Putting aside his university degree, Trinh Han Quang chose to pursue a career in restoring old books. To date, the young man has “cured” more than 1,000 books, earning 15-20 million VND/month.
Gen Z loves old books
After graduating from university in the electronics industry, Mr. Trinh Han Quang (24 years old, living in Tan Binh district) suddenly turned to work restoring old books. The family strongly objected. His parents are worried that Quang will not be able to support himself in a profession that is said to be gradually disappearing. Even so, the young man still tried to fulfill his passion for old books.
In early 2022, Quang took advantage of the small room at home to make a workshop, with a table, a small cabinet, a wooden book press and started a business.
The first book the young man was given by a customer was the French-Vietnamese Dictionary by author Truong Vinh Ky, published in 1884. The book was severely damaged, moths had eaten deep into the pages, only the cover and the pages were removed. The page took 2 days. After 15 days of trying to patch the holes, the book was completely healed, making both the owner and the restorer happy.
“Reviving old books myself makes me feel extremely happy. That’s a feeling I’ve never had when doing other jobs,” Mr. Quang said excitedly.
He said, there are about 10 steps to returning an old, severely damaged book to its original condition. First, consider the quality of the paper, check the book for damage, and disassemble each page. Next is processing, gluing, patching damaged parts and finally pressing the book.
“The most difficult step is removing the spine of the book. The worker must concentrate, work carefully and meticulously to keep the spine intact. This step usually takes more than half a day,” Mr. Quang shared.
Now that he is skilled, it only takes Mr. Quang 1 day to repair a book. Only in difficult cases does the time need to be longer.
The price for each restored book ranges from 380,000 VND to several million VND, depending on the level of damage and customer requirements. This job helps Quang earn about 15-20 million VND/month.
The profession of preserving old memories
In more than a year of pursuing his work, the 24-year-old man has restored more than 1,000 books. He had the opportunity to meet many like-minded people and hear many touching stories. For him, that is the motivation to persistently pursue this seemingly old, boring job.
He said: “A customer asked me to edit the book Robinson Crusoe by author Daniel Defoe. The book is very normal to everyone, but to him, it is a sacred, priceless relic that his late father left behind. Again, nothing can replace it.
At that time, I told myself I had to fix this book properly. On the day of book delivery, the salt-and-pepper-haired customer held the original, intact souvenir and burst into tears. At that moment, I felt my work was more meaningful than ever.”
From then on, Quang realized that the digital age does not mean that book crafts will be lost. Even more, this profession will have new levels of development in the future.
According to him, currently, many people are in need of preserving and collecting ancient books, books associated with special stories or emotions. They want to preserve those memories as long as possible, because no matter how modern technology is, it cannot help them return to the old feeling.
“I’m happy because I can personally restore damaged, ugly books back to their original shape, helping customers “stitch” their memories,” he said excitedly.
Currently, besides book restoration, Mr. Quang develops the field of repairing paper paintings, antique silk paintings and accepting handmade book bindings. From the beginning alone, Quang had more partners. He also teaches vocational skills to young people who have the same passion and desire for books to have lasting vitality over time
($1=24,000 VND)
Photo,Video: Internet