton, there's an oh so subtle hint of just-washed (by themself) cat. Not surprising considering I've six, though they're not allowed near the ereader, but they do somehow get fur on the cover!

The worst smell in the world is that of a litter tray when the cat has just pooped. That's one good reason they normally go outside to do their do dah's. Occasionally, they have to be shut in for a while, like when one of them returns from days away I ground them till they understand where home is. They're all neutered, so don't spray or smell.... but the trays!! Cleaned regularly by the way.

Luckily, my ereader is acquiring nice smells.

[bliss108]

Personally, I love that old book smell, sans cigarette odors though. It does bring back memories of hiding away in the corners of libraries and used bookstores. I could spend a whole day in those places.
I sometimes forget and take a whiff at my reader. I smell plastic. : (

[howyoudoin]

Coming from a family of non-smokers, I remember the first time as a kid that I borrowed a joke-book that smelled strongly of cigarettes. It was the first time a book other than a text book had made me physically sick.

This in turn reminds me of a time I carried an over-ripe papaya in my school-bag (dont ask) and I had to study off papaya juice stained textbooks for the rest of the year.

[Kumabjorn]

The stench of burnt copper and lithium-ion leakage, ahh I love the smell of dead eReaders in the morning.

[lostmymarbles]

I do like the smell of old books though.