Weapon of Mass Instruction!
Artist Raul Lemesoff has taken to the road in his latest creations “Arma de Instruccion Masiva” (Weapon of mass instruction) to help spread information and knowledge in the battle of ignorance.
book binding
Making Books (Short Documentary on Book Manufacture in 1947) by Encyclopedia Britannica Films
A fantastic short documentary film about the making of books in the 1940’s. Produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Films.
The Art of Making a Book, Short Film/Bookbinding Documentary
A fantastically filmed short video (3:40) on the methods of making a traditional book from setting the printing plates to adding the leather covering.
One of the best short video documentaries I’ve seen on bookbinding, well worth a watch.
A simple overview of the bookbinding process
Setting the typeset at the printers into words and lines. Plates are inked and prepared for the printing process.
Paper sheets are then pressed on the inked type.
What exactly is a ‘Nipping Press’?
Q&A: What is a Nipping Press?
A nipping press is a small press used by bookbinders for various bookbinding purposes. Originally the nipping press was designed to make the gutters or ‘hinges’ on the covers of hardbound books; the process of which was done in the following way:
Featured Bookbinder: Kris Stewart
Following on from our latest post Guest Posting Opportunity: Share Your Projects, Knowledge or Services we decided also to do a fortnightly ‘featured bookbinder’ series and this week we’d like to introduce you to lovely Kris Steward, founder of ScrollByHand.com who’s going to talk today about her bookbinding passion and give some helpful advice about selling on etsy.com… if you would like to be considered as a future featured bookbinder then please drop us an email!
Thank you Kris for taking the time to introduce the readers of iBookBinding to your life!
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My name is Kris Stewart and I’m a bookbinder working near the city of Seattle in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, USA. I caught the bookbinding bug 16 years ago when my son was a baby. As a way to get out of the house, I signed up for a binding class at a local art shop. Three hours later I was completely hooked. Soon I was selling handmade baby books at local craft fairs, but ultimately found that too difficult with a youngster in the house. I studied up and played around with book arts as a hobbyist until my son started middle school. A friend and fellow maker introduced me to Etsy and voilà! Here I am doing what I love!
Guest Posting Opportunity: Share Your Projects, Knowledge or Services
I’ve decided to open the gates of iBookBinding to the book arts community and for a limited time, on a trial basis I will be accept guest posts from our readership. If you are a bookbinder, work in the book arts field or simply have a passion or interest for bookbinding and fancy writing a piece for iBookBinding, then this could be a great opportunity for you…
Hübner Bokform (A Mini Documentary by Gustav Bondeson)
He works in a profession that is more than 1700 years old. A profession that many of us thought to be extinct. This is the story of Per-Anders Hübner and his profession as a hand bookbinder.
Just for Fun: The Best of Paper Airplanes
Well, the weekend is almost upon us and everybody deserves a little break. So today, inspired by an email I picked up from Peter Verheyen on the Book Arts List, I decided to do a little light-hearted post on Paper Airplanes (or paper aeroplanes for those in the UK)!
City & Guilds Course in Bookbinding (for Beginners)
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.
Basic Bookbinding Terms
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.
Embroidering Japanese Style Notebooks with Veins, 3D Mesh Modelling and Insects
Greek artist Chara creates beautiful hand-made Japanese style embroidered notepads which look incredibly 3D despite being made solely from thread and card.
Featured work includes veins on skulls and human bodies which resemble modern anatomy diagrams, 3-Dimensional mesh fish and insects, scientific worm-holes and numerous floral and oriental inspired designs.
View her gallery below and make sure to check out more of her work on her Facebook page, Pinterest! page and also her dedicated ETSY shop where you can purchase a handmade book of your own.
[support-website] [wysija_foSince I personally use notebooks all the time, and make my own embroidered accessories, I had the idea to combine my two loves and create embroidered notebooks.
It requires dedication and lots of patience to avoid damaging the paper. But the result is worth the pain, I think! – About FabulousCatPapers
Marbling Tutorials, Equipment & Photo Galleries
Marbling paper for book endsheets is a great way to add a little more class to your bookbinding project. Marbling is very simple to do and every print is completely different which further helps to add originality to your books. Your bookbinding marbling adventure doesn't have to stop at endsheets, you could also experiment with marbling the coverboards, the book cover material or even the book block fore-edges.
For the general craft-worker or bookbinding hobbyist you'll likely be able to complete adequate paper marbling with materials you can find at home or pick up from local stores (you can also buy marbling kits that have everything you need to get started). For those looking for a more professional finish you'll be pleased to know that marbling is an art, and as such there are many techniques and concepts you can learn to make your books stand out from the rest. I would recommend checking our post on the Top 5 Must Read Books on Marbling Techniques + Reviews.
Free Bookbinding Books
A collection of free bookbinding books that you can read online and download onto your ebook reader with links to their latest reprint/republication on amazon.com (where available).
I will continue my search for free reading resources weekly and update this list when I find more. Enjoy!
Top 5 Must Read Books on Marbling Techniques + Reviews
I have done my fair share of marbling in the past for both clients and personal projects but I am by no means an expert in the subject, this may already be apparent by the lack of technical terminology used within this post but probably even more so when you compare my work with that of a true master.
Book Anatomy (Parts of a Book) & Definitions
In this tutorial we will look at the different parts of a book (the anatomy of the book); understanding the individual parts of a book will make it easier for you when following the rest of our tutorials and will prove to be invaluable in your bookbinding journey.
