Durable Paper Bindings, at PBI 2017

Another workshop that I did at PBI in May was on paper bindings, taught by Henry Hebert. We made two different books, a stiff board case binding and a flexible laced paper case. Although I have done similar bindings in the past, there is always something new to learn. Henry is very knowledgeable about these bindings and had a lot to share about the mechanics and construction as well as the history and variations of them.

The laced paper case was sewn on alum tawd thongs with a linen lining, with a basic bead-on-the-back endband. I used some awesome paper from Hook Pottery Paper for the cover.

The stiff board binding was sewn onto recessed cords. We made stuck-on endbands by oversewing onto linen and we made our own decorative paste papers for the covers. Well, traditionally the German paper bindings had rather drab paste papers on them actually - not very decorative, just serviceable really. So I went with drab.

I have posted several photos related to this class on my facebook page if you want to see more.

Henry has a blog where he has posted a lot about paper bindings in the past, and it is a great resource if you're interested in knowing more about them. Thanks for this great workshop, Henry!

Book #229

German Paper Binding 9

Today's German Paper Binding is the last one that I am going to do. I could probably mix and match the various structural features and come up with more, but I probably should move on to something new! The one I made for today is done with a full cloth cover, which is a variation that I wanted to try before I put these away. It also has a tipped-in single-folio endsheet and the spine is lined with muslin.

I also posted a new photo for Book #221, the first German Paper Binding that I made. I was not entirely happy with the first one so I made a new one that turned out much better.

Book #228

German Paper Binding 8

Another variant of the German Paper Binding today. This one has a leather spine, which was attached separately from the boards. It also has hooked endsheets and a hollow spine (no tube!) Attaching the spine and boards separately like this gives the book quite a different appearance, compared to my previous variants. Using leather also gives it a more refined look that I like. Thank you to Peter Verheyen for all the information he has shared about these bindings.

Book #227

German Paper Binding 7

Another German Paper Binding variant today, and this time the difference is something I can show in the photo. Today's book was made with a hollow spine - which you can see in the top photograph. (I used a tube to make the hollow -- but upon further investigation, the tube is not typical on this kind of binding.) Otherwise, most of the structural elements are the same as previous versions. I like this refinement; this might be my favorite.

Book #226

German Paper Binding 6

Yes, I realize that my books have been a tad redundant this week; but, each one differs in construction to some extent. Today's version of the German Paper Binding is made with unsupported link stitch sewing and tipped in endsheets. Still the same cloth spine, paper-covered boards (using my own marbling), and trimmed flush at head and tail.

Book #225

German Paper Binding 5

I made another of these German Paper Bindings, with some variations. This one is sewn on tapes with an abbreviated stitching pattern, otherwise the construction is nearly the same as the two previous books. And this one has some of my paste paper, rather than marbled paper.

Book #224

German Paper Binding 4

Today's German Paper Binding is very similar to the one I made yesterday, but the sewing is done differently. Today's book is sewn with an unsupported link stitch. Everything else is the same.

Book #223

German Paper Binding 3

The book I made for today is another German Paper Binding, made with a simple unsupported sewing which Peter Verheyen calls geholländert. A single-folio endsheet is hooked around the first and last signatures, cloth spine, and paper-covered boards (using some more of my own marbled paper), head and tail are flush.

Book #222

German Paper Binding 2

Today's book is another German Paper Binding. This one is an adhesive bound structure with a cloth spine and paper-covered boards, trimmed flush at the head and tail. I was reading about this on Peter Verheyen's blog and he wrote that it works well as a binding method for documents printed on stacks of loose sheets, so that is what I did here. And he is right, it did work very well.

Book #221

German Paper Binding 1

For today, I made an example of a German paper binding, of which there are several variants. This particular example is the German Stiffened Paper Binding, sewn on tapes, with covers made of thin board covered in a paper wrapper, then trimmed at the head and tail (although I do not have access to a guillotine, so they were shorn by hand as well as I could manage). The cover wrapper is some of my own marbled paper.

The photo below is the book that I originally made for today's post. I was not entirely happy with it, though, especially after I made all the other variations of the Pappband. So I made a new one (the green book, above) using all the same techniques and I think it turned out much better.