Book #63

Hanging Scroll

So this is probably not the first thing (or last) that I will post which falls into the "book" category only marginally or perhaps questionably. Since I have been exploring scrolls as bookbinding structures, I decided I would also include the hanging scroll. This is an example of a typical Japanese hanging scroll, or kakemono, which is intended to be hung on a wall to display artwork and calligraphy, rather than rolled and stored like the makimono (the Japanese handscroll).

Book #62

Dragon Scale Binding

Since I was talking about scrolls, I decided to try making a Dragon Scale scroll. There is very little information about this type of Chinese binding and I have never seen any instructions or ever seen a scroll like it, in real life. Just a few tidbits of information and a couple pictures scattered about the ether. Consequently, this is probably over simplified and I am certain that my attempt is not an impressive imitation, but it is what I came up with given the lack of resources. It is a multi-page scroll and each page is a different length. I have used strips of images on the edge of each sheet to emphasize that. The pages are bound together on a rod so they can be rolled up like a scroll. A proper example would likely have many more pages and as you can see, the pages will tend to curl up when the scroll is opened, suggestive of dragon scales. I believe this kind of scroll is also called a whirlwind binding.

Book #61

Scroll in a box

This is another double-rod scroll format. The scroll is permanently bound inside a box where it can be rolled up in either direction to facilitate reading. As far as I know, there is no special name for a scroll in an box like this. Similar, but fancier, boxes are sometimes used for reading or displaying Qur'an and Torah scrolls.

Peter and Donna Thomas' book, "More Making Books by Hand", has instructions for making a scroll like this.

Book #60

Two-rod Scroll

As I mentioned yesterday, I am going to present some different scroll formats. The single-rod scroll seems to have East Asian roots like the Makimono, but other cultures developed the double-rod scroll where the paper/parchment had a rod at each end so it could be rolled off one end onto the other while reading. Handy for very long texts, surely. It seems to be most commonly used for religious documents, specifically the Torah and the Qur'an.

I have searched the Web and my books, but cannot find any special name for this type of scroll. Please leave me a comment if you know of a special name given to this type of scroll with two rods.

Book #59

Roll

There have been many types of scrolls throughout history and across cultures. I already presented an example of a Japanese handscroll a few weeks ago, but thought I might explore a few other formats as well. The most basic scroll is simply a piece of paper or parchment that has been rolled up. Usually reserved for shorter works and commonly referred to as a roll rather than a scroll.

The photo above shows my work, entitled "A ship in a bottle." The bottle contains an example of a simple roll. The roll is printed with a picture of a schooner ship (Lovely Nelly) on which my ancestors arrived in the New World along with a brief genealogy.

Book #28

Japanese Handscroll

Scrolls, of course, emerged prior to the codex book form. This one that I have made is based on the structure of the traditional Japanese handscroll, or Makimono.

Chaekkori at The Cleveland Museum of Art

Last month, I went to the Cleveland Museum of Art and toured the various collections rather single-mindedly. We were looking for books. Or book-related things.

There were a few actual books on display. Of course, they were on display for the purpose of showing the illuminated pages inside so the books were enclosed in glass cabinets. No consideration at all for the bookbinders who might be visiting! So we examined them as much as possible looking at things like clasps and headbands and discussing which ones appeared to be repaired, rebound, or with original binding features.

Books are also a very common prop in paintings through the ages, apparently. So we played a little game of "name that binding" as we found various styles represented in paintings...

... and sculptures throughout the museum.

Of course, the history of the book began long before the codex format. We found carved stone (1200 BC) and papyrus scrolls (1000 BC) from Egypt...

...as well as Chinese handscrolls on silk, porcelain plaques from Korea, and paper documents from India.

Finally this is Chaekkori, Korean for books and things. A ten panel folding screen from Korea (late 1800s) featuring bookcases filled with books and other scholarly items meant to represent a Confucian study.

Apparently the Cleveland Museum of Art also has a lot of non-book-related items too! Next time I'll try to see some of them. It is a VERY large place, though, and I didn't even come close to seeing all the collections. Next time!

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.