1924 Hardcover Book, "For The Children's Hour": 640 +/- 24 ppm Lead, Published by the Milton Bradley Company.

“For The Children’s Hour”, Copyright 1906 (print date 1924)
By Bradley Quality Books, Milton Bradley Company. Springfield, Massachusetts.

The amount of Lead that is considered toxic in a newly manufactured item intended for use by children is anything 100 ppm Lead or higher in the substrate of the item or anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint or coating of the item. Modern children’s books would be considered in violation of the current regulations if they tested positive for Lead at 640 ppm as this one did.

When tested with an XRF instrument this book had the following readings:

Front Cover:
(minium 60-second test)

Lead (Pb): 640 +/- 24 ppm
Barium (Ba): 1,461 +/- 110
Chromium (Cr): 231 +/- 54 ppm
Selenium (Se): 29 +/- 7 ppm
Bromine (Br): 10 +/- 4 ppm
Zinc (Zn): 2,235 +/- 44 ppm
Copper (Cu): 6,513 +/- 90 ppm
Iron (Fe): 645 +/- 37 ppm
Vanadium (V): 2,029 +/- 186 ppm
Titanium (Ti): 1,730 +/- 249
Metals not listed were not detected by the XRF instrument.

Inside Page Example:

Lead (Pb): 33 +/- 5 ppm
Barium (Ba): 491 +/- 116 ppm
Zinc (Zn): 13 +/- 7 ppm
Copper (Cu): 25 +/- 9 ppm
Iron (Fe): 709 +/- 37 ppm
Bismuth (Bi): 17 +/- 5 ppm

I always recommend avoiding vintage books (especially as gifts for young children), because they are usually high lead. To see more vintage books that I have tested, Click Here. Instead please consider purchasing the children in your lives new copies of classic stories and perhaps seeing if a local museum or other cultural institution might be an appropriate home for your vintage or antique books.

Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama