FOREWORD 6

ABOUT THIS BOOK 7

ANATOMY OF A BOOK 8

FOLDED BINDINGS 10SEWN BINDINGS 38

PAGE AND COVER TREATMENTS 76

EXPERIMENTAL PACKAGING 104BOOKMAKING IN PRACTICE 126

CONTRIBUTOR DIRECTORY 182

RESOURCES 184

GLOSSARY 188

INDEX 190

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND CREDITS 192

CONTENTS

8

ANATOMY OF A BOOK

Spine

Headband

Backing Material Endpaper

Cloth Covering

Book Signatures

Tailband

Endpaper

Case

9

Shown here is the anatomy of a typical

case-bound book. Many of the artist books

that you will find within the pages of this book

employ this binding, but there are also myriad

different interpretations and experimentations

of bookbinding techniques showcased within.

You’ll find folded books, sewn books, books with

exposed spines, books with shell covers, and books

with wooden cases.

The descriptions of specific bookbinding terms

can be found in the glossary on pages 188–189, but

here are some key elements that make up the

anatomy of a typical case-bound book.

Book Signatures

A signature is formed of a number of pages

folded together. They are then sewn together

to form a textblock, or the inside pages of a book.

Signatures in most commercial printed books are

octavos (16 pages per signature), where a single

sheet is folded in half three times.

Endpapers

Endpapers are made using folded sheets of paper

which are then pasted to the inside front and back

cover, and first and last pages.

Headbands and Tailbands

These help secure the book although they are

not essential and are mainly used for decorative

purposes. They can be hand stitched.

Case

The case of a book is made using hard board

covers and secures the book together.

Cloth Covering

Book cloth is often used to cover the book boards

before they are made into a case.

Backing Material

Often made from mull, the backing material is

applied to the spine of the book to help hold the

pages in place and secure the book to the cover.

Spine

The spine is the backbone of the book, holding all

the signatures together.

FOLDED BINDINGS12

CASSANDRA FERNANDEZ

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Hailing from Barcelona, Spain, artist Cassandra

Fernandez primarily works with linocuts, making

colorful prints and patterns, but as can be seen

here, she also likes to experiment with

bookbinding techniques.

“I like to build things and make them by hand.

I am a self-taught bookbinder, which I got into

because I wanted to participate at an artist book

fair in Barcelona. What I like the most about the

process of making an artist book is building the

book itself and seeing if the idea I had in my

mind really works.”

Fernandez’s love of geometric patterns can

be seen in her series of carousel “Kaleidobooks”

(opposite). The idea behind their creation was

to make a book of patterns where one pattern

merged into the next, creating a new pattern—

a metamorphosis of patterns. Using the same

carousel technique, Fernandez’s book Among

Humans (this page) simulates a birdcage when

closed, but opens up completely into a carousel

shape that can be hung by a string, using the

attached ring, showing the birds flying free.

Both books use Hahnemühle paper stock

onto which Fernandez has hand-printed

her beautiful linocut illustrations.

See also: Carousel book p. 140

FOLDED BINDINGS 13

FOLDED BINDINGS14

KAROLIN SCHNOOR

LONDON, UK

Karolin Schnoor is an illustrator from Berlin who

currently lives in South London, where she works

on a variety of projects: designing books, pattern

work, advertising, editorial, and screenprinting.

“My main focus is illustration and I enjoy applying

my drawings to three-dimensional objects,

whether they are ceramics, textiles, or small

homemade books such as this one. I like seeing

how an illustration changes when it’s used in a

more narrative context like a book.”

To create this small book—it measures 23/4" x 4"

(7 x 10cm)—Schnoor first calculated how many

pages she could fit onto the sheets she was See also: Accordion book p. 134

printing onto, then measured out the exact format

and where the page divisions were going to be.

She then created the illustrations within these

guidelines so the book would work when folded.

The cover and inside were then screenprinted, cut,

and glued by hand. The covers were made using

gray board and the inside pages have been printed

on a newsprint stock.

15

NAUGHTY DOG PRESS

IOWA CITY, IOWA, USA

Emily Martin creates limited-edition

artist books and prints under the

name of her studio, Naughty Dog

Press. She uses a variety of print

methods, including letterpress,

and often experiments with three-

dimensional forms for her books.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

(above) is a carousel book that uses

a format Martin has devised, allowing

for scenes to be in separate sections

from the text, which sits on a

different panel.

Fly Away (below) is a triangular

accordion and a non-traditional

variation of the Japanese double-

leaved album, featuring a hardcover

wrapped in Moriki paper. There are

three texts that run along different

facets of the book. When the book

is standing upright all three facets

are visible.

FOLDED BINDINGS

See also: Accordion book p. 134 Carousel book p. 140

FOLDED BINDINGS16

GABRIELA IRIGOYEN HANDMADE BOOKS

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

For Rio-based book artist Gabriela Irigoyen,

designing and making books is all about creating

books that amaze people; books that are made

as art. Working with all manner of different

materials, papers, threads, and cloths, Irigoyen is

continually researching new ways to create and

construct her books.

“When it comes to making books, I love the research,

thinking about how a book might look, and then,

when the book is finished, seeing if the idea worked.”

These triangle accordion books were inspired by

Irigoyen’s desire to make a book using a shape

other than the usual square or rectangle. She

first created the inner pages of the books using

an accordion fold format as inspiration.

Separately sewn triangular-shaped signatures

were fixed together on the accordion-folded card.

These were then fixed to board covers that had

been bound in book cloth. Cord and ribbon are

used to secure the books when they are closed.

See also: Accordion book p. 134