Hand-Made Books: An Introduction to Bookbinding

This title is aimed at the amateur with a limited budget. It explains the basic techniques of bookbinding through a series of ten projects. All can be completed at the kitchen table using equipment that can be found at home or that is inexpensive and readily available. The book starts with three simple single-section books, each bound in one of the three traditional styles. Having got to grips with the basic techniques, the reader is then introduced to larger, multi-section bindings for journals, cased-in magazines and scrap books. In another chapter, Rob Shepherd deals with the method of binding single, unfolded sheets of paper such as typed reports. For those with a bookshelf full of old paperbacks, the explanation of how to repair them should prove very easy to follow. To complete the projects, the method of Japanese binding is described, which uses a limp cover sewn in a decorative fashion. In the final project, the book tells how to make an exquisite portfolio. The book should enable even the first-time bookbinder to achieve a creditable result. A multitude of fabrics and papers can be used as covering materials, Rob Shepherd includes some of his own cover designs.