Facsimile title page. Replace marbled endpaper
This attractively-bound children’s novel from the early 19th century had like many old children’s books, seen better days after years of ‘enthusiastic’ use by previous young owners.
Paper repairs
Repair of a torn pictorial endpaper
This article is about a pictorial endpaper repair and binding restoration of a Winnie the Pooh story book. This well-worn copy of ‘The World of Pooh’ had been in the owner’s possession since childhood. It had quite obviously seen a lot of service over the ensuing years. The hinges of the cloth binding were torn […]
Book restoration of John Constable’s notebook
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, […]
Cloth book repair & resewing disbound books
This article is about a cloth book repair and resewing a disbound text block. Many of the examples of repairs that I’ve featured in older posts here, are on books bound in leather. Cloth-bound books come in just as often for repair. Many exhibit the same problems as their leather counterparts. The covering material on […]
Spine, corner and Bible repair
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 […]
Vellum binding restoration on 17th century book
This article is about a vellum binding restoration. I’ve just completed a very satisfying restoration of a volume bound in a 17th century limp vellum binding. The book, printed in 1674, arrived with it’s contemporary binding in a poor state. Condition of the vellum binding prior to repair The lower part of the spine had […]