Summer drags on & the bindery is closed. Here are a few bindings by Paul Bonet. 

Here is the book of Psalms in a quarter leather binding. I like this one so it will not be for sale.

The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran

This is also a quarter bound leather case binding. Bound in goat skin from the Pergamena tannery in upstate NY. The paper is another one of mine from the marbling workshop we did. The top edge is decorated with graphite. This book is for sale. Please let me know if you are interested

So this a variation on the same structure as the album. My intention was to make a sketchbook sort of thing to sell, but now I am too attached to this one. It is also a split board binding so this thing is extra durable. You can’t see it in the photos but it also has reinforced semi-hidden leather corners. The headbands are hand sewn with silk thread. I made the marbled paper during a workshop we did with the Chena River marblers. This marble pattern is called a “Get Gel” - it is very simple to produce a decent result with this pattern. I don’t think this one will be up for sale just yet. 

Leather Case Binding

We have very recently started working with leather, building on the standard case binding structure but adding headcaps (see close up shot). Headcap formation remains a constant source of aggravation in my day. I am ready for spring break.

Moby Dick in a full cloth case binding with parchment onlays 

Making all these blank books can get kinda boring. Even though most of our training around the bindery is technical, it’s nice to get to put the creative side of my brain to work for a change. Despite the fact that Jeff is constantly reminding us that we are craftsmen, not artists, and this is not art school. I had a lot of fun making this; I know the design is a bit trite, but whatever. The onlays are done by cutting the design out of 20pt (card stock), then laminating that to the boards. The book is then covered in the usual way and the cloth is carefully worked into the design. The onlay has to be cut exactly to fit inside the impression and glued in place carefully. Then you, to quote my instructor, “press the shit out of it. ” Finally you go home and stay up all night worrying that maybe the onlay slipped out of position, or expanded too much from the glue while in the press. Stay tuned for fancy leather bindings, an austere existential rebinding and maybe some fun repair projects. 

German Lapped Component  ”The Ugly Little Duder”

For more info go here

http://henryhebert.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/german-paper-bindings-the-lapped-component/

I know, I know - it’s been forever but school is keeping me way too busy to even think about computers and blogs. But I promise I have a bunch of photos to share. I am going to try and keep the next few posts from being too technical. Here is a photo album I completed a few months ago. The structure is called a split board binding, or a variation on a library style binding. It is not a very refined structure but it is built like a tank. It has a much stronger board attachment than the case binding structures we have been doing up until now. The sections are stubbed, as you can see in the photo, so that when pictures are added it does not bulge at the foredge and stress the spine. This book is for sale. It is currently in the school’s gallery, but if anyone is interested let me know.   Sold

Ira Glass