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Bookbinders use unbleached linen thread almost exclusively for sewing sections.  Of course, there is nothing stopping you using whatever you want.  However, natural flax spun to make linen is recognized for its strength and longevity.  In the early 20th century a few authors, such as Douglas Cockerell and Edith Diehl, recommend ligature silk as used… Continue reading Needle and Thread →

In 1924 The Courier Mail ran a story about the Arts and Crafts and a lady from Melbourne, recently arrived, who bound books.  Mrs. R. L. Reid was from then on mentioned regularly in Brisbane newspapers for her expertise in book binding, musical talents, her presentations about crafts, and presentations on very early radio broadcasts. … Continue reading Mrs. R. L. Reid: The Craft Bookbinder →

When first learning about the effects of grain the focus is on the negatives of not having the grain run head to tail in a book. But there are times when paper grain can be used to advantage. The issues come about because when paste (moisture) is applied to paper the fibre in the paper… Continue reading Grain to Advantage →

Before 1803 all paper was made by hand.  Paper is made of cellulose fibre and during the long period when paper was made by hand the source of the fibre was cotton, flax and hemp and the source of the cotton, flax and hemp was rags and old rope.  During the Industrial Revolution the demand… Continue reading Paper Grain →

Laurence Town (1) states that one of the reasons for introducing endpapers was to prevent the first and last sections of a book from being “dragged away” from the text block by the boards.  While Arthur Johnson (2) emphasises two purposes, the pull of the board paper countering the pull of the external covering material and the… Continue reading Basic Endpapers →

I avoided the zigzag endpaper for a long time because it looks complicated.  This was a mistake, as once I studied it, I found it simple to construct and the expanding gusset is an ingenious way to reduce the drag on the sections by the boards.  Middleton states it’s unclear who invented the zigzag endpaper,… Continue reading Zigzag Endpaper →

When using decorative paper, one must use a made endpaper either because the reverse side of the decorative paper is messy, such as a hand marbled paper, or it is thin and potentially weak.  For instance, the handmade Nepalese paper I used in The Barbers’ Book of Recipes was very strong, being made of a… Continue reading Common Made Endpaper →