awwwwww.

Turkey day.

Another handmade artists' book from Special Collections. This time with the very interesting choice of turkey-foot leather for the binding! The unique shape offered a challenge and a custom-fit clamshell box was created to make shelving easier.

Turkey Trot by Lois Morrison
Custom clamshell enclosure by Audrey Sage

So cute it hurts.

This miniature book from Mosaic Press is about the size of a postage stamp and is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen. It is filled with survival tips for mice and wonderfully tiny lithographs.
If a book is shorter than six inches it gets routed to Preservation Services. Our job is to figure out a way to keep it from getting lost on the shelf. Special Collections sent this little one down and Audrey made a brilliant enclosure to keep it safe.

wow.

Little Library by Todd Pattison
Andover, Massachusetts

Found and altered early 19th-century leather binding with fore-edge clasps. The bookshelves of the altered binding hold seventy-two blank leather- and paper-covered books which open and range in height from 1” to 1.5”. Working full time leaves only so many hours to pursue my own bindings, and I find that I normally spend several months or more completing a single full leather volume. Working on this piece allowed me to bind the same number of books in one night that would otherwise take a year or more. This tends to generate creativity and experimentation and also makes bookbinding pretty fun! 7.5 x 4.75 x 1.5 inches, 19 x 12 x 4 centimeters. Created 2009.

Todd Pattison studied bookbinding with Fred Jordan in western New York state in the late 1970s and early 1980s and went on to study with Hugo Peller and Edwin Heim in Ascona, Switzerland. He is currently senior book conservator at the Northeast Document Conservation Center where he has worked for the past eighteen years.

From the Guild of Book Workers Marking Time Exhibition.

Five times the fun.

Before and after shots of a group of encyclopedias.

The leather spines were rotting away so I replaced them with a strong, coated bookcloth.
I mounted what was left of the original spine so these volumes would match the rest of the set.

Do no harm.

Here is an interesting article on preserving antique books from the Antiques Roadshow website.

Berries and bird binding + custom clamshell box = the most adorable book ever.

This cute little volume arrived with a front cover that was completely detached from the rest of the book block. Rice-starch paste and a thin strip of Kozo (handmade paper from Japan) were used to reinforce the interior hinge. I selected a color that would blend well with the original marbled endpapers. Rather than cut the Kozo mending strip I tore it for a smoother transition.
More Kozo was used to build-up and cover the exterior hinge. Watered down acrylic paints and a light coat of wax help to give the paper a leather-like appearance.


For the final step I made a custom clamshell box to protect this rare book. I covered it in espresso and cherry-red bookcloth to match the gorgeous binding.