I used a metal "butcher's pan" that is a white enamel tray that butchers used to keep meat in, it is about an inch deep and 24"X12", but any shallow pan would do.

 First I took a pad of gold ink and ran it over the edges of the book to make it look like the pages were gilded.

 Then I poured in a mixture of half water and half Modge-Podge and I added some baking soda to neutralized some of the acidity in the paper.  I opened the book in the middle and put it face down in the glue mixture and let it soak for a while.  Then I sort of dipped all the edges in the mixture to coat them with it. 

I placed it face up to dry, but first I curled and arranged the pages and they seemed to stay the way I put them when they dried.  I used a dull pointed letter opener rifle the edges of the pages. It worked well.

 Then after it was dry and seemed to be the way I wanted it, I took some straight Modge-Podge and coated the whole thing.

 I printed a poem and some other phrases I wanted to use on some Lokta paper, which has a really nice aged look to it.  Used more M-P to glue this insert into the middle.  I then decorated the cover and let the whole mess dry.