Paper-case Binding and Clamb-shell Box

Spring term is over, summer is well underway and I have a little catching up to do as far as posting my books... Above is my "paper-case" bound book. On this project, I learned to make a rounded spine, and a few other pretty old school techniques. Each of the signatures were folded from single pieces of paper (some of the edges have yet to be torn, and are still folded.) I don't know if that makes any of sense...hmmm. Have any of you ever been to the press building in Palmyra where the first edition of the Book of Mormon was printed? There you learn that 16 pages were printed at a time on one sheet, then that sheet was folded, the folded sections were sewn together, and then the edged were cut or trimmed. That is the same process here, just pre-trimming.
This book also has a hand sewn endband, but is a different style than my last book. It is secured by a leather strap that has been fed through the cover, and is covered with handmade paper (instead of a covered board) giving it a soft feeling.

The fore-edges of the cover come well over the end and bend around the text-block for protection. (I forget what it is called....grrr...that is driving me crazy!) I went pretty traditional with this book, and wanted to make it just like it would have been made hundreds of years ago. I am pretty happy with it.:)

Our next project was to make a clam-shell box. This is a box made for to hold books, portfolios, or anything that needs a special place to keep it safe. It is most often used as a conservation item in libraries and special collections for books with old bindings. Here is my box; I made it to fit my paper-case book:

Flat-back binding

Well, here is my second creation from my bookbinding class, a flat-back book. This is pretty much what I think everyone imagines when they picture a book in their mind, and maybe my favorite binding so far. It just looks so clean and crisp. The cover is made of book-clothe on the spine and an old map from the library on campus.
Here is a few details of the inside (or what I could show you and still come up with an interesting picture). For those of you who know me, you shouldn't be surprised to see the totally sweet orange end-sheets that I added as a contrasting color to the cover and block of paper. Love orange. Also, here is a detail of my hand-sewn end-band that is on both the top and bottom of the spine. These were originally only found on the tops of spines to protect the pages when the book was grabbed off of a shelf. (Imagine with me now how you pull a book off of a shelf: usually, you put your finger on the top of the spine to pull it off right? well, that's what these are for.) If you check any books you have at home you may have some that have end-bands, but they are probably not really sewn into the book, and just to look pretty. If you find one that is hand-sewn I would love to hear what the book is!

Coptic Binding

I am currently taking a bookbinding class, and this is my first finished product. It is bound with a traditional "Coptic" binding, and 100% handcrafted by yours truely!
First, I cut the signatures to size each one by one, assembled the cover and made holes in both the cover and signatures/sections of paper for the stitching. Lastly, I sewed the binding together. It was a lot of work, but not too bad. My next one won't take me as long.
my book is about 8.5''x5''.
This binding was developed by early Christians in Egypt, the Copts, and used from as early as the 2^nd century AD to the 11^th century. It is used today by bookbinders to create beautifully hand crafted books.

Detail of stitching:

The Coptic Binding is a great binding for journals or sketchbooks as the nature of the binding allows it to lay open on a table, flat.

I have discovered a love for books that began, I think, with the "Ladybug-day". I have been excited for and waiting to take this class for a long time now and I am really excited for what we will be making in the future. There is just something magical to me about handcrafted, functional items. I love bookbinding!

The Lady-bug Day

When I was really young, I played goalie for my rec-soccer team. They were pretty good, and so the ball spent most of the time on the other side of the field, which means that I spent most of my time looking for four-leaf clovers, dandelions and ladybugs in the grass. Each of those had their own superstitions, but the ladybug one was the best, especially if the ladybug landed on you. If that happened, you were supposed to count the spots, and for each spot, you would get that many days of good luck.
I just finished this big project for my lithography printmaking class this semester and was really happy with the way it turned out, and I think it inspired me to get on the ball with my blog. So here is my latest art project. (If the pics are to small to read the text, just click on them to enlarge.)
"the ladybug-day" is all hand printed, assembled, written and illustrated by yours truly. enjoy