I picked up the 1947 Girl Guide Handbook at a flea market recently and came across the pages listing the requirements for a Bookbinding Proficiency Badge (who knew?). It seems pretty tough to me!
Month: August 2017
peace, love and bookbinding
This seems appropriate
35 years later…
For more than 35 years I had been lugging an oversized watercolor paper pad from house to house (16 of them), country to country (3 of them) and continent to continent (3 of them). I had painted on only two of the pages. One painting was a not entirely convincing portrait of Ian Rush, a legend at Liverpool Football club in the early ’80s, and the second a copy of a cover of a Pink Floyd album. Both made my kids laugh out loud.
So I decided it was time to ditch the paintings and incorporate the paper into a book. By now the paper has softened up beautifully – the edges a little worn and dented. I decided on a larger format book, case bound with multiple signatures. I’d also make a slip case and use some lovely Japanese paper I’d been saving for something special.
The result is a really satisfyingly tactile book with a lovely weight to it. The Japanese paper worked perfectly, though I didn’t waste it on the inside of the slip case.
