first, let me apologize for this fuzzy picture. i took three of them and they all came out bad. this was the best one.
these are the books i'm making in advanced bookbinding class. the top is quarter leather and the bottom four are extra books i'm making in the same style while i have access to columbia's great equipment.
we started with huge pieces of paper. we folded and cut that into manageable signatures. then the books were sewn over cords. the books were rounded and backed. the bottom four are to this stage in the picture. i actually ended up having to round them again because i was a little wimpy with the hammer the first time around. but now i have much better shoulders. after rounding the text blocks were trimmed with either a guillotine or the plough. i used the pough on the leather book and the guillotine on the others.
after the rounding headbands were sewn by hand. for the leather book i did a french, triple headband with really tiny silk thread. i had never done one before but i really like the way it came out. for the second book we're making in class (not shown) i did a regular double headband, also with tiny silk threads.
for the leather book false cords were added to the spine. then the leather was glued to the spine using wheat paste. that's the stage the book was in when i took this picture. since then i've turned in the leather at the head and tail, lined the outsides of the book and added decorative paper. last night i lined the insides of the book and cased the book into the boards. now it has to sit for 2-3 days in the press. so no pictures for now.
for the second book we're making i created the case last night. i used some really nice bookcloth instead of what columbia provides. we haven't cased in the covers yet, that will come next week.
i hope to be able to sew headbands on my four extra books so that i can trim the covers with the board shear next week. however, i'm ordering a finishing press this friday so i don't think it will arrive in time. i'll either have to trim the boards and guess at the size of the headband, or just trim the boards at home with a knife.
this has been a good class. there is just one more week. i've taken advanced bookbinding before, but with different teachers. it's nice to get a fresh perspective.
i hope everyone has taken the time to vote.
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