First notable work done on the book would be to address the old tape that was used to attach the loose front cover to the interior. 

It was clear this book spent a long time taped up, as evident by the yellow staining on the edge of the cover, however only one of the two pieces of tape looked to be from this original repair. The tape at the top front cover shows the typical characteristics of having been applied many, many years ago. The carrier has become hard and brittle, curled, with yellow discolouration, while the adhesive on the end holding it to the book had dried away, so I could simply pull it off the interior with no damage. The glue that covered the front art however was still firmly attached. The piece of tape near the bottom of the front cover looked relatively new by comparison. It was still fairly supple and malleable, and had no discolouration. The adhesive on this piece was much more active, but could still be peeled away from the interior with ease.   

To remove the tape from the actual cover without damaging the underlying art I applied Bestine, a commercially available solvent, using a cotton swab around the tape as well as on the inside front cover just below where the tape attached - allowing it to soak through the paper and work on the adhesive. I would then use a spatula to begin slowly lifting the tape away from the cover. When it comes to tools for doing restoration, I recommend opting for those that are plastic rather than metal as the latter can much more easily cause damage to the book when scraping (this also applies to when working with staples, as metal-on-metal will cause visible abrasions on the staple surface. Markings such as this can act as a clue when CGC is trying to determine if a book has been disassembled). This specific spatula was part of a basic clay sculpting set you can find at any hobby store. There are times you might have to use a metal spatula though, specifically when needing to remove difficult tape with a heated spatula (a heated metal tip helps reactivate the adhesive). 

While the solvent I used will 100% evaporate not long after application, I figured it better to err on the side of caution - so I opted to place some book deodorizing granules in with the cover to ensure even the slightest odor from the process be removed.