HAND BOOKBINDING A Manual of Instruction

• Main Author: Watson, Aldren Auld 1917- (Author)
• Format: Manuscript Book
• Language: English
• Published: New York Dover Publications 1996
• Subjects: Bookbinding > Handbooks, manuals, etc.; Handicraft > Handbooks, manuals, etc
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.
• Item Description: Originally published: New York : Macmillan Pub. Co., c1986.; Includes index
• Physical Description: 160 pages illustrations 24 cm
• ISBN: 9780486291574

Before the advent of modern mass-production methods, books were bound by hand to remarkably high standards of quality. Beautiful and durable, they appealed to book lovers who appreciated not only a book's content but also the quality and craftsmanship of its binding. Unfortunately, the introduction of machine-binding methods, while making books widely available at reasonable prices, also largely curtailed the art and craft of making fine books by hand. This expert guide offers a solution. In its pages, craftspeople can learn the traditional methods of bookbinding and produce high-quality hand-bound books themselves. Thorough, detailed instructions, with over 270 helpful illustrations by the author, cover materials, tools, and equipment (including making your own); fundamental procedures and technical methods; rebinding an old book; making a slipcase, and other essentials. Also included are well-illustrated, step-by-step directions for eight binding projects: dust jacket; blank book, single signature; folio; blank book, four signatures; manuscript binding; music binding; and two more. Clearly written and easy to follow, this manual will be indispensable to those wishing to create high-quality handcrafted bindings themselves; it will also serve as a valuable reference for students and professionals in publishing and its allied trades.