Reference point
Open a book printed before 1990, press your nose into the middle of the pages and breathe in.
Do this before you read on. An entry only works when you have just smelled the thing.
Sweet, with notes of vanilla and almond, and a layer of dust and damp underneath.
The vanilla note surprises most people, and it is not an association — it is a real molecule, formed as paper breaks down.
The older the book and the cheaper the paper, the clearer that note. A new book printed on good paper has almost none.
How to smell it
Open the book around the middle, press your face into the spine and breathe deeply. Then do the same with a newly bought book — the two smells have nothing in common except paper.
Why this one is hard
Because people think of it as a general “old smell”. In fact it is very specific and can be broken down into components, each with its own source.
Don’t confuse with
This entry
Old book
Household objects family
An old book is paper breaking down — vanillin and furfural. A new book is ink and glue evaporating. Two processes running in opposite directions.
This entry
Old book
Household objects family
An old book has vanillin from decomposing paper, so it has a faint vanilla note mixed with paper dust; lac resin gives off its smell only when warmed, directly sweet with notes of honey and leather.
Scientific note
Lignin in paper slowly breaks down over time and produces vanillin — the same molecule that gives vanilla its smell. Cellulose breaks down into furfural, giving an almond note. Glues and inks add organic acids. The acid-free paper used for high-quality books breaks down much more slowly, so it smells less — paper quality you can read with your nose.
In Vietnamese life
Old books in Vietnam go with pavement bookstalls and with books printed in the planned-economy era on very cheap recycled paper. That paper breaks down quickly, so books printed on it in the 1970s and 1980s usually smell stronger than books of the same age printed on good paper.