1) if that page is the other end of the spectrum, you can see that its histogram isn't that much different, even is there is less see-through text. So the curve is basically the same, I just curved it a bit upwards to have more levels in the dark areas. But as it is it could be applied with good results to your first picture.
2) Your scanner obviously has a built-in Curves tool. You should really experiment with it. Half an hour here can save you days later. Plus your scanner may have the possibility to work on more that 8 bits/channel.
2) Your scanner obviously has a built-in Curves tool. You should really experiment with it. Half an hour here can save you days later. Plus your scanner may have the possibility to work on more that 8 bits/channel.