Bookmaking

History

Interest in books as art has increased in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, along with other paper crafts. The appeal of bookmaking is also related to the interest in journal writing; a handmade book offers an aesthetic surface upon which to record one's thoughts. Calligraphers, poets, and others interested in the written word are especially attracted to handmade books.

Contemporary bookmaking draws on both the craft of hand bookbinding, in which traditional methods and materials are used to bind texts, and "artists' books," which frequently present innovative content along with unusual book presentations. Together, these two different crafts offer many possibilities for hobbyists.

The history of bookmaking begins with the binding of the first books in India, around 100 BCE; these books were made of palm leaves bound with twine. True paper was first developed in China in the first century CE, during the Eastern Han period (25–220 CE). Over the course of about three hundred years, from approximately 150 CE to 450 CE, the codex (modern book) format gradually superseded the scroll among Western cultures; in East Asia, however, the scroll lingered for much longer. As a result, the combination of all these elements—binding, paper pages, and the codex format—to make a modern book only emerged hundreds of years later, following the development of folding and gluing methods during the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE), again in China. The notion that paper could be folded allowed for the first paper bookbinding technique, called the "butterfly." These early books, with multiple pages that opened and closed like the wings of a butterfly, offered several advantages over scrolls: they contained more text, they were small enough to be held in the palm, and they were portable.

Copies of the Bible, the Qur’an, and other religious texts handwritten by scribes on parchment or papyrus were among the first bound texts. Covers were often made of leather-wrapped wood, embellished with precious or semiprecious gems, inlaid with gold or glass, or blind-tooled (impressed with small stamping tools) and gilded. Each book was an original work of art and highly valued. The advent of the movable-type printing press in the fifteenth century allowed for the increased production of less expensive books, resulting in a dramatic increase in bookbinding that necessitated the search for faster binding methods.

Many contemporary bookbinding techniques draw on methods and materials used during the medieval period. These include "supported sewing," in which the threads used to stitch together the textblocks are also attached to horizontal cords or straps, which are themselves attached to the boards that form the covers. Often, lacing or metal clasps were then fastened to the fore edge in order to keep the book closed and the fragile parchment protected.

Until the Industrial Revolution, the majority of books were bound with quality materials and methods. Since that time, most books have suffered from the use of inferior materials and methods. As a response to mass production, bookbinders formed the Guild of Book Workers in 1906. Artists, too, mobilized during the early twentieth century and introduced book arts to university curricula and museums and galleries across the United States.

Tools

• Craft knives
• Cloth binding tape
• Adhesives (wheat starch paste, rice starch paste, methyl cellulose, polyvinyl acetate, and glue sticks, which are best for children)
• Utility knife
• Scissors
• Papercutter
• Boardcutter (recommended for production work)
• Pencils
• Erasers
• Metal-edged ruler
• Brushes for glue
• Awl, pushpins, nails, and/or drill for making holes
• Screw punch
• Clamps or clips
• Bone folder (used for folding and creasing paper)
• Sandpaper
• Book press (a heavy book can substitute)
• Mat board for work area
• Cloth or paper towels

Supplies

• Distilled water (for thinning adhesives)
• Needles (bookbinding, curved, and embroidery)
• Thread (linen, bookbinding, embroidery floss, or other strong, non-stretchy thread)
• Beeswax or thread conditioner
• Waxed paper
• Fasteners (brads, aluminum screw posts, twine, ribbon, macramé cord)

Materials for embellishing

• Rubber stamps and pads
• Creative lettering supplies
• Beads
• Decorative paper punches
• Natural materials (seeds, twigs, feathers, shells, bone, dried flowers, etc.)

Techniques

There are many different types of handmade books that use a variety of techniques. Here are the steps for making a 5.5 inch by 4.25 inch (quarto-sized) codex with one signature (folded group of paper) sewn together along with decorative endpaper. The hard cover is finished with decorative paper or fabric. Alternately, one could add a soft cover instead, by stitching it along with the signature using the "pamphlet stitch" and decorative ribbon or cord.

• 1. Cut two sheets of 8.5 inch by 11 inch paper in half horizontally, and fold in half to make sixteen 5.5 inch by 4.25 inch quarto pages. Copypaper or other inexpensive, readily available paper works just fine. Other paper will fold best if scored first and then creased using a bone folder held against a metal-edged ruler. If cutting with a craft knife, use a sharp blade.
• 2. Cut one sheet of same-size end paper in half and fold in half so that decoration is on the inside.
• 3. Nest the paper together, with end paper on the outside, matching edges. Open out and lay flat on table. With a ruler and pencil, mark sewing holes on the top exterior fold so that there are four small dots spaced equally.
• 4. With a mat underneath, poke holes through the signature and endpaper with a pushpin.
• 5. Cut a length of thread about eighteen inches long. Coat thread by pulling length through beeswax or thread conditioner. Thread needle and begin sewing at the top of the signature using the "running stitch." Push needle to the inside and out again through the next hole. Leave a few inches of thread at the end, but do not knot it. Repeat stitches through the next two holes and tie ends on the outside of the endpaper using a square knot. Trim thread.
• 6. To make the cover, cut two pieces of cover board each 6.0 inches by 4.75 inches, which allows an additional quarter inch at the top, bottom and outer edge (fore edge).
• 7. Cut one piece of decorative paper to 8.5 inch by 11 inch, which allows an extra inch at the top, bottom, and fore edge of the cover, plus a one-eighth-inch gap in between covers to accommodate the spine.
• 8. Mark the one-inch borders on the wrong side of the decorative paper, and glue covers in place, one side at a time, applying adhesive to the center and brushing outward to the edges. Smooth with a bone folder.
• 9. Finish the corners using the "universal" method. Turn in each corner so that a triangle is formed and glue in place. Then fold over each edge, overlapping the triangles, and glue them in place. Add more glue if necessary.
• 10. Place signature inside book and glue front and back the endpapers in place, ensuring that they are smooth and straight. Book should open and close freely.
• 11. Place waxed paper underneath and on top of the book, and in between the covers and the first and last pages of the book. Place it under a heavy book or press until dry.
• 12. Embellish as desired.

Bibliography

Diehl, Edith. Bookbinding: Its Background and Technique. 1946. Dover Publications, 2013. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1150149&site=ehost-live. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.

Fox, Gabrielle. The Essential Guide to Making Handmade Books. North Light Books, 2000.

Golden, Alisa. Making Handmade Books: 100+ Bindings, Structures & Forms. Lark Crafts, 2010.

Howsam, Leslie, editor. The Cambridge Companion to the History of the Book. Cambridge UP, 2015.

LaPlantz, Shereen. The Art and Craft of Handmade Books. Lark Books, 2001.

LaPlantz, Shereen. Cover to Cover: Creative Techniques for Making Beautiful Books, Journals & Albums. 20th anniversary ed., Sterling Publishing, 2015.

Suarez, Michael F., and H. R. Woudhuysen, editors. The Book: A Global History. Oxford UP, 2013.