This article is about a book restoration carried out on a notebook owned by the artist John Constable. One of the most absorbing projects that I’ve worked on recently is the book restoration of a 19th century notebook. This book of handwritten notes was reputedly owned and compiled by the artist John Constable. The book, […]
This article is about corner repair on leather bound books and the refurbishment of leather bindings. Leather bindings can dry out over time and become rubbed, especially at their hinges and corners. Small splits can start to appear at the tops or bottoms of the hinges. Also, the leather covering over the corners can become […]
This article is about Bible repair, leather spine restoration and corner repair and restoration. It’s over a year since I last added anything to this work diary and 2016 was a very busy year. A wide selection of books both antiquarian and modern passed through the bindery for restoration or repair. These ranged from treasured […]
This article is about resewing a broken text block, leather book restoration and corner repair. This 18th century copy of Boyer’s English-French Dictionary was once owned by a direct ancestor of it’s current owner. The book arrived with the text block split into 5 sections. The spine was pretty much worn away and both covers […]
This article is about a Victorian leather-bound photograph album repair. The 3rd of my ‘most satisfying jobs of 2015’ was to work on this late 19th century family photograph album. The album had been compiled by it’s elderly owner’s grandfather. It had suffered the ravages of time. Pages had come loose and the covers and […]
This article describes a corner repair and leather reback to an 18th century book. I’ve just completed quite a satisfying corner repair and leather reback. It’s a good example of what is possible when the corner of a volume has been badly damaged. This copy of ‘Hoyle’s Games’ dating from around 1760 came in for […]