I have about 1,000 books that had been in my father-in-law's Paris
apartment.  They have varying amounts of about 25 years of black Paris
grime. I want to bring them into my home.  Some are very old and in
fragile condition; some are newer and more sturdy.  These are books
worth preserving, as many are valuable.  What is the best way to clean
these books?

Hi r2-ga

Here are a few links (it's all I've been able to find):

http://www.litterascripta.com/bibliomania/clean.shtml

http://www.lib.mankato.msus.edu/staff/larson/howto.html

http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/essays/TheLibrary/chap2.html
(look for "cleaning old books")

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf43.htm

http://www.rcbfaq.com/

Hope this provides some help.

Regards

ldccd-ga

You'll find some good information here:

http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=245120