Central heating and or years of direct exposure to sunlight can cause the leather coverings of book bindings to flake due to drying out, resulting in discolouration and serious deterioration.

Heavy usage with being put on and off usually result's in fraying to the top and bottom of spines and rubbing or fraying to the edges of covers. Rough handling results in frayed, rubbed, bumped or spongy corners, if left the result is cover or spine detachment, worn corners leaving no protection for the scrip section of the book. Ignoring the damage will lead to the binding will becoming beyond repair and the book will require rebinding hence losing the original covering materials.