More pictures from my bench! These are historic models of a Long Stitch Binding. We spent some time a few weeks back looking at this structure and experimenting with new materials. The book in the first two pictures is bound with a maple spine stiffener and the cover is made from flax paper. The spine stiffener is used to keep the spine from warping which is common with this structure. The weaving on the spine is actually a part of the structural integrity of the book. It protects the threads from wear, and also it helps to tighten the binding. The other book is the same structure but the spine stiffener is made from leather and vellum. The cut out on the vellum is something I saw on some of the historic examples we looked at. I think of all the historic structures we have looked at so far this is my favorite.