Over at the ReAuthored blog, you can read an informative post debunking some common misconceptions about the old book smell that everybody loves.

The short essay criticized a popular Internet image floating around about the origins the old book smell. In the video embedded above, you can learn more about the famous smell from Abe Books. Check out the ReAuthored post:

Thanks to the great people at the Centre for Sustainable Heritage through The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies at University College London, we now have published proof what really makes up that smell.  Here is the study: Material Degradomics: On the Smell of Old Books So, what REALLY creates the smell of old books?  That answer can be as complex as the books themselves. The researchers concluded that the acidity of the pages was one of the largest factors that contributed to the BREAKDOWN of books, but the smells themselves can come from a list of things.