Converting an adhesive bound paperback to a sewn hardcover

I taught an interesting workshop this weekend. A few of my regular students had asked me about this technique in the past, so we decided to offer a workshop on it. The goal was to convert a glued paperback to a sewn binding with a hardcover. This technique is not meant for small pocket paperbacks but more for larger, heavier books like trade paperback editions, cookbooks, dictionaries and some textbooks where the softcover, adhesive binding has a tendency to crack and break. This is a typical example of what happens to these heavy glued bindings:

We started by taking our books apart and removing as much of the old glue as possible and the pages have to be grouped into sections for sewing. We sewed our textblocks onto flat linen sewing supports as per so many other binding methods. The main difference was the extra whip-stitching used to bind each section of pages. It is not a pretty sewing.

That was the hard stuff. Then it was just a matter of rounding and backing, constructing a case and casing-in like any other case binding. Most of the students in my class had some bookbinding experience but one of the students had never bound a book before and hers turned out beautifully, as did all the others! Most were quarter cloth with marbled paper, and one was bound in full cloth. The blue book in the next photo is the one made by the first-time binder. Pretty impressive. And she marbled that paper herself too!

These ones even got the titles on the spine, which is a nice touch.

And here's the full cloth version, and another of the quarter cloth with marbled paper.

Very impressed with all their finished books!

The Dart Tower at The Dart Gallery

The Dart Gallery in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia is presenting a collection of artwork inspired by Stephen King. I have to admit, I am a big fan of Stephen King's novels, especially the Dark Tower series. When I did my Bachelor's degree in English, I focused some of my work on the fantasy genre and wish I had read the Dark Tower series at that time! I came to them later, though, but still appreciate the complexity of the stories and the incredible new world that he creates within them.

When I saw the call to submit work to this exhibit, I knew I had to do something. So I tore apart my paperback copies of the first four books in the Dark Tower series and rebound them in quarter leather bindings. I used my own marbled papers on the covers, all greyscale, but increasingly detailed patterns from Book One to Book Four. I also carved some small lino blocks to print an appropriate image on each cover. To finish them off, black goatskin with gold foil lettering on the spines.

If you're near Dartmouth, I suggest you check out the show, which continues until December 7th. Here's a sneak peak that the gallery has posted on their webpage.

The stack of my books is visible in that shot, but here they are again, a bit closer.

Book #241

Tight back Rebinding

This book is another rebound book. The original book already had a round, so I didn't need to create a fake one like I did with yesterday's book. So this version is a tight back, with false raised bands. Split boards, quarter leather, and some more of my marbled paper.

Book #231

Saw Kerf Binding

This method is suitable for binding single sheets or rebinding books. I used it to rebind one of my favorite books, of which my only copy was a tattered perfect-bound paperback. Now it looks much cooler redressed in its hardcover suit and Ann Muir marbled paper.

There are instructions for this saw kerf binding in Pauline Johnson's book, "Creative Bookbinding" (which has a few useful bookbinding tidbits but is mostly just a wonderful 1960s time-capsule).

Book #87

Whip Stitch Rebinding

This is a rebound book. The book was originally a perfect bound paperback. I rebound it using a whip stitch technique and gave it a hardcover. The whip stitches are visible between each section, as you can see in this photo of the book's interior.

Book Repair

Book repair is something I haven't focused on very much. A bunch of years ago, I did some book repair in a class with Joe Landry; since then, it hasn't come up too often. But a friend of mine asked if I could fix this book for her daughter. The textblock was intact, so I didn't have to sew it. The hinge area of both covers was torn so the spine part of the cover was almost entirely detached.

Before
So I replaced the spine part of the cover and used book cloth to cover the spine. I used some Japanese repair paper on the inside of the hinge areas as you can see in this close up photo. Then I covered up that stuff with some new pasted endpapers.


I think I should have attempted to get the book cloth in between the paper and board...rather than pasting it on top of the cover paper. That would have solved the issue of covering up part of the title on the front cover. But when I tried to separate the paper and the board on the covers it was just tearing too easily. I think there were a couple issues: the paper on the covers of this book is brittle, likely low grade, maybe acidic... and I was probably using the wrong tools for the job since I haven't acquired tools for this kind of work, making me "all thumbs" while doing this.

After

Dictionary Day

Today is Noah Webster's birthday so it's recognized, mainly in the USA, as Dictionary Day. Webster being the one who Americanized the British dictionary for the masses. And my old Websters is definiely my favorite dictionary although the Canadian Oxford ranks high on my list as well.

I was going to just mention Dictionary Day and post that little photo of all my dictionaries but as I was gathering them I found my Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and decided it might deserve some mention today.

This was originally a perfect bound paperback that I got, um, maybe 15-20 years ago (gulp!) and the spine dried and cracked and came apart after a few years. So when I had a chance to learn how to turn a perfect-bound paperback into a sewn hardcover, I selected this dictionary. It certainly turned out well. It never looked as good when it was new.

That was the first time I rebound a perfect bound paperback. I have done a couple more since then, but this one is the best because I did it in a class so I had my instructor, Joe Landry, there helping and all the best tools on hand in the Dawson Printshop and Bindery - including the ability to make that gold printed spine label.

So the loose pages were gathered into sections, about 15 pages each. Then I punched a row of holes very close to the edge of each section - and it is a lot of holes, one every 15 millimeters or so. Then all the sections were sewn onto tapes, kinda looping over the edge of each section. I tried to get a photo here that shows all the little sewing holes.

So the sewing was tedious but once the textblock was sewn together like this, casing it in was standard procedure. I thought the book would not open very well being sewn like this, but it does open really well - not perfectly flat, but it is quite good especially for a dictionary that isn't being read cover to cover. And, as an aside, I really love this marbled paper.

Samples of work 2001-2006

Blue and sage leathers inlaid, lined on the inside with handmade paper. Long stitch binding through the spine and decorative stitching on the covers in white linen. Hardcover multi-signature coptic sewing. Black leather with raised letters on the front. Portfolio case custom fit to this book. I backed the fabric myself. Leather label on the spine with gold lettering. Japanese box. Dark green book cloth with paper lining. This is now my bookbinding toolbox. Japanese wrap-around case, custom fit to these two Japanese butterfly books. Rebound copy of Jonson's Lives of the Poets. Leather spine and new cloth covers. I found this cloth at a drapery store and backed it myself. Leather label on the spine with gold lettering. Rebound copy of the Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music. This was originally a perfect-bound paperback. Brown bookcloth spine and hand marbled papers. Leather label on the spine with gold lettering. Rebound copy of The Cat in the Hat. Scanned then printed the image for the new front covers. One of my first attempts at making a girdle book. 'Our Stars' - Accordian fold artist's book with flaps and pockets, pull-out tags, found images, and quotes. Japanese multi-page scroll. Accordian fold with little pamphlets sewn into some of the valleys. This was made as a birthday card with photos and text. Little Red Riding Hood tunnel book. A case structure, with the tunnel book attached on one side and a pamphlet containing the story attached to the other side. Expirimental binding: sections sewn onto stiff hemp twine. Leather cover. Photo album and matching photo storage box. Japanese chyiogami paper. Japanese stab bindings, hemp leaf pattern.