Bookbinding Workshops / Classes in the USA (2015)
Find below a list of bookbinding courses and workshops in the USA. All courses listed are available to the public, some are day courses, others are multi-day courses and some are full time.
Find below a list of bookbinding courses and workshops in the USA. All courses listed are available to the public, some are day courses, others are multi-day courses and some are full time. Continue reading →
Save Your Books is one of the most inspiring YouTube channels about book restoration. It is curated by Sophia S.W. Bogle, a professional with over 25 years of experience in book conservation and restoration. Continue reading →
I first met Brenda at the American Academy of Bookbinding in 2015. At that moment, she already had some 20 years of experience in bookbinding. If you add a strong background in graphic design, it's not hard to imagine that the result can be pretty impressive.
The following instructions form the first part of the City & Guilds Level 1 Unit 118 Course in Bookbinding. Reproduced with the consent of Shepherds Bookbinders who own all rights. A downloadable PDF copy of this course can be found here.
Here are a few commonly used bookbinding terms. Learning these basic terms and phrases will help you understand the exercises covered later in this post. Along with the principle of ‘Grain Direction’, and ‘Learning about Paper’ a little time spent reading these simple definitions will help you make informed choices when ordering materials and equipment.
NOTE: You might also want to check out our post ‘The Basics of Bookbinding‘ which gives a comprehensive breakdown of all the tools and equipment you’ll likely need for your journey into bookbinding.
It is almost holiday season. Still, there is some time to choose a gift for your fellow bookbinders, friends, and colleagues. Luckily, there always is something new to learn about bookbinding. Even from the books you already have for a long time. Becoming more experienced you may find further small details and techniques (nevertheless important) in texts you read a long time ago. Continue reading →
Following on from our most popular posts ‘Top 10 Secret Belgian Binding Tutorials‘ and our infamous ‘Top 15 Japanese Stab Binding Tutorials on the Internet‘ I decided to put together a collection of the best long-stitch bookbinding tutorials on the internet. Continue reading →
Bookbinding community is not a very small one. However, when it comes to sharing secrets of trade online, some bookbinders prefer to not to participate. Luckily, there still are quite many blogs to allow both beginners and experienced bookbinders to educate themselves. Continue reading →
This summer brings us a new bookbinding contest. The American Academy of Bookbinding (AAB) announced this July a new triennial fine binding competition OPEN • SET. Continue reading →
This January in the capital city of Estonia Alexander Vasin and Natalia Velchinskaya have produced a new course – Tallinn Laboratoria. Alexander and Natalia are creators of many typography and book design courses, both in Moscow and abroad. This time they’ve brought a group of students to study in a local print house Labora Tallinna Paber. Continue reading →
I found this book in an old books department in the Russian city of Novorossiysk. This sample of Soviet samizdat was supposedly made in 1970s and is literally a photo copy of a 19th-century book.
We've been asked to add this item to our stock for quite a long time. And finally, that moment came. From now on, we offer this signature punching cradle with a guide for an awl at our Etsy shop.
I have extensively expanded my collection of books about books recently. One of the motives to do that was to scan and add them to the PDF Book Collection iBookBinding has been hosting for years. This collection you can get by subscribing to our newsletter. Continue reading →
This was a year of hard work, great weariness, constant experiments, and achievement. I can't say that iBookBinding faced many challenges, but I personally had my fair share of them. It was a fantastic year. However, I'm glad to start a new one.
As the name implies, a dust jacket can keep your work safe from dirt, wear and other sort of damages. The first step in constructing dust jacket is to select an appropriate paper that is similar to the book for which you are creating a jacket. Now measure the complete wraparound dimensions of the book. Cut a strip of paper that is about five inches wide, and crease it along the edges. Secure the paper in place with a clip as shown in figure 112. Wrap this paper around your book; pull it tight and tuck the loose end on the other side of the cover. All along, make well defined creases on the paper strip as you turn it over the book. Now remove the strip, and you would be able to see six distinct creases on it. In a similar manner, measure the height of the book with another strip of paper. The creases that are formed on the paper when you wrap it around have been illustrated in figure 113. Use these measurements to create a layout of the jacket on a separate sheet of paper. While doing this, measure the width of the flaps and ensure that it is almost one third of the cover width. If your book size is smaller, the flap width should be even more than this as shown in figure 114. Continue reading →
I have a copy of The Fair Penitent by Nicholas Rowe, published in 1776. I found it in a rare bookstore. It has no boards, barely any spine left, and the frontispiece has been cut out. Continue reading →