Week 43 - learning book-binding

I'm going to have another little rant about my battle with technology. This time I'm going to berate the Kindle, or more accurately, the continued decline and disregard of the humble, sacred book.  

I have been surrounded by books my entire life and I remember thinking when I was growing up that my house was made of books.  My Mother is a voracious reader and rarely getting rid of what she reads, the books pile up around the house.  I have images of ancient history texts, huge dictionaries, beautiful cookery books, Jewish history books and endless thriller and crime novels from Jeffrey Deaver, Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy that line-up in shelves galore in the house.  

My Mum always used to tell me that a book had the power to transport you somewhere else, to unknown magical lands and places I had never been.  I have always loved reading but quite frankly, I do not read nearly enough.  But, still, there is something so real and comforting about reading an actual book.  Holding a book in my hands somehow gives me solace.  I love the feel as I thumb through the pages and the soothing noise made each time I turn a page, like a zephyr.  Plus, all books have this wonderful smell, its almost historic.  

I love books, you get it. Books are glorious and Kindles, (although useful) are utterly soulless, joyless and rubbish.  There, I said it.

So, in an effort to preserve the sanctity of the book, I decided to learn how to make one.  I did a one day bookbinding course at the very beautiful St Bride Foundation on Fleet Street.  Originally built in the 1890's for the burgeoning print and publishing trade, it is now a creative and community hub with an extensive library, theatre and music spaces and an exciting program of seminars, workshops and events.

The course took place in the old Printing School room of the Foundation.  Much of the original equipment remains on site and creates a wonderfully authentic setting. 

It was a perfectly formed class, just four of us and the teacher, Joe Dixon.  We were going to be doing case binding and creating a multi-signature book.  First off, we got to choose our case paper and trim. There was a gorgeous selection of colours and patterns.  Surprisingly for me, I was decisive in my choice, but even more surprising, I didn't pick colours and went with greys - shock horror.

We each had a box of tools containing all manner of unusual things such as a bodkin, teflon folder, bone folder, bookbinders needle and a block of beeswax.  We started off by creating the signatures, these are sections of folded paper going into the book.  We were making a 40-page book so created ten signatures of four pages.  We then used the bodkin to poke holes in the creases of the signatures, which would then be stitched together.

The stitching was very simple and rather therapeutic.  I often say that about the process of making things with my hands, as long as I understand what I'm doing.  The atmosphere was all very quiet and calm, much like for me, when reading a book.   Oh the joy.

After a sushi lunch break, the next task was to pick our bookmark ribbon and head band (this is a piece of ribbon that tops and tails the inside of the spine).  This is where I thought I would add a dash of colour to my bound creation.

With the body of our books held together, we then created our spines and glued in the end paper.  This was where I could really see everything coming together so nicely.  We used those lovely pots of PVA glue, similar to what you would use in school as a child.  The irony is, I found the process of making this book more elegant than anything.

Finally, we moved onto the latter stages, creating our cases that would hold the books in place.  This was definitely the most fiddly bit as we had to cut exact pieces of the boards, both for the front and back of the book but also the spine and place everything together in exactly the right place.  Gluing the main paper onto the cardboard is also a little fraught as if you get glue on the front of the case, it is very difficult to get off.

After that we carefully glued the cases onto our books and finally held them in the beautifully ornate, cast iron book press.  The result for all of us was incredibly satisfying.  It made me realise why handmade books are so expensive.  The process to make them might be simple enough but it takes a great deal of time to do it well.  The course was six hours. 

I enjoyed the day very much and I loved my book at the end of it.  I just wanted to hold it in my hands, leaf through the pages and be drawn in by the intoxicating, comforting smell.  Ahhh, for the love of books.